Brain Surgery for this husband and dad of 7 kids 11 and under?! 

I worked as an ICU nurse in Neurosurgery for >30 years and want to assure you that surgery is the best option. Every time a cavernoma bleeds, it irritates brain tissue, causing the brain to swell. Your brain is in a closed box (your skull) and when it swells, it decreases brain function, causes extreme drowsiness, unrelieved headaches and some confusion/memory loss. It takes months for that blood to reabsorb and that process reirritates the brain, causing a reoccurance of those symptoms (like when a body bruise turns from blue-black to green to yellow--the breakdown of bruise blood takes weeks). Surgery can successfully remove the cavernoma but there is a recovery time from the surgery too. You are wise to have it removed to prevent future rebleeds. Surrender to God's plan and your surgeon's experience.

I’m so glad your condition turned out to be what it was. My husband just started to forget things but never had any pain. He was diagnosed with three inoperable glioblastomas. He lived nine months and I lost him three years ago at a very young age 74. My prayers go out to your beautiful family.❤️

Your video came up for me to watch. I wanted to share. I'm a mom to 8. One of my son's was diagnosed with medulloblastoma ( brain cancer) at the age of 13. He had brain surgery, chemo and radiation for almost 3 years. It broke my mommy heart that I couldn't fix him with my mommy love but through it all I kept the faith. With no help I juggled the other kiddos, a new baby and pretty much lived in the hospital. Miracles do happen. My son is now a Nurse. God watch over you, your family and the medical team who will rid you of the cancer. I'm here if you need a friend or any questions. I have many tricks up my sleeve to get through brain cancer treatment. Just ask. Much love and prayers.

I have been in extreme suffering for the past 3 years. Neurological, brain, immune system, and lost my normal vision where I cannot drive and can barely ride in the car. We are the same season of life that you are in with young kids and ministry and man it is rough💔 I went from full time mom and ministry to housebound and broken. I'm really sorry that you are facing this also. I will be praying for your healing and God's mercy for you and your family. We also have faced financial challenges because of all the thousand in medical bills and we lost everything to my sickness, so we know what that feels like. May the Lord show His incredible love and kindness to us all through our healing. ❤️ Praying for you

My husband had brain surgery in 2019 for seizures and we would make the same decision if we had to go back. It was worth it. He has been seizure free for 2 years after dealing with them for most of his life. Praying for y’all

Waymaker, Promise Keeper, Miracle Worker, Light in the Darkness. He has got this! Bless you all. Xo

I have a different brain condition, I've had brain surgery, and I am also retired from the medical field. First of all, you did the right thing, I too researched and consulted with multiple neurosurgeons and picked the best specialist for my condition and traveled from Texas to North Carolina so many times, including for two surgeries. Second of all, the whole mess of dealing with doctors, and the issues with care is nothing new, it's been like that forever and you are absolutely doing the right thing. I went into surgery with my entire surgical team praying with me as I held my mothers Bible. Just be sure to take time to heal, don't overdo it afterwards and you will be good!

As a nurse I’ve seen brain surgery and it is amazing how much it heals those who wouldn’t do well otherwise. Praying for you and the staff as you have surgery and recover. God bless!!

My daughter was diagnosed with hydrocephalus at the age of 37. She had been having horrible headaches and the doctors just thought she was looking for drugs. It was one of her students parent, who is a PA that stood up and asked the doctor to do a CT because he knew my daughter and knew the type of person she was and the great teacher she was. After the CT they discovered the hydrocephalus and she was scheduled for surgery. It was a long process and she still has headaches especially when the pressure in the air changes but we are so grateful to the PA that stood up for her. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers 🙏🏻 Merry Christmas and may your New year bring health and happiness to you and your family ❤️🙏🏻🎄

Old nurse here.........always follow your gut instincts, your feelings about your experiences are completely valid. I wish you compassionate medical staff as well as prayers for you and your family.

