What a trip this has been!

I woke up this morning and could not wait for my results from the MRI one second longer so I called my neurologist and asked if they were in. She said they were and that I was actually number 4 on her list of people to call, but seeing as I called her she would let me move to the top of the list. She was trying to be funny, at the moment I didn't appreciate it, now it's hilarious and honestly something I might say given the chance. It turns out there are the white spots in my brain, yes I have one, and that I do need to see where the hole in my heart is and how bad it actually is, yes I have one of those to- it's just got a hole in it. She then gives me a number to call and have the bubble test done and lets me get on with my day. How nice of her, I cried my eyes out and seriously just sobbed for about a good 2 minutes at what point Xavier seeing me crying comes up to me and hugs my legs and stars whimpering because he doesn't like seeing me upset. I sit with him on the couch and hug him and tell him it's all going to be alright, and then it hit me. It will be alright and now that I had my little pity party it was time to get on with it and see what we need to do to get this thing fixed.

I called the heart center, I can't remember the name of the center, and they scheduled me with Dr. Brian Whisenaut, MD Cardiologist and the list goes on, for June 8 at 8:30 bright and early in the morning. Well not really because I have an almost 2 year old and lets face it sometimes I wish for nap time at 8. The very nice gentleman explained what was going on and what will be happening and here is what he told me. I have what is called PFO. Basically while in the womb we all have a hole in our hearts connecting the left side and the right side to pump blood thru bypassing the lungs, obviously because we aren't using them at this point. At birth the pressure in the heart changes and the hole closes at about 18 months, now that we are using the lungs for oxygen blood no longer needs to pass thru between both sides. The right side of the heart pumping now to the lungs and the left side to the brain. They told me about 1/5 of the population has this PFO and don't even know it. If it is found at all it is at the autopsy and never repaired because there was no need to, no problem came about and so no need to go looking for it. With people like me who have migraines all the time the hole needs to be closed off so that later in life serious complications don't rise.

On June 8th at 8:30 in the morning I will be going in for an ultrasound bubble echo of my heart. An iv with agitated saline solution (think of the carbonation in Dt. Coke, those bubbles in saline) will be introduced into my blood stream and with the ultrasound they will watch for the bubbles to cross over thru the heart to the left side, the wrong side, to not only locate where it is, but how much blood is transferring back and forth. With the PFO the size of the hole isn't the real issue, the issue is the amount of blood. I could have a tiny hole and a ton of blood passing thru and I could have a huge hole and only a tiny amount passing.

To repair the hole they will administer local anesthesia to my groin upper leg location and I will be able to watch the entire procedure if I so desire. And if I want them to they will talk me thru it. Weird is all I have to say to that. I will have Valium to relax me while this is going on. If all goes well it takes between 30 minutes and no more than an hour to repair. They keep me for the day or overnight depending on the time of the procedure, mainly keeping an eye on the artery they used to plug the hole. They want to make sure it's properly stitched so it doesn't bleed and cause bigger problems.

So I have had an eventful day and am looking forward to some nice peaceful rest and a calmer day tomorrow. If you know about this procedure or about the Dr. please feel free to let me know what you know. My mom's friend knows of him and sang his praises today so that made me feel good knowing at least one person out there liked the guy and what he does. Goodnight for now and as always stay tuned!