May 1st, the morning of my baby shower. It was supposed to be a very exciting day.. 

At 3 am, I sat up immediately and felt a pain in the back of my head, I couldn't see. I blinked as hard as I could and tried again but my eyes weren't able to focus. I waited a couple moments to catch my breath (sitting up when you're 8 months pregnant is a lot of work) and then I started to feel sick. One eye closed, I woke up my husband and he helped me to the bathroom.  After hours of my symptoms not getting better, we went to the hospital. They did a ton of tests on the baby, realizing he was completely happy and healthy and then sent me home saying it was “just stress”, to take it easy and things should get better.

Two days later, without anything getting better I was back at the hospital. This time I didn't leave until we saw a neurologist. After hours of waiting, with one eye shut closed to help my vision, headache, and nausea, we started our 6th round of hangman on the whiteboard of the hospital room, never imagining what was to come. Finally, the doctor came in, I will never forget those words spoken from his lips… “I’m afraid you’ve had a stroke, we need to get you to CT to confirm” I looked at Howard in shock, unaware of what our future held.

After a MRI and CT scan we confirmed that I had an Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the lower left cerebellum of my brain. I was immediately transferred to UC Davis hospital. We spent 7 days in the ICU not knowing what was going to happen. It was THE LONGEST WEEK OF MY LIFE. After an angiogram and a couple days to come up with a treatment plan, we were released and sent on our way home with a scheduled C-section in 4 weeks!

A month later, and not on his scheduled date, Baby Leland was born. Happy and healthy as can be!  

After a couple months of adjusting to becoming a family of three, we started our 1st of 2 rounds of Gamma knife radiation. Since then, I have completed both rounds of radiation and now we are monitoring my AVM with imaging every 6 months. To be continued…

It's a constant struggle, between the everyday headaches and vision problems. I wake up everyday feeling like I'm on a cruise ship with the worst hangover, trying to find my balance. I am thankful for all my friends and family, this year hasn't been easy. The support for Howard and I has not gone unnoticed. Thank you TAAF for welcoming me and being there for me in more ways than you know. AND THANK YOU to everyone that donates!

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