Your channel was recommended to me by RU-vid. I have been chronically ill for nearly 16 years. My spouse had a dehiscence (of his ear) which required brain surgery. Here’s what I’ve learned. God cares, and He opens doors. I’ve added you to my prayer list and will be storming heaven. It’s going to be okay. Big hugs to you and your kiddos. 🙏🏻💜

The connection you feel and the trust you have with your doctor is the most important thing. I have had brain surgery. It was hard the first few days but my doctor was beside me each day and encouraging me and telling me what I was experiencing was normal and part of the recovery from the surgery. Every day and even twice a day he was there for me. It was rough for 3 or 4 days but then each day after I felt better. Stay strong. God will see you through.

Your story is soo familiar. In 2015.. I’m 45 years old Headache, vomiting, jibberish speaking. The whole 9yards I had a 5 cm test in Left rear lobe. The words BRAIN HEMORRHAGE after an MRI at 2 am. At hemorrhagic stroke. praise God, I’m healed! GOD BLESS YOU SIR!

We have ten children. I just found out while I had covid in June that I had a colloid cyst in the third ventricle. It was an incidental find but actually may have saved my life. I saw a neurosurgeon in July who ordered more testing. I had brain surgery in August. I was very nervous about the recovery and overall I am doing fairly well. It is a hard choice. I am so grateful I went through with the surgery.

7 brain surgeries under my belt. Just found your channel. You are in my prayers. I currently have a VA shunt that drains pressure/fluid from my brain.

Praying for you guys as you prepare for your surgery! We are here if you need anything at all!

Praying for Michael, for Ariel and the kids, and for the surgeon and his team. I’m also praying that the surgery is a success and that you’ll have a speedy recovery. 🙏🏼💕

I really hope doctors and nurses (the ones who are jaded) can try to really empathize with people truly suffering medical issues right now and waiting long periods for care. It’s amazing how dismissive doctors have been here in CA and the good ones are few and far between. I’m sure it’s happening everywhere. I wish you guys the best and hope you have the medical care you deserve! I’m so glad y’all listen to your body and advocate!

Hi guys, Donna from Brisbane Australia here. Came across your video when I went down the rabbit hole of youtube this evening (Boxing Day). Gonna be praying for you all, for God's grace in everything you need to face as a family, and as a patient. Sending you warm love and hugs from sunny Queensland. Donna and Boys xx

Praying for your family, Michael's healing, and Michael's medical team. God bless you all.

You both are making decisions in an educated manner which is always best. Be your own advocate is super important. Always go to the best healthcare providers that you can. If you hear no and you feel differently than get more options. I personally know about having serious health issues. Being your own advocate and knowing your body and symptoms, making sure you completely understand your options and diagnosis through reputable sources is all key for your best treatments and return to your best health.

Wow, it’s 3:00 in the morning and I found you on the day of your surgery. I’m so glad I did. I will be praying for you both, your children, your family and for your medical team. It would be my honor. Your great attitude and your doctors as well will make a huge difference. Keep us posted. 💙😇🙏🏻

My niece has a cavernous malformation. Hers bled really bad when she was 21. She coded three times. She made a full recovery, finished nursing school without missing a semester, is married and just had her second child. When she first had her bleed, it was inoperable because it was in the center of her brain. Her neurosurgeon is amazing and they now have a surgery where he can repair it if it bleeds again. God has blessed her and our family. Wishing you the best of luck and praying for you.

Prayers for you, your surgeon and his team and your family! Praying for complete healing!

I have survived a massive intracranial aneurysms that started bleeding, at the age of 30…. By the grace of our Lord, my brain bleed disappears in 24 hours after the stabilizing stent was places. Recovery was slow but i was still able to take care of my babies! God is good, He will lead you through this 🙏….. almost 3 years down… i still have some fatigue and i am more fragile but i found peace with it and God, I bring it all to Him and all I receive back - you are strong! He is encouraging and He gives the strength 🙏 sometimes our biggest struggles are the biggest blessings 🙏 God bless you and your family! 🤍🙏

Neuro Surgeons are artists when it comes to brain surgery. They are so darn talented. It sounds scary, but it actually doesn’t hurt. My husband had his brain surgery at UCSF, CA., and the surgeons are phenomenal. Bless you. You are loved and God is with with you.

