Just returned from a great meeting with my new primary care doctor, as in he will be the one to carry me the rest of the way. Lots of really good news, thank God and all of you!

First of all, we certainly liked him as much as we were led to expect. He was kind and patient. Obviously knew what he was doing and carefully walked us through everything. We felt extremely comfortable throughout.

He reviewed all of the imaging with us, which was the third time I’ve seen them. But (and this is where things changed) he has a somewhat different view than the previous two specialists. First, and this is big, he does not believe if the thing bursts, it should be immediately lethal. It’s just not in a place to do that. He gave us a very detailed description of exactly what is happening and where it is. Yes, it would not be a good thing at all and could be complicated but probably not lethal. That’s huge.

Second, he concurs with the present course of aspirin as a blood thinner and is very pleased I have not had any significant episodes or reactions in the past month. He is puzzled by the low grade headache and heaviness but says that is probably because the aneurysm is pressing on some nerves. I may be trying some nerve medicine to alleviate that.

Third, he said these things can heal. He explained how that happens. I’m ok with his explanation. If you’re reading this, you know where we stand on God’s ability in this. Please do not cease praying!

Fourth, my risk right now is in small blood clots forming. He doesn’t believe a massive stroke is something to be overly concerned about but it’s possible I’ll have those very small strokes called TIAs, that are typically short lived. He told us what to watch out for. If one happens, I’ll go to the ER and he will be summoned.

Fifth, and this is also very big, he has a Plan B. Unlike what we were led to believe, he does believe he has the skills and ability to go in and stent or coil the artery. He does not recommend it at this time, due to the risk of creating blood clots and a stroke, even though he thinks those risks are relatively small. We’re extremely relieved to know there IS a Plan B. There’s even a Plan C, which I had not heard of, is more invasive and has a 75% chance of working as opposed to 95% in Plan B. I’m Ok with Plan C in an emergency situation.

So, what does this mean for us now?

(1) Stay the course. Keep on the aspirin. New MRI in another four or five months. If it appears to be healing, that’s great. Keep doing the same. If it hasn’t changed or has become worse, probably consider implementing Plan B.

(2) Start returning to some kind of normal activity, within reason and some boundaries. In other words, I can begin some light exercising and see how that sits. Wow! He says, unfortunately, there is not a lot of literature on how activity affects my relatively rare problem. Maybe he can get a journal article out of it!

(3) He doesn’t want me spending any time at 10,000 feet in the near future (sorry Browers) but it’s ok to go to Idyllwild and he sees no reason we should cancel our long-planned anniversary trip to Europe this summer. Hooray!

We had prayed for hope and a good relationship with a doctor we can trust. He made sure we met his chief nurse, who said she’d be available to talk at any time. I’m sure he would, as well. We are a bit emotionally drained but feel that the course has shifted. While we have not lived in fear and our anxiety level has been extremely low, we have felt a heavy burden. That burden is not gone but today was the first day since the beginning where we are confident we have the information we need to go forward effectively AND there is a plan that makes sense.

Simply, our hope barometer just shot up!

Thank you, all. Thank you, Jesus.

Love,

Brad and Diane