CRHInv wrote:Woohoo! Good for you Mark! I am glad you continue to do so so well. Did you get that pool back up for the girls this summer? I am sure they are pleased to have you home again.
I am only at 21 months, but I am looking forward to making the same trip you are going on, but in October.
Be sure to give us the details when you get back!
Take good care,
Beth
Hi Beth! Just got home, had a terrific jaunt up the coast. Such pinpoint precision and a little luck combined into a very busy but not as harrowing as I thought kind of day. Yes, I did get the new, and much larger pool up even before starting the overtime at my job, knowing that most of the summer would be gone before I could get to it again so slaved away after work and on weekends. Kids have so much more room, even the neighborhood kids are coming over to join in sometimes!
What a day though. Had this nagging thought in the back of my head to put one of Marie's books in my carry on and a copy of my video. No sooner I sat down in my window seat, than a nice lady sits down next to me and notices my shirt (it's my sentimental shirt from my previous visit). One thing leads to another and pretty soon the plane was landing and we were still talking. I'll be emailing her some links and such, gave her that copy of the book, she happens to have a personal connection with MS/probable MS and was all ears. Hate to divulge any more without permission of course but it was a great plane ride.
Shuttle got me to the new, and I mean Stanford spared no expense kind of new, imaging center on Sherman just off El Camino. If any of you guys get sent there, fear not, it is five star all the way, even the changing room looks like your own personal lounge, it is NICE.
So they got me out of there in the customary hour and a half and just caught the Stanford V line shuttle around the corner (in front of Radio Shack FYI) which goes straight to the hospital. Very convenient and free!
But, Dr. D was caught up in a meeting so had to wait a bit, by that time I was close to my shuttle coming for the flight back so we wasted no time. Long story short, my stents are in perfecto condition, only thing he was zeroing in on was an area downstream on my right side, where the subclavian (inonimate?)vein intersects the RIJV, as he was pointing out an area where it appears a valve might be acting up. I recognized the spot immediately and will post up a pic of it later. More intriguing than anything and absence any really GOOD reason, it will probably remain as such.
Alex was jazzed to see the book (I stole a picture of her reading it haha!), but that was my autographed copy so we'll have to get her another one. After all, she's the one that scheduled just about everyone in that book eh?
Dr. Dake and I talked shop a little bit, especially since the new imaging center uses a 3T scanner so I asked if he built a new protocol and yes indeed he did, including one that *measures the flow of blood down the jugular veins!". That was a head snapper. He's going to send me something later on my measurements and such. I asked if he would be using the Haacke protocol of course and he said no. Anyways, that 3T machine is really REALLY powerful, towards the end when they did the contrast, oh man that sequence that runs right then for a continous 15 minutes makes your stomach muscles twitch and contract, very uncomfortable.
Looking through the images now, they've really improved the system substantially since 2009, now you get the whole MRI on one DVD instead of the 3-4 CD's. There's sequences on there that are new too, one is called Perfusion of all things. Not sure how to read it but the name says a lot. I'm watching the 4D flow right now, what a trip. There's another one called "rapid CBV", so much more information than before it's incredible. The Rapid CBV also has a color version. Might post up a quickie movie of that later. Would have been great to have before/after's of those particular sequences, if only the clock could be turned back! They should be very useful in the upcoming study, contrasting blood flow through the head pre-post op is a valuable piece of information is it not? I'm looking at the columned view of all the CBV scans, very impressive. Try to get those posted up too.
All I see is vast improvements across the board. He mentioned something about going over the MRV protocol with a neurologist, and all he is waiting for now of course is the neuro department to say what they want. He intimated what we all know and understand, that essentially the ball has been lobbed back in their court, and it's cut bait or fish time and they can't have it both ways, demanding "further study", then refusing to participate in one that's laid out in front of them. Bravo. Many a Dr. would have thrown in the towel already and gone back to their normal lucrative illustrious practice eh? Speaks volumes.
Anyways, my stents are great, flow is great, nothing to see here folks. I know it's not very PC nowadays to talk about how great stents are, but for some of us, they've done just fine and continue to do so.