Text 10755, 61 rader
Skriven 2014-03-10 23:19:42 av Nancy Backus (1:261/1381.0)
  Kommentar till text 10667 av Stephen Haffly (1:396/45.27)
Ärende: Re: status update
=========================
-=> Quoting Stephen Haffly to Nancy Backus on 08 Mar 14  10:06:44 <=-

 NB>> Hopefully by now...?  If not, I'd be checking in, even to be told
 NB>> everything is just fine...  ;)

 SH> I got a call from the cardiology clinic. There was no evidence of
 SH> arrhythmia. That is good. 

That is indeed good.  :)

 SH> The bad is that there is no approved device to close a patent
 SH> foramen ovale (the hole in the heart that is supposed to close when
 SH> we are born which in my case, is open). This opening is not uncommon,
 SH> and it does not seem to cause problems with most people. However, in
 SH> my case, it appears to have now been associated with two strokes.

Not so good.  I take it it can't (or is unwise to) be surgically closed?

 SH> Since there is no approved device to close it, I will be on some
 SH> form of anti-clotting medication, whether the low-dose aspirin I am
 SH> now taking or something else, for the indefinite future.

As long as those meds don't give you problems, that isn't all that bad. 
 
 SH> As for the driving, the wheels at DMV turn slowly. The eye clinic told
 SH> me the form would be faxed a couple of weeks ago. It apparently was
 SH> not. I contacted them and was assured it was faxed to the new number I
 SH> was given. DMV said it could take up to 48 hours for a faxed document
 SH> to show up in their systems. It then will take 4-8 weeks for them to
 SH> evaluate and make a determination. I can request them to expedite it,
 SH> in which case it will take 2-4 weeks.
 SH> The person I spoke with at the DMV said I could still drive in the
 SH> interim, but the doctor said not to drive until DMV made the
 SH> determination. As the legal liability of violating the medical
 SH> directive would be high, I am refraining from driving until that
 SH> determination is made. I am thankful we have friends who have been
 SH> willing to take us to appointments, to go shopping, etc.

Kinda a Catch-22...  But friends are a very good thing... :)  One hopes
that the DMV will move more efficiently than normal, and that you won't
be kept in limbo for too much longer... 

 SH> Otherwise, I have been feeling okay. I am waiting now on an
 SH> appointment with a neurologist to discuss whether to continue with the
 SH> aspirin or to use some other form of medication. Because these increase
 SH> the risk of bleeding, the neurologist would need to evaluate whether
 SH> the stroke area is stable enough that I would not be put at risk of a
 SH> hemorrhagic stroke on top of the ischemic stroke I had.

Quite the balancing act, isn't it... :)   I'm glad that you are feeling
ok, despite the circumstances... has the back finished healing, btw...?

I've been passing updates to my church family... they are glad to be
able to help by continuing with their prayers... and are even more glad
to hear of progress and praises... ;)

ttyl         neb

... Except for an occasional heart attack I feel as young as a teenager.
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20
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