From:"Carol Michael" cmichael@avenuecable.com
Sent: September 25, 2003

I am a 62 year old woman. Three years ago I had an MRI for dizziness. Afterward, I was told I had an AVM and should ignore it. It was located deep in my brain stem and nothing could be done about it. I then developed problems with double vision and stumbling. This was attributed to blood sugar imbalance and I began to eat like a pre-diabetic and measure my blood sugar four times a time.

On July 23, 2003 while on a visit in Texas I had a slight stoke on my left side.I was hospitalized and treated with glucose. On returning home to California I had another episode. I felt like I was having a complete stoke.. Another MRI was done. This time I was told my AVM was bleeding and I was sent to a neurosurgeon who connected me to Dr. Neil Martin at UCLA. I was immediately hospitalized. An angiogram was done and It was determined I had a cavernous angioma. Dr. Martin said it was dangerous but operable.

On August 28 he did the ten hour surgery. It was successful. I am home. The droopiness to the left side of my face is gone. I can walk but my balance is a bit off. I have some problems swallowing and opening my jaw all of the way. I get headaches on the left side of my face and my left eye still doesn’t seem to focus correctly. I see Dr. Martin next Friday for the first time after surgery and I expect he will tell me this is all normal for what was done. I have a great big T shaped scar at the base of my skull and only a few skinny hairs to cover it up.

I’ve been searching for information from someone who has also had this surgery. What is the recovery time? Is it complete? Thank you for this forum.

Carol Michael
California