Sending prayers. I’m thankful for your network of viewers. I’m so glad you found the right doctor to see the importance of repairing your brain now and not waiting.

My 80 year old FIL had brain surgery this month of a tumor that had deadened his leg for months. He was walking praise the Lord 2 weeks later and today he walks unassisted. You’ve got this and my prayers. I am retired from the medical profession. Now is not a good time around the JC area. Many workers chose medical autonomy and Ballad shut down the level one in Kingsport and now JC gets trauma all the way from Rogersville. A lot of staff is traveling nurses and the waiting rooms are horrible. Glad you are heading to FL!!!

God bless this beautiful family. You both made the right decision and saved so much aggravation, pain and God knows what else. You were guided by the good Lord and you followed, blessings.

If I remember correctly, you all use Samaritan Ministries. Isn't it wonderful that you can go wherever you want, rather than having to use the Dr's in your network? Praying for a quick recovery and full healing!

I am so happy you have a decision with a Dr with caring and capable surgery skills ! Praying for you all and your medical staff 🙏🏻💕

Keeping y’all in our prayers!❤

Wife, mom, believer and Floridian here praying for you and your family!!! ❤❤❤

Sending prayers, love, and healing! That this surgery ends all the side affects your experiencing. And that your healing leads you to a new, healthier and even more able body to live, learn and thrive with your family! ❤

Look at God work ❤️❤️ continued prayers for Michael going through this, Ariel as the spouse watching this and picking up the slack while Michael is going through this and your children having to watch their dad go through this.

Just seen your post on Instagram that you were out of surgery so I then came here to your RU-vid to find out why you had surgery. I’m so glad you chose surgery and that your surgery went well. A few lessons with your journey is that getting 2nd 3rd opinions is a great idea with something so major. The other is that we’re all human and make mistakes even doctors and nurses. Although, I work in the ER around nurses and doctors and some do become jaded and have no empathy. Some are straight up terrible. Glad you had a great experience in Florida and had the best doctor to perform your surgery! Hope you get to feeling better soon!!!

I wish you and your wife a speedy recovery. Be well. What a gift to have a doctor you trust and is compassionate. 🌹God will be with you and your family

Good luck with the surgery Michael, so brave. Think about all that is in your future pathway - be positive - be strong - be grateful in all that is LIFE ♥️

Praying for you and your family. I understand you completely and your condition. I'm a clinic manager for an OB/GYN clinic and had been having a horrible headache for a few days and the doctors I work for made me go next door to the hospital because they stated that I looked like something was wrong. I went over to the ER and had a CT scan suddenly; the stroke team came in said I had a CCM with a large bleed and due to this I was having a stroke. This was a shock for me. They got the bleed stopped and I'm back at 90% again. So just know the brain fog does get better. I'm glad you have found a great healthcare provider to help you with this journey. God will carry you and your family through this.

Praying for you for a speedy recovery.

Praying for fast and complete healing and recovery for you, Michael, and praying for your whole family too ❤️🙏 God bless you all!

I finally got to take a moment and watch this. I’m so glad you guys did more research and didn’t listen to the first set of doctors. Keeping you all in my prayers

Sending prayers. You are so right about healthcare workers. It’s mostly the younger generations who don’t want to go that extra step. I was in healthcare and when I would train people I would always tell them you treat the patient like your own family and how you want to be treated You truly have to advocate for yourself anymore

Also I love your love! I love how close Ariel is holding you right now. Sending all the good vibes!

Bless it all! Surgery day is almost here! Keeping you, your family, the doctors and nurses and everyone in my prayers. Y'all are one of my favorites, God Bless.

i've had four brain surgeries for my hydrocephalus and one piece of advice is you willget through this and make sure rest and take it slow as you navigate this

I have a brain cyst that caused hydrocephalus. I’ve had 2 brain surgeries. It’s not a fun recovery, but soooo worth it. I’m in FL, and am happy to come sit with Ariel so she’s not alone. To pray with her. Distract her. However she can use help and support. Praying!!!

Keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers. We have had quite a few medical issues in our family and know that there are good doctorss and not so good doctors. It's very important to advocate for ourselves and family including researching the medical issue. Hoping you have a very successful surgery and recovery.

Praying for complete healing and the Father’s continued provision

I’m in the process of making the same decision for 2 CCMs. Thanks for making this video and prayers to you and your family!

Curiosity made me watch your video, now I've subscribed! Please keep us all up to date and best of luck. Positive thoughts and prayers coming to you and your family from Connecticut!

You both have such a great attitude about all of this! It is clear that you have the peace of our Lord! Praying for your entire family!!❤

I’m sorry you and your family are going through this. In feb 2023, I had a stroke caused by a burst blood vessel and had a craniotomy as a result. 15 months later. I’m still on a recovery journey to regain my life as I reinvent myself. Always looking forward for what’s to come and being grateful for the blessings I’ve received since having my stroke. Prayers for your health and recovery.

What a beautiful, beautiful family! Love your instagram page. You both inspire so many. My heart was pounding when the news of your surgery was mentioned. You are in God’s hands. Have Faith because you have so much more to share and achieve. Praying for the entire family. You will all come out on the other side stronger and greater.

Lifting you & your wife & family up in Prayer right now ! 💗🙏

I came across your shorts and then this video and I have headaches nonstop and now it makes me think it might not be stress? And the "fog brain" I have due to PTSD they say, from listening to my son shoot himself over the phone. And I have a low iron problem and today I felt sick and so tired just like that. Too tired to drive home after getting sent home from work. I told a girl I work with today " look they didn't mow under the trashcan" and meant picnic table. And I do that often. I think I'll get checked out better! Thank you for sharing and possibly helping even if it's not the same maybe I'll find a solution! God bless you and your family!

Oh Ariel prayers for you as the surgery nears, prayers for peace and calmness as you wait during the surgery and stand by him. And for Michael, I'm sure you are anxious to get this behind you and try to get back to normal life, prayers for patience and healing and guidance for the surgeons hands, the surgery is no joke❤️ brain surgery was done on my brother and the waiting during the procedure is trying and you will definitely need prayers.

Praying for you guys! Praying for the surgeon and the nurses. I love your sense of humor through all of this. ❤️ God's got this!

My son had his first seizure a year ago Christmas Eve….he since has been diagnosed with Drug resistant epilepsy. Praying that surgery is an option for him…his name is Masen…will keep your family in my prayers!

Best wishes as you go into surgery tomorrow. Not sure why this video came up in my feed, but wanted to wish you best wishes for a speedy recovery. I had brain surgery 27 years ago when my first child was two. My daughter then had brain surgery when she was twenty two for a familial genetic issue. Very scary and tough for each of us but we came out better to lead our lives. She went on (6 months post op) to start her PhD and is a professor now at 29. Be kind to yourself and take it slow. You're all in my thoughts and prayers.

This is the cutest, sweetest couple, & precious family… I hadn’t seen them since before she got pregnant with little girl till last week, Ariel was talking about him being so sick. I couldn’t find anything else but came across this video & it’s 8 months old… I just pray everything is better! Really feel sad!

Beautiful couple! And 7 kids! That's amazing!

I’ve been going through neurological issues for the last 4 years so can really relate to the issues you’re facing with doctors and decisions and being an advocate for yourself. It’s so very tough to not feel like you’re being heard all while feeling like you’re not yourself and searching for words knowing things are just wrong. It’s exhausting. Sending you all love and light and a very Merry Christmas, you have so much love in your family and that’s what gets you through. Just remember to laugh about the mess you get in trying to find the right words, my family now make a game of ‘guess what Mum is trying to say’ As we say here in Scotland, ‘if you don’t laugh you Greet’ (cry) So laugh and love xx

I am an old person but had a brain bleed from a fall 22 months ago and I know how dificult it is not to be able to come up with words. I was very active giving classes, leading 15 youngsters, age 8 - 16 in cake decorating and had a sideline baking business. I'll be praying for you and your family and the operating surgeon and his staff on Jan. 4th.

