Wednesday Update: 5/30/07

Well, our trip to Iowa City went well yesterday. Matt had an MRI in the morning, then we met with the neuro doctors in the afternoon to discuss. Basically, the MRI looks ‘good’. And by good, they say that it looks better than the angiogram did last winter. Apparently, the small vessels which still have blow flowing through them now appear smaller than they did in the angiogram. Because the flow is less, the likelihood of a rebleed is less…so we all agreed to follow it a little longer, rather than try and treat it just yet. We had the opportunity to explain just how awful our experience was to the doctor, and it felt really good to lay it out there and just spew about how bad it was. He was pretty wide eyed after that, I think we surprised him with our honesty!! We all decided to repeat another MRI in another 6 months, and see how things look then. If there are changes, we’ll have to discuss treatment…if it appears stable, we may just follow it with repeat MRIs for a while. I think we all felt good with that decision.

Today, we met with the neurologist here in Des Moines to talk about Matt’s tremor medication. We are still not satisfied with the effectiveness of the current meds. So, we are going to wean Matt off of one, to see if there are any effects. Then we are going to see how the next several weeks go, and touch base again in early July. At that time, we have another medication we may try. She explained that there are other classes of medications we could try, but that they have more negative side effects which she thinks would inhibit Matt’s recovery more than the tremor…so we’ll see how things go. Overall, she thinks the tremor is improved, but appreciates how much it drives him crazy at times. She said that his tremor is one of the most difficult types to treat, naturally. Why does it seem that all of Matt’s ‘issues’ are so difficult to treat? Sheesh. We trust her judgment though, and will work together with her guidance to treat the tremor.

Comments

Carrie Anne - The Beginning of the Story

So, I’ve been trying to sort out how to start this story. It’s been difficult to articulate. Difficult to pick which details to share, and which to hold close. But it’s a story too good, too beautiful, not to share – so here goes! When Matt and I first became parents, we thought our family was complete. We envisioned raising Ethan surrounded by loving friends and family – just the two of us. Given all that we had gone through to finally become parents, we felt content with just the one child. The most adorable boy in the whole wide world. Our Ethan was the apple of our eyes – the most amazing gift. We marveled at all of his accomplishments, soaked up all his love and personality, and celebrated the joy of parenthood at every exhausting, wonderful turn. Along the way, we’ve built a strong and loving relationship with Ethan’s birthmother. We visit yearly, and stay in close contact with pictures, emails, and texts. I have attempted to describe my feelings for her many times over the

I may as well tell you...

I had a miscarriage. I’ve debated for weeks whether or not to acknowledge it publicly. It’s such a personal thing…and this is such a public medium. But a few months have gone by and I’m no closer to feeling ok about it and truly nothing else on my mind really compares, so here I am, letting the world in on my secret. Over the past few weeks I’ve found very little comfort in the fact that only a small handful of people know about the miscarriage. It became nearly unbearable this week, during all our wonderful family Christmas celebrations. Being surrounded by so many people who love me and support me and have no idea how my heart has been broken – it’s a lonely place to be. Not that I would want them all to bombard me with pity or questions or sad looks in their eyes – I realize I can’t have it both ways. But a little acknowledgement goes a long way and I simply can’t ignore or deny the fact that something major happened in my life and impacted me, impacts me still. It was a warm

WE'RE ADOPTING!!

Bah! I said it…er wrote it…out loud. There it is, in black and white for the world to see. (Pause for a drink and a breath) Matt and I are in the very early stages of planning to adopt. We have had a few meetings with an adoption agency, we are gathering the necessary information, and we are making plans to get this ball officially rolling SOON. It has been a very long and winding road to get us to this point, and honestly I never thought we’d get here. Adoption isn’t what we started out hoping for. It isn’t where we thought we’d end up. But here we are – gearing up for what will surely be a life-changing experience for us with hearts full of hope and excitement. The topic of adoption has come up in the past, but we quickly dismissed it for one reason or another. Matt and I have had our fair share of insecurities about whether or not adoption would be a good option for us. Who would look at our family profile and pick us?? It was a burning question that we probably still have

Karwoski Life

Search This Blog