Déjà Vu

Good afternoon everyone!

Well, this morning felt just like déjà vu of 7 weeks ago. I was hanging around my little crib when my Mom and Dad arrived at the crack of dawn; although they do visit me mornings, they’ve not been here this early before. I knew something was afoot when my goodies started to be packed away around me; my Mom and Dad packed my toiletries and diapers away, next where my toys and lastly my sound-system and medical records.

Next, in walked Ryan and Carel, whom you all got to know on my blog of 26 June, 2008, with a gurney. Now I knew the decision was a ‘go’, and I was off to Unitas again for another embolisation. As excited as I was to travel again, I was a little irked at missing my 8:00am feed, as I couldn’t travel on a full tummy. Ryan gave me a little bit of a calming tonic and before I could say “Bob Leave Zimbabwe” I was back to my usual calm and relaxed disposition.

As I had grown 5cm to 57cm, I no longer fitted in the incubator that was used to transport me last time, so I lay on the gurney like ‘a big person’. Additionally, and most wonderfully, because I wasn’t in the incubator, I breathed fresh air from outside for the first time in 7½ weeks during the short journey from the hospital exit to the ambulance. What an awesome experience. I now, more than ever, want to get better to go home, as this breathing on a ventilator and being indoors all the time is really overrated! En route to Unitas I discovered that Ryan and Carel had solicited the support of a whole bunch of friends and family members of theirs that followed my blog and were rooting for me. This made me really excited, and I couldn’t wait to be settled to publish my next blog, i.e. this one!

The trip to Unitas was uneventful. Dad travelled with me in the ambulance while Mom followed by car. Because I was out of the incubator, Carel, who was at the helm, turned up the heater to its max to keep me warm and snug in the ambulance. Needless to say, my Dad, Ryan and Carel got a free sauna in the process.

Arriving at Unitas was like a home coming – my second set of adopted mommies, like those at Morningside Medi-Clinic, gushed all over me with words of welcome and encouragement. Before long I was settled into my new crib, alas however, this time I’m in a Room Without a View, unlike my last stay here (see Figure 9 of my blog of 26 June, 2008).

During the course of the morning I was visited by all the same practitioners that attended to me late in June 2008. I had x-rays done of my chest, a sonar of my heart, and swabs taken to rule out any infections.

So far things are looking positive for my 2^nd embolisation, which is scheduled for tomorrow morning. The plan is that the anaesthetist and nurse will collect me at 7:00, where after I will be prepared for theatre and have a sheath attached to my groin to access my femoral artery. It is through this artery that Prof Fourie will gain navigate up the length of my body to my head with a bunch of wires and catheters, and discharge some more sterile superglue into the offending pedicles. Again, this procedure will be done under a MR Scan, with contrast being injected into my little body, so that he can identify where the catheters are.

Other exciting news is that Prof Fourie is presenting a seminar on Friday to his peers and colleagues where he will share my condition and diagnosis, and most importantly, the degrees of success he has achieved with my embolisation. My Dad, always wanting to be the centre of attention, is getting green with envy at my being the focus of discussion at a seminar. As you all know, his been wanting to do the conference circuit as a speaker for years, to discuss some or other highfalutin theory on enterprise architecture and project management. I guess that puts the score now at Jarrod – 3, Dad – 0!!!

I got to signoff now as I’m about to get some divine feeling physio on my back and chest. I will write tomorrow again once I have my embolisation behind me.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow morning, and send me as many angels and guardians that you can muster up to ensure the procedure goes well.

Love,

Jarrod J

Figure 1 Ryan and Carel – my dedicated paramedics

Figure 2 Getting my gurney ready for my move

Figure 3 Settled in to be moved

Figure 4 Note to my international fans – we’re NOT on the wrong side of the road, we drive on the left!

Tags: Dad, embolisation, Mom, Morningside Medi-Clinic, Unitas