A little history...

I thought it might be good to say a little about the history of this aneurysm and why I'm having surgery in September, and not now, or sooner.

Doctors found my large aneurysm in 2009 by accident. I had no symptoms. It was found by chance on a brain scan I was having for another - unrelated - reason. And doctors saw the aneurysm. I had coiling probably a month later to repair that large 1cm aneurysm.

Then after I moved to San Diego in 2010 I had a follow up brain angiogram and the doctors here noticed I had a small 2mm aneurysm in a nearby location to the other. I don't know why the initial doctors, who I trusted greatly, didn't mention this smaller one; perhaps they were distracted by the very large one. I don't know. But my current neurosurgeon has been "keeping an eye" on this smaller one in the yearly brain angiograms I've had since 2011. It has not changed. But, it's not in a good place. And it's an aneurysm in my brain.

My neurosurgeon recently evaluated my case with two other neurosurgeons at UCSD. One is the head of neurosurgery there, and at least two are from John's Hopkins (including mine), an amazing medical center. Two out of those three suggested I have surgery now. The other recommended "wait and see" if the aneurysm grows.

It is not likely that anything is imminently going to happen, but there is always a risk of aneurysm rupture (about 1% per year, getting more as you age), and the surgery is a more or less "permanent fix" to the situation, and I can go on to live a long healthy happy life into old age until I die of something else.


But lets be honest. I have mental health issues. I'm working hard lately to finally NOT have mental health issues, but I have some mortality issues because of some of my early experiences with loved ones dying. And I have a lot of fears that I live with daily about this aneurysm, which I try to be very "Zen" about, but man, I would really rather be thinking of other things. And I'd like to be free of that mental clutter. And I don't want my husband, my family or Dante to worry and have their own fears.


Again, there is nothing immediately wrong with me. So, I am "waiting" until September to have the surgery, which combines a bit of all of the advice. 

As my mom said, when she was trying to grasp this whole thing, said insightfully, "It is kinda like what Angelina Jolie did. You do it to prevent something horrible from happening." Yes there are risks to what I'm doing. But I have great doctors and this procedure has been around a long time and has been greatly improved in modern times.

So I am doing this after I graduate from Acupuncture school in late August (2014, this year!). My acupuncture license exam is February (2015), so that leaves plenty of time to recover and be thriving again for Licensure. Then, it's starting acupuncture practice. Lots coming up, lots of life to live. So, I'm having this surgery to I can keep living this awesome life without the fears, or the actuality, of the unmentionable happening.