Your video popped up in my recommended, not sure why but I will be praying 🙏🏼 for you & your beautiful, loving family ❤️🇨🇦🙏🏼 Praying 🙏🏼 for your surgery to be successful & for Our loving Father & dear Lord in Heaven to watch over the surgery & to bless the Surgeons hands with precision to perform this life saving operation. God bless you all & wishing you a speedy & smooth recovery! Praying 🙏🏼 for you to live a long, healthy, wealthy & happy life with your beautiful Wife & all of your gorgeous children ❤🇨🇦🙏🏼❤️

I'm so sorry y'all are dealing with this. I've dealt with chronic health problems due to prolonged chemical expose as a child. The process can be brutal and frustrating. You have my prayers!

I had a non malignant brain tumor at age 18, so I know how painful it is! I didn't want to live anymore, it was so painful. I had brain surgery at age 18 (the worst part, to me at age 18. was having my long hair shaved off.) Anyhoo, I am in my 60's now, and so thankful that I had that surgery. I have had a long, happy, fulfilling, pain-free life since. I wish you the best.

This will be but a blip in the grand scheme of your life! Scary but he is in great great hands and he will feel much better after this surgery ❤ praying for comfort and peace for you both!!

Praying for you, for the doctors and your family!!

Prayers, enjoyed your videos in the past. Wonderful see couples have children and taking care of them.

I also have a Cavernoma too but in my spine at T-6. Unfortunately my surgeons will not operate on mine unless it becomes an emergency situation bcz of its location in relation to my spinal cord for fear it will leave me paralyzed. The pain can be so unbearable. My surgeon explained once it bleeds, it will bleed again & with each bleed thereafter, it will worsen. I now have MRI’s every 6 mo. You are better off having it removed. Be prepared for a difficult & possibly long recovery. If I could have the surgery, I would. My surgeons are at Tulane in New Orleans. They have a team that specializes in these types of tumors & are amazing. Prayers for you & your family. I wish you all the best & have no doubt God has placed you in the right hands.

Praying all goes well. It’s almost like a clown show at the hospitals and doctors anymore. You have to be your own advocate and do your research and if you can afford it, get at least 3 diagnoses. It’s so frustrating and time consuming as well. I had health care POA for my Aunt when she went through terminal lung cancer and I’m glad I took notes and recorded sessions. God bless you and your family! Praying for you all!

Praying for a speedy and full recovery. God bless you and your family. Take good care!

I totally identify with having symptoms and being dismissed. I took extremely unwell age 19 and was diagnosed with M.E/ CFS - 21 years later and I have never recovered, I deteriorated I had neurological issues, heart issues, always exhausted and passing out during the day. My husband had noticed I was stopping breathing during the night, I’ve been waiting for six months to get an appointment with a sleep specialist - my husband saw an advert for the test the sleep specialist would give me. He purchased it and a day after the results were uploaded to the company, I had a diagnosis of Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Hypopnoea Syndrome - I stopped breathing over 65 times an hour during light sleep and over 95 times a minute during deep sleep. All the heart issues, the constant exhaustion, the neurological issues can all be linked. So often we are dismissed or symptoms are put down to previously diagnosed conditions. I totally empathise with you Ariel! I am at high risk of having a stroke or cardiac arrest - I’m 40 and have an amazing husband and two beautiful children who need me! Michael you are in my prayers, I will pray for Ariel and all your beautiful babies too! We have the most amazing God, a God of miracles and He will use this part of your story to draw others to Him! ““ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬ bible.com/bible/111/num.6.24-26.NIV

Oh goodness, y’all have been through so much. Praying the surgeon has steady hands and clarity of mind, that Michael will make a full recovery and get back to himself, and that Ariel continues to have strength through this.

