CSF Leak, Bedrest and Grays Anatomy

Apparently the jokes on me. How many of you saw it coming?

After carefully planning my polka dot drawers, I mustered up all of my self confidence, rolled into the Cath Lab, put on my gown… and was delicately informed that “panties must be removed so they can get to my femoral artery (in the groin)”. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT??????????????????????????

Dammit. I also didn’t expect a 70 year old nurse with a pair of clippers to give me matching lightening bolts. Ahem. Thank you so very much (thank you, NOT thank you as Hugo would say).

SO the good news is the my carotid seems to be healing. Yay. The bad news is that the sticky tape over the incision is like 4″ across and pulling it off is likely going to hurt more than the incision. Seriously people, could you not offer a smidge of empathy here?

I have a lumbar puncture on Monday to check for a suspected CSF leak (spinal fluid leak). Seriously? For REALS? And about a dozen more MRI’s with contrast. My poor toxified system. But at least a spinal fluid leak explains all my symptoms. That’s good news. If we could finally nail down the cause I’ll be SO grateful. Dizzy. Nausea. Confused. Headaches from hell. Tingling limbs. All check out for a leak.

So between the Angio yesterday and the Lumbar Puncture Monday, I’m in for at minimum of 5 days flat on my back bed rest. Hellloooo HULU. Considering my eyes don’t work so well for reading (this blog post has taken like an hour) I might as well catch up on Grays Anatomy so I can impress everyone at the hospital with my amazing knowledge of terminology. 5 days of me and Christina Yang…Nothing do they love more than wanna be MD’s that read Wikipedia, WebMD and watch Grays. I figure I might as well Deliver Happiness to the hospital team. They deserve a good laugh…. plus, I’m pretty sure they’ll let me keep my drawers on for the Lumbar Puncture, and Delivering Happiness gives me something to look forward to, so there!

Did I mention I have a flight on Wednesday to Orlando for an event and mastermind session in a huge house with my mentors and 20 team members that I’ve been looking forward to, and manifesting for MONTHS??

Is it realistic to contemplate getting off a spinal poke Tuesday night and fly Weds afternoon? Isn’t that why you can get airline employees to push wheelchairs? I mean, isn’t it?

Course, with a spinal fluid leak you have to lay completely flat. Can’t raise my head a smidge or I get a lightening rod through my noggin, + dizzy + nauseous. Think I’d cause a stir if I asked them to push a gurney instead of a wheelchair? Really, I’m fine (kind of) if I lay absolutely completely flat…. My husband thinks I’m not very funny.

What do you think? Anyone got my back? I should be able to go to Orlando, right?

Create your Sunshine Life… today.

~CloverSunshine