To be brief...AMAZING NEWS! Teresa had her angiogram today and initial reports are that it came back clear...no AVM left!

A little more detail...We checked into the hospital around 7:30 this morning for Teresa's angiogram appointment. We have been hoping and praying for good news but were preparing ourselves for whatever the results of the angiogram would show. After some preliminary blood work, minor tests,  and discussion the doctor came in to talk about the upcoming procedure. This was the same doctor who had done Teresa's prior two angiograms. He reviewed with us that after the last angiogram (done after her second craniotomy a few days after the AVM rupture) they believed that there were signs of small amounts of AVM still present on her brain. However, the images were difficult to read due to the swelling of the brain and the trauma that the rupture had caused. The images from today's procedure would show us whether the AVM remains were still present or had disappeared (died and fallen off, not have been there at all, etc.).  

As the nurses wheeled Teresa off to the radiology operating room she began to tear up a bit. She said to the nurse as they were leaving, "Don't worry about me, I cry at almost anything." This was her first procedure that she was going into while awake and conscious. They did give her a mild sedative so that she would be consciously sedated (able to respond to commands but not feel pain). She told me after that during the procedure they were listening to 90's music and a Red Hot Chili Peppers song came on. One of the nurses said, "Isn't the lead singer from this band from Grand Rapids?" "Anthony Kiedis," Teresa responded. They were surprised at not only her awareness to what was going on but also her pop-culture knowledge. For those of you who know Teresa this was an easy one for her as her pop-culture knowledge is second to none. 

I settled in to wait as it was only going to be a one hour procedure. After a few minutes Teresa's parents arrived to wait with me to welcome back Teresa and be there for support. After a little over an hour the doctor came back and with a smile on his face his first words were, "I couldn't find anything." Although we were hoping this was going to be the outcome we were all speechless at first. We couldn't believe the news was this good. The doctor's original plan was to inject dye into one or two of the arteries that lead into the brain but after not finding any sign of AVM they decided to push dye into a few more because nothing was showing up. They took there time and carefully scanned her brain and again found no sign of AVM. Teresa was brought back into the room a few minutes later and we shared the good news. Again, we were all in shock at such a remarkable outcome. She had to rest for 2-3 hours after the procedure to make sure she was recovering properly and she slept most of the time. We did not have to deal with "hospital time" on this occasion and we were quickly discharged when she was given the all clear. She was offered a wheelchair but declined and was even feeling strong enough to walk back to the car to drive home. 

Next steps...The doctor will go back and carefully look over the images taken during the scan and we will have an appointment next week some time to review them but at this point Teresa has been given the all-clear as far as AVM left on her brain. She can continue to focus on rehab and recovery. She will have one last angiogram in 6 months just to make sure everything is clear. 

Teresa is continuing with outpatient rehab at Mary Freebed and typically goes twice a week for occupational and speech therapy. She has been going into work once a day for small amounts of time but has been given the all-clear to begin working part time starting next Monday at her morning job. After 3 weeks if all is going well she will then begin working in the afternoon as well. By then, we are hoping she will have graduated from therapy and will only have exercises to work on at home. Her vision is improving and a test she took last week showed that her field cut has reduced significantly. She has her first driving simulation test tomorrow which will begin her path back to being able to drive.

Although all of the good news with therapy has been welcome, we have had today's procedure in the back of our mind ever since leaving the hospital. We knew this day would bring us the news on whether or not another major surgery and the setbacks involved was needed. We were given the best preliminary news possible and are overjoyed that her focus on getting better can continue at the amazing pace that she has set...it was 50 days ago today that Teresa's AVM ruptured. Thanks to everyone for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers. We could not have done this without you.