I had a frontal tumor in my head. Kept getting headaches like you putting on weight really no energy which was so unusual for me. I had a seizure at work and that's when they discovered the rumor. It was the size of a plum. One doctor told my family that I had brain cancer and to make me comfortable. Thank God for the doctor they sent me to because he removed the tumor and I never felt better. My mother had a brain tumor and my sister had brain cancer. So God was good to me. My prayers are with you and your family. Feel comfortable with your doctor because that does make a difference. By the way my operation was 12 years ago. Merry Christmas to you and your family

Praying for you this morning! Keep us posted please.

Your video popped up on my feed.... Prayers for a great recovery

I wanted to add some practical advice, being just 4 months out from brain surgery myself. My surgery was at the Foramen of Monro, so my experience may look different than yours. Everyone comes out of this situation differently. Be prepared for brain swelling after the surgery and make sure to take your steroids if your doctor prescribes them/recommends them. I was caught off guard by the immense headache the first night after surgery. This does go away fairly quickly. I also had some optic nerve issues, but this also resolved quickly. In the moment though it felt scary. The steroids really helped. My doctor had me on pretty high doses of steroids for a solid week+ afterwards. Also make sure to sleep as much as you can. Your brain needs time to heal, my neurosurgeon said it takes us a full year after surgery to heal so give yourself a lot of grace. While I am doing phenomenally well, all things considering, I still have my days where the chaos of a large family gets to me. Homeschooling for us has looked a little different this year. Life has looked different, but that is okay. My kids all know when I am feeling overwhelmed to give me some space and a few quiet moments. Have a system in place to identify that feeling and step away when needed. For me, the shock did not come as much from my own kids but being out in crowded places around other people that overwhelmed me the most right out of surgery. Because of the location of my surgery, I do have a few forgetful moments. But the memory loss is far less than what we were anticipating. I do find that making lists is helpful for me, both for memory and executive functioning/processing. All small changes I have noticed. Take your recovery slowly. This is a pretty scary situation to be in when you have so many people counting on you. It was the toughest moment of my husband and I's lives. But it will be okay. Our family will be praying for you.

I got told I only have months to live through a note in a er. Also told again after chemo. I pushed to see other doctors out of state and it’s been four almost five years now. God is good. I hope you all well and love.

When you mentioned God and talked about his grace i kid you not i felt something deep in my heart, i know you will be just fine, sometimes the Lord puts us through certain things to see if we're faithful, God will guide you and take care of everything, i know you will be just fine,praise God and keep the faith. God bless you and your awesome family .

My son died from a brain aneurysm, he was 24 and had a headache for a few weeks but it would come and go and he was still active until one morning he lost it and said his head hurt really bad but by then it was to late. Ambulance came and he was gone before getting to the hospital. I had a sister who's in her 40s who had to go to ER 3 times for a headache and they just kept giving higher doses of pain pills until she finally said no something isn't right in my head. She had a brain bleed and one side of her brain was working and she was n hospital for months. I'm glad you know what was wrong and were able to treat it.

I lost my husband to this in 2017. Same symptoms and was brushed off as migraines stress. He ended up in ER and had a seizure, gran Mal. Doctor saw him said no big deal, he was hanging off the bed we'll give him Ativan. His brain was bleeding and he had aspirated on his vomit during seizure. We found out it was this, he died 37 days later after we disconnected life support. Hospital was awful not of faith, we are trying to bring awareness to this condition. Praying for you all. All will be good.

Yesterday was Tues. July 24, 2024 Did I meet you and your boys in the dollar store yesterday ? Prayers. GOD Bless You...Remember helping mop ? And getting towels ?

At 3, I had bacterial meningitis that was supposed to kill me. I’m 71 years old and still having side effects, especially neurological and cognitive things. I keep telling all my doctors I had meningitis and they all blow that off, even my neurologist. Please pray for me to find a doctor like you had!

God made your video pop up in front of me so I could pray for your successful surgery and total healing. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. My just turned 19 neighbor was given a terminal diagnoses with an aggressive grade4 glioblastoma a year ago. He's undergone 5 surgeries, chemo and radiation and with the help of prayers he has bounced back each time the tumor regrows. Prayer is powerful. God bless you.

