Monday, July 14, 2008

Becca Update

Most of you know that my sister Becca has been going through some serious medical stuff this month. It all started over a month ago while she was subbing. She texted me saying that she was having trouble writing--weird! My parents wound up taking her to the hospital later that day. She was having a hard time using her hands at all, and her speech was very slow. In fact, at one point, she couldn't talk at all. That weekend was a series of tests: CAT scans and MRI's. She was discharged that Monday. We were told that these was a lesion on her brain, and that it was most likely a non-cancerous brain tumor.  The other likely possibility was that she had had a stroke. They needed to wait a month to determine which it was. So, the past month has been spent waiting, praying, and TRYING not to worry. This week we found out that she does not have a brain tumor. After two more tests, they have determined that she either had a brain aneurysm or an AVM.( This is a kind of stroke caused by a defect in veins formed during infancy. They can, but don't always, rupture eventually.) So, either way, something ruptured and caused bleeding in her brain, which caused swelling, which caused the symptoms that sent her to the hospital. We were actually relieved to get this news. Obviously these are both serious things, but the fact that it already happened, and Becca is ok and suffered no permanent damage is really amazing. It is crazy to think what could have happened. It is also a relief to know more of what is going on after battling the"what if''s" every night when I went to sleep this past month. It's hard not to think about worst case scenarios when you don't know anything for certain. She is having another test tomorrow which will hopefully determine exactly what happened,and what they need to do about it. She may need to have some kind of surgery to clean up or repair the damage. She really hopes that she won't.  I will definitely write another update when we know more. Thank you so much for the prayers that you have said for Becca, me, and my family this past month. I truly appreciate it. It has been hard, but I am thankful to know that so many people care and are there for us. 

7 comments:

Lisa P said...

Thanks for the update...I am glad to know how to pray more specifically. This has been an emotional month, both highs and lows, for you all!

johnsonandjohnson said...

I second Lisa....we'll continue praying specifically for Becca and your family.

Brazenlilly said...

There ARE a lot of people that care about Becca and the rest of your family. Thanks so much for the update...she's been in my prayers and will continue to be while the dr.s figure this out. In the meantime...maybe we can have more pics of Madeline? ;)

Diane Davis said...

Yes, thanks for the update. I've been thinking a lot about Becca and your whole family.

On another note regarding your comment on Jen's blog. Madeline is going to be so mad at you when she grows up if she doesn't have any pictures with you because you feel fat. She'll be in therapy talking about how her mother must not have loved her and how she has attachment issues in life because there are no pictures of her being held or rocked by her mommy! Just do it! ;)

edie said...

Thanks for the update on Becca, Steph. What an emotional time for all of you. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers - you are very loved!

Adopted... said...

I 'randomly' found your blog yesterday. Please go to fmdsa.org, they have so much information on this disease and anyone with the disease must educate themselves. There is also a yahoo health group for support as well.

Kind regards,
Dickons

venicebum said...

hi, happy to find your blog. i am recent survivor of this exact same thing. here are two sites that may interest you. one is a support group site for people with avm's. we all help each other and explain our story to comfort others who are going through this.
if you have any questions please ask me.
andrea@sternrep.com
sites:
http://www.avmsurvivors.org/profile/AndreaStern
http://neurosurgery.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=694