So, I guess I must have misunderstood the Doctor, previously. I thought that they were going to do an M.R.I. , read it, and THEN do a Four-Vessel Angiogram. NOPE! They were doing BOTH tests! The Four-Vessel Angiogram is a procedure where the enter the artery near the groin and go up into her chest with a catheter and release dye into the blood stream. This allows them to see the actual blood flow and highlights the blood vesssels. What they were looking for is the blood flow into the brain, as well as any areas that could be blocked-off. They thought that they would see areas around the Brain Bleed where it was still bleeding, however, they found that the brain bleed was actually stable and healing. What they DID find was that Wendy has a dissection (tear) of both carotid arteries feeding her brain. I am not sure if they are the Internal or External Carotid Arteries, or both, however, it is at least one on each side of her neck.
The doctors said that this is a rare injury that happens if there is a "twisting" motion at impact. I think that Wendy saw that she was about to be hit and rolled to her right as her vehicle was struck. This would mean that she was facing the passenger door, looking over her shoulder at the time of impact, which would have nearly snapped her neck. (It is amazing that no bones or cartilige was broken in her cervical-spine (neck)). I had mentioned that Wendy seemed disoriented after she got out of bed to use the restroom or after Physical Therapy. The Doctors thought that this was attributed to the brain bleed, but, in fact, it was due to the dissected carotids causing limited blood flow to her brain. This is a serious "find" because, if they had gone ahead and moved her to a room and continued Physical Therapy, she could have had a stroke... or worse.
So, here's the treatment plan... They have started her on a Heprine drip to help keep her blood from clotting. It was explained to me like this ... the blood has a straight path to follow, normally. Right now, this path is kind of a "Zig-Zag", so, it causes "turbulence", which can also cause clots. A clot this close to the brain could be disasterous,so, they are using the Heprin to control clotting or "thin" her blood. Now, this presents another problem ... if the blood in her body is TOO thin, it could cause the Brain Bleed to bleed again. So, the Doctors are starting-out slow and balancing Risk vs. Benefit. The plan is to let the Heprin keep the clotting to a minimum and they will check her arteries in one week to see if the arteries have repaired themselves. If they have NOT repaired themselves, they will have to surgically go-in and put external stints on them. We will know the results of the M.R.I. tomorrow as well, which should give us a clearer picture of what is going-on.
Wendy is currently sleeping soundly, but because she is now on Heprin, they have to analyze her blood every six hours. (They have to wake her up, if she's asleep, and I don't like that, but it's what has to be done.)
Please pray for expedited healing in her arteries as well as her brain.
Tomorrow is a new day!
Thanks,
Shawn
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