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Valorie’s
Arterio Venous Malformation
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Related Sites: Accuray, Inc. CyberKnife Coalition CyberKnife Society |
I have an Arteriovenous malformation, AVM, with four feeders that is located inside my spinal cord at cervical 2 & 3. An AVM is a mass of veins and arteries that lack a capillary bed. The AVM has bled three times: 2/1/69 age 13, 3/28/87 age 31, and on 5/6/96 age 40. I
was treated with the CyberKnife on the following days: 7/24/97, 7/30/97, 7/31/97
& 8/1/97.
In Feb. 1969 my AVM bled for the first time. I was washing my hair in the kitchen sink when suddenly I felt extreme pain on the back of my neck. It was as if someone kept stabbing me with a knife over and over. Next, my neck felt as if it was on fire and my body shook with spasms for about an hour. Finally, the right side of my body went numb. My parents thought I had thrown a vertebra out in my back. After several days with no improvement they took me to see a chiropractor. He tortured me for awhile and then advised my parents to take me to a neurologist. On my 13th birthday I checked into the hospital and was put into traction. The nurses had a hard time adjusting the chin and neck straps and I was miserable with tears of pain streaming down my face. In the next week I was poked, prodded and pinched and then given a spinal tap. The results showed bleeding in my spinal cord and the doctors wanted to perform exploratory surgery on me. They said that my right side would be paralyzed for life. My parents rejected exploratory surgery and took me home. Over the course of a year I recovered from the bleed and tried to live as normal a life as possible, always with a dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over me. In March 1987,
at age 31, I had a second bleed. I was playing with my one-year-old daughter
in the front yard when I felt that familiar stabbing on the back of my neck.
I quickly called family for help and then lay down on the couch while my right
side once again fell asleep. This time technology had advanced to where I
was given a MRI scan. The doctors put a cervical collar on me and put me on
steroids. They said I had an inoperable AVM inside my spinal cord at C2 and
C3. It would leave me paralyzed for life if they tried to remove it so there
was nothing they could do to cure me. They thought that I would not regain
use of my right side and advised me to not get pregnant again, keep my blood
pressure down, and avoid stress. For the next
eight years I lived with my pain. My right side never fully recovered. I had
constant headaches and an ache in my neck as if a stack of books sat on my
head, always the feeling of pressure. The day finally came. On July 3, 1997 Dr. Adler with his team began preparing for my surgery. My experience with the CyberKnife was awesome! With the CyberKnife being relatively new, and me being the first patient to be treated for a spinal cord AVM, there were certainly “bugs” to work through. When I first saw the CyberKnife it looked like something out of the future space age. It was slightly nerve wracking seeing the floor and ceiling panels torn up and wires everywhere and was amusing to see the team of doctors running around with screwdrivers in their pockets. Nalani Brown, Surgical Specialist, was my lifeline to sanity. She took exquisite care of me, and was reassuring, gentle and sensitive to my needs. I was definitely a challenge for the team. They had to figure out how to image me because my bones were not normal due to the abnormal spinal cord around the AVM. But perseverance must be Dr. Adler’s middle name. They succeeded in overcoming all obstacles in the way. The immobilization face mask was only slightly uncomfortable and I liked being able to see through it to watch the CyberKnife. I didn’t feel the radiation at all and time went by quickly. The hardest part of the surgery was overcoming my own fear. I took it easy the next three years, with no side effects from surgery. Then in August 2000 my MRI and angiogram showed 75% shrinkage to my AVM. The surgery had worked but I still needed to get rid of that last 25%. The following month I had my second bout with the CyberKnife. I could definitely see the improvement made on the procedure, everything went smoother and faster. Dr. Adler, Nalani Brown, Dr. Chang, Dr. Hancock and Dr. Martin were smooth operators and kept me smiling. I feel 100% secure with this wonderful team of brilliant people. The CyberKnife has been my beacon of hope to live a normal life without fear of paralysis. Hopefully my AVM will be gone for good in two years and I will no longer be a walking time bomb! Update on May 26, 2003 It’s hard to believe that almost three years have passed since my last CyberKnife treatment. I am doing great! I have not suffered any more bleeds or any adverse side effects from the CyberKnife treatment. In September 2001, I had an MRI with dye contrast. The results showed that the AVM was continuing to shrink. Prior to treatment my AVM was about the size of my thumb. In September 2001, it was approximately the size of a pencil eraser. (The Discovery Health Channel recorded my story and MRI results in a program called "Super Surgeries" which aired last year. To view this program click on the link listed below, and then click on the video "Discovery Channel-Health" ) I am having my 3 year post treatment Angiogram done at Stanford Medical Center on August 15, 2003. Update on August 15, 2003 It’s been six years since my first CyberKnife treatment, three years since my second treatment, and I have fantastic news. My angiogram showed a huge change in my spinal cord AVM! Six years ago it was the size of my thumb and had 4 feeders. Now it is the size of my baby finger nail and only has 2 feeders. Also, the smallest and most dangerous veins that are susceptible to bleeds are gone! My spinal cord surrounding the AVM is no longer extremely "fat" or misshapen like it used to be. I am so thankful for CyberKnife and everyone who’s involved with it! To see MRI scans and the angiogram of my AVM click here To read my medical case study by Dr. John Adler please click here News articles: Stanford Report July 25, 2001: "Patients gather to praise minimally invasive technique used in treating tumors"
Ateriovenous Malformation Information: For information regarding AVM please visit the CyberKnife Society (That’s
me in the MRI’s and angiogram pictures of "CyberKnife® radiosurgery
of a spinal AVM")
Your comments are welcome, email me at www.valoried@comcast.net
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