One Year!

Around this time last year I was just getting stapled up from brain surgery! My head was sliced open in half, like a cantaloupe (or watermelon depending on how you cut fruit) My family told me the surgeons white scrubs were covered up in blood & some of the team from the operating room were crying as they pushed me back to the neuro ICU. I heard the nurses were under extremely strict orders with me & were afraid of their boss “Tina.” While my family & the staff were exhausted, I was having the best nap of my life for a few days. I lost all the blood in my body during this surgery & a softball sized AVM was removed from my dome. When I woke up, it was from Renee' Raymond Vosplaying my favorite song @ the time; “play that song,” by Train. She said I was tapping my right foot. My dx. was “left hemiplegia.” & cognitive deficits. I wasn’t sad- I was thinking of how I could play sports & wheelchair basketball & be the best at it. I was thinking of how relieved I was to have those dang tangles out of my brain & hopefully no more headaches. One year later & I haven’t had ONE headache .... I can run, do push-ups, compete one handed in beach water balloon toss contests, & Kayak partially! I’ll also be attempting to RUN two 5K’s this April! The last thing my dad told me before he passed away was, “ I hope everything goes okay in Cleveland,” man I swear he was in that operating room during the chaos. I’ve had a ton of support from friends & family throughout this & my heart is SO full! -stay VOStrong !