More on meeting with Steinberg

I ran out of gas last night trying to summarize my day.

During my meeting with Dr. Steinberg and his crew (of fellows and nurses), they assured me that this surgery will allow me to return to my normal lifestyle. Every patients recovery period varies, but on average the short term period to return to work and get back to my normal energy level could vary from immediate to up to 8 - 12 weeks. It will take up to 6 months to fully recover and heal to a point where I am hoping to get back on track to the amount of exercising and activity level I was at prior to the diagnosis. I can' t wait. Ask John. He tells everyone he has to strap me down to prevent me elevating my heart rate.

Dr. Steinberg explained the surgery to us as well. He and his team will be taking a branch of my superficial temporal artery (STA) which runs along my scalp. He will take one end and stitch it to an artery on the surface of my brain. This should provide an immediate increase in blood flow to the right side of my brain. Since the artery is going from the outside to the inside of my head, I will have a permanent little hole in my skull to allow for the artery to pass through. The bone flap is put back into place with titanium screws. The only restrictions in the future will be the amount of pressure I can place on this area of my head. Steinberg recommends no scuba diving, bungee jumping, or sky diving. None of these activities were on my list of things to do anyway. I can't wear any googles or head gear that will compress the artery.

Dr. Steinberg and his crew asked whether I have had any other symptoms besides headaches. He explained the pictures from my earlier angiogram and showed how the branches from my right internal carotid artery (ICA) just stop...meaning there is hardly any blood flowing to the right side of my head. His team did emphasize how lucky I am to be diagnosed so early. By doing so, I shouldn't experience any transient ischemic attacks (TIA) or strokes that many patients do before getting diagnosed and still end up experiencing after the surgery.

This is still a little surreal to me. John and I were just up in north Georgia mountain biking two months ago. I know I was way exceeding the heart rate restrictions then. Now I'm only allowed to go walking.