Praying for you Michael, that everything goes very well in surgery and that you can go back to being the same as you were a year and a half ago. Blessings for your family . I will keep praying 🙏, for you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! 🙏❤️

Still praying for you since you first told us on Instagram. So glad you found a path that works!

Our family will be keeping you in prayer as you have this surgery. Lord, please guide the doctors and prayers for complete healing.

Prayers for a successful surgery and recovery 🙏🏾

Good luck! So glad you know what it is. God in in control! God bless you both!🙏🙏

My Prayers are with you and your family 🙏❤️🌻. I Pray for a full recovery for you.

My heart goes out to both of you. I was diagnosed with two benign brain tumors in December of 2012. My first surgery (a craniotomy) was on January 4, 2013. I was scared to death but did really well. I think it’s a good omen that your surgery is on the 10th anniversary of mine. I went on to have two more surgeries and eventually 6 weeks of radiation but can honestly say my life is better for having gone through all of that. There’s every chance things will go as well for you as they did for me. 🙏

Prayers for you, your family and medical workers. God has paved this path way ahead of time. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas

The right choice. Praying all goes smoothly!

Just saw your channel for the first time ever and will pray for you, your doctors, and your family. God will protect you all.

Prayers to you during the surgery tomorrow. I ask that God guide the hands that will operate on your brain. You are so right you have so much still left to do. Amen

Can’t wait to watch!!

I kind of know what you are going through. I didn't have a CCM, but I had a pituitary macro adenoma, back in 2016. The very first indication to me that something was wrong was looking into the afternoon setting sun was painful to my eyes. Then within 30 minutes I was on my living room floor with the absolute worst headache of my life!!! I told my husband that I can't understand why my brain didn't explode of fry itself! I never had a headache like that excruciating before. (It was the tumor bleeding out into my head). Then I started vomiting. Long story short, I thought I had just gotten food poisoning (headache, vomiting) so I tried to tough it out at home for six days...but it was only getting worse. I couldn't even hold down a sip of water. On day 6 I knew that if I didn't get to the hospital that day, I wasn't going to last much longer. I was so weak, fatigued and sick. I could barely walk into the E.R. I was so dehydrated from all the vomiting that my kidneys were actually almost shut down. They pumped me full of fluids and did a brain CT scan and found the tumor. The other symptom I had was double vision, as the tumor was pressing on my optic nerves. So, I had surgery where they go up through you nasal cavity and into your heard to reach the pituitary area to remove the tumor. But, bottom line is that I almost died. The tumor had damaged my pituitary gland so badly that it wasn't excreting the hormones that I needed to live. I was actually in what they call adrenal crises. Now, this damage to my pituitary gland has left me with three chronic illnesses that I will take medication for the rest of my life. This pituitary tumor left me with Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency (this is the illness that is life threatening...I take one pill each day of Cortisol to literally keep myself alive...without being able to get that daily pill, I would die in a matter of days). Then the tumor left my also with Central Hypothyroidism and Adult HGH Deficiency. I cannot say that I feel as good as I did before my tumor...but at least these illnesses are treatable, so I can stay alive. So, I can sort of relate to your story. And I truly believe that you have made the correct choice to get the surgery. Otherwise you'd be aware and probably constantly concerned that you had a ticking time bomb in your head that could go off at any minute ..that is no way to live! So, it sounds like you have a good neurosurgeon doing your procedure. That is so important to find a good neurosurgeon who is familiar and has alot of experience in doing the surgery you need. My neurosurgeon was very experienced in performing the surgery that I required. You may want to find out how many of these surgeries your scheduled neurosurgeon has already done...if you don't already know. Best advise is do the surgery and get the most experienced neurosurgeon you can get who has already done many of the type of surgery you need. Best wishes to you!!!

i have had three brain surgeries and three spinal due to chiari malformation which lead to a tethered spinal cord which i now have again and can’t find a neurosurgeon to help me with. You will do great, you are young and physically able. just watch out for a leak afterwards. any headache similar to what you dealt with when you had meningitis means you have a leak. prayers for you and your family. you are blessed to have family support and to have found such an incredible surgeon so quickly. hopefully this is a new beginning!