April 9th

Saturday, April 9th
I was watching the clock at 3:41 am and the next thing I knew mom was waking me up. The hotel hired a cab for us as they had no staff that early to drive the shuttle. We got to the clinic at 6:55 am. We waited for the nurses and doctor to arrive. I was the first patient of the day, which made my mom happy because the nurses and doctor were fresh. They started an IV on me and took a blood sample to check for something. Before I signed the consent I discussed with the nurse about taking the Valium that was prescribed to me. I have a history of adverse drug reactions, sleeping pills that kept me awake, cold medicine that made me hallucinate, etc. The nurse asked how I felt about not taking the Valium. I was worried more about the Valium so I decided not to take it. I was calm, relaxed and ready to go. My mom on the other hand was a different story. She was anxious, pacing and very emotional. I was glad she had to wait outside the procedure room.
Dr. Englander came to talk with me. I asked her about the scan the day before. She said it was Dr. Zamboni’s protocol to do the ultrasound on the neck but she found my scan only had 1 of the 5 parameters for CCSVI and would have been labeled a normal scan. Dr. Englander said that the x-ray they would do with the dye directly in the veins was more accurate. Confused, I thought that maybe I don’t have CCSVI but hoping that I did. Having CCSVI is something you want to have when you have MS because they can treat it.
It was time. I walked into the room and hopped up onto the table. I had two nurses with me, Patty was at my head monitoring my blood pressure and pulse and Laura who was actually prepping me for the procedure. Laura gave me a shot of Novocain in my right groin, used an ultrasound to find the vein, made the incision and inserted the catheter. This all happened before I even heard the doctor’s voice. Patty was there for me. She talked to me, stroked my hair and monitored my vitals. Laura, Dr. Englander (they all called her Merideth) and the lab technician barely spoke to me. They carried on a conversation, which made me very relaxed as to how routine this procedure was to them.
When Patty said they are inserting the dye now, I felt pressure in my right ear and the room began to spin. I thought I would either pass out or throw up, neither of which would be very good when you have to lie perfectly still. I told Patty and she told Merideth. Everything stopped for a moment for me but they kept moving. Patty put an alcohol wipe under my nose to ease the nausea and told me to keep my eyes open. She kept talking to me and asking questions and telling me what was going on. All I could see was the x-ray machine over my neck and head and glimpses of the ceiling.
The first narrowed vein they found came quickly and Patty told me that Merideth asked for a balloon and that it would soon inflate. She said that I would feel some pressure but what I felt was pain. Patty said it wouldn’t last long and it didn’t, about a minute. I was torn between, I hope they don’t have to do that again and hoping they find all the narrowed veins and fix them. The next balloon was on the left side. It didn’t hurt as much, maybe because I knew it was going to be pain and not pressure and was ready for it. I heard a clicking in my left ear. I didn’t realize that the catheter was up that high in my head, but it was. The last vein that was ballooned was in my chest. Patty said I would feel the pressure in my back. That was the worst pain. I thought of Teagan and focused on her face and smile. My girl got me through that minute of pain, she is better than Valium. Then it was over and the doctor left and Patty talked with me as Laura removed the equipment from inside me. They put a dressing over the incision and then transferred me to a stretcher. When they wheeled me out to where mom was I couldn’t see her as I had to lie perfectly still but I heard her crying. I told to stop it, it was over. The nurses told her how well I did and my mom told them how strong I was. I wondered if I got a sticker that said I didn’t take the Valium.
I laid there for an hour while another nurse, unknown name, checked my vitals and brought me warm blankets. The other nurses and the doctor were already getting the next patient into the procedure room. Mom told me to close my eyes and rest but I didn’t listen, I wanted to have my eyes open. I laid there and then I felt my lungs fill so completely with air. I have never taken such a deep breath before. I closed my eyes and rested.
After an hour of lying still, they took my IV out and had me sit up. All was good so they let me get dressed and get ready to go. When we were leaving we stopped to see Barb from Halifax who was getting ready for her treatment. I gave her a quick overview of what the procedure was like. Then we went out of the clinic and I phoned Vaun. He couldn’t believe it was all over. I gave him a quick overview and then talked to my dad.
We went back to the hotel and ordered room service for lunch. Then I had a long nap. When I woke up mom was talking about going out for supper. I just couldn’t do it. My neck was sore, I had a headache and I was so tired. So we ordered in pizza and salad. We watched a movie on T.V. and then we went to bed. It had been a long day.