The diagnosis of the day is cavernous hemangioma. Benign enlargement of blood vessels, in the brain or elsewhere, that fill with partially clotted blood and generally require no treatment. Sometimes they rupture, causing bleeds, but even these tend not to be catastrophic. The clots inside can enlarge with repeated bleeding, causing pressure on the brain and seizures, which of course is how they found out he had them in the first place. He has no health insurance now, but will in six more months — and while brain surgery is never a simple procedure, removal of the clot fixes the problem.
So it’s not all easy and not all done, and we aren’t even sure if it’s the exact problem, since the doctors’ previous diagnoses (wild-ass guesses?) did not inspire a tremendous degree of trust. However, if they’re correct, it’s probably the best of all possible diagnoses when finding lesions on the brain. He was doing pretty well last night according to Matt — tired from all the stuff they’ve been running him through, but in good spirits. They’ll put him on medication to prevent further seizures and send him home today, most likely. The neurologist recommended that he go see a specialist at the local regional center when he becomes insured, to see about removing the one larger clot.
Thank you for your prayers. They’re still needed.
Leave a Reply