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Top ten Albums of 2014
Listed in no particular order, maybe, probably.
- St Vincent - St. Vincent
- tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack
- Sallie Ford - Slap Back
- Deerhoof - La Isla Bonita
- The New Basement Tapes - Lost on the River
- Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots
- Beck - Morning Phase
- Thom Yorke - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
- First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
- The Pixies - Indie Cindy
- Warpaint - Warpaint
- Broken Bells - After The Disco
- Tobacco - Utilma II Massage
One edit: I guess the Nick Cave was out last year, so I’ll sub the New Basement Tapes, which should have made the list anyway.
The Dural Arteriovenous Fistula is Gone!
It’s two days short of six months since I had brain surgery. It was a very busy Summer both at work and at home. We’ve had a lot of fun too, jumping off bridges, going to concerts, glamping with friends in the John Goodman Suite. More on that stuff in the future…
Today I had a follow up angiogram of my brain to see if anything had started to come back after the surgery. The procedure went well. My neurosurgeon came in to the recovery area (I have to lay flat on my back for two hours to make sure I don’t rip anything open) to chat with us and told us that I am cured! There is no evidence of any part of the fistula recurring. He said that the procedure is so new that they don’t really know what to tell patients about long term follow up. Obviously if I start experiencing similar symptoms in the future, I’ll know what to do, but sometimes there simply aren’t any symptoms. He said that he would be comfortable not doing any follow up, but if I wanted to we could do another scan in a year. I’m leaning towards doing another scan, just for peace of mind and it might help them to know what to expect in other cases, but I haven’t decided for sure yet.
I told the neurosurgeon that I couldn’t express how grateful I am and how lucky I feel. It’s simply amazing to me that this kind of procedure is something that exists, and that I live within a couple miles of one of the few doctors that is performing it right now. The doctors, nurses, and staff are some of the best people in the world. They went out of their way to make me feel as comfortable and confident as possible. And Dr. Koji Ebersole is a rock star!
Unfortunately, I am still dealing with the headaches. I was on a drug that was helping, but the side effects are pretty drastic and I am prone to all of them. I’ve spent the last two weeks weaning myself off that drug and I’m hoping to start a new one soon. In the meantime, they have returned in full force. The main side effect of the new drug is that it can make food and drink taste funny, therefore people tend to lose 5-10 pounds - I think I’m okay with that, at least for a while. I’m sure the new drug will work and I’ll be feeling good again in short order, but this last two weeks of getting off the old one has not been fun. I hate to end this post on a bad note, so I’ll say it again:
I’M CURED!
Lucy the Neurotic Dog
The night before I went back to work after six weeks of recovery, Lucy woke us up pacing and panting. No matter how much we pled with her she would not settle down. I finally got up and took her out at 2:00 AM. We came back in and she settled down a little bit, but she was still acting funny.
The next morning I felt okay, no headache, if a little tired. I went to work intending to work a full day. I did okay until about 2:30 when I finally succumbed to a headache that had brewing all day. I came home and Lucy was acting even weirder. She was panting, pacing, and walking in circles; she seemed a little off balance. I finally called the vet and they were able to get her i right away. The doctor gave her a clean bill of health, she’s in great shape! I didn’t opt for any blood tests, I figured if she didn’t settle down within a couple of days, I’d bring her back.
I’m glad I took her to the vet, better safe than sorry, but since she was in fine shape, the only alternative was that she was having doggy panic attacks. She’d gotten used to me being around all the time and somehow she knew that I was going back to work the next day. I knew we had a neurotic dog; I didn’t realize it was quite that bad. She’s doing much better today; she knows that I will be coming back. It helps that Maura is going to be around more now that school’s out too. It makes me wonder if Luna is tormenting her when we’re not here!
I came home early again today with a stabby headache. I know everyone told me that I should take it slow, start back with a week of half days, but I was really hoping I’d just be fixed and that’s it. The new drugs are helping, but I’m also trying to be a lot more active than I’ve been in almost two months. It seems that I’m going to have to ease back into reality.
Feeling good again!
The new drug from the neurologist seems to be working! I haven’t had a headache all day - even the nagging little background headache that’s tolerable but annoying! I’m still pretty tired, but the neurologist said that that side effect would fade in a few days. I definitely have a much better understanding for what it’s like to not be a morning person.
I’m hoping to get back to work next week - I’m still waiting on word from my doctor. I’m amazed at how good I feel - living with that kind of pain for that long and then not feeling it all of a sudden. I’m listening to music again! I’m so freakin’ happy!!
Neurologist
I just met with the neurologist. I passed all of her neuro-tests with flying colors, which means there is no new reason for the headaches. They are simply a result of my brain dealing with the embolization. As she put it “Your brain is mad at you.” She prescribed some painkillers for when it’s really bad and something else that should help with the pain long term. We’ll spend a week or two figuring out the proper dosage of the new drug.
I am, of course having another bad headache now after going to the doctor and then the pharmacy. Every time I try to be even a little more active, I get these headaches - it’s beyond frustrating. She said it could take a few days for the new drug to really start helping. She generally prefers to have patients start it on a Friday night so they have the weekend to get used to it. Since I’m not working right now, I can start it tonight.
The good news is, I should be feeling somewhat normal again soon!
Lists from the last six weeks (in no particular order)
New albums I’ve missed that looking forward to finally hearing: Damon Albarn’s Everyday Robots Liam Finn’s The Nihilist Lykke Li’s I Never Learn The Pixies’ Indie Cindy tUnE yArDs’ nikki nack The Horrors’ Luminous The Eels’ Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett The Black Keys’ Turn Blue Tobacco’s Ultima II Massage
Books I’ve read: Nick Harkaway’s The Gone-Away World Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, and Aloha from Hell Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation and Authority Daniel Suarez’ Daemon and Freedom
Comic series I’ve consumed from beginning to end: Runaways Y, The LastMan Invincible Federal Bureau of Physics Grindhouse - Doors Open At Midnight Guardians of the Galaxy saga The Sandman Overture Revival Morning Glories I also got all caught up on The Walking Dead
I think I’ve read a lot more comics than books because they are so much less work to concentrate on. I remember at one point when I was reading Sandman Slim - I was on both steroids and painkillers, a I could actually hear what was going on in the scenes. Not only the main action, but stuff that my brain made up for background noises. I’m sure the lack of sleep enhanced the hallucinations too. It was kinda cool.
Out and About
This is one of my favorite times of year at The Kansas City Art Institute. The campus is filled with a frantic creative energy. I’m really bummed to be missing it this year. This weekend is the end of semester shows, all of the departments on campus get to show off the top work of their students, much of it for sale. We always find a few treats, and this year was no exception.
I did manage to get out for a little while of Friday night to see a few departments. My friend Erich and I met my coworkers just before five in our offices in Mineral Hall. When I got there, they were acting a little strange, like they didn’t want me to see something. I just wanted to go back and see my desk because it’s been so long, but they were subtly trying to get me out. I managed to sneak past and found this:
It was very good to get out and catch up with a lot of the faculty, staff, and students at KCAI. I feel very lucky to work with such great caring people - no other job has felt so much like home.
Maura and I went back on Saturday so that she could see the shows, since she spent Friday night in Illustration. My head paying the price for being out Friday night but it wasn’t as bad and I had feared it would be. It’s mostly a lot of pressure with stabbing pains every once in a while. Several times Friday night, I would cringe mid-sentence, the pick up where I left off; I’m sure it looks strange. Saturday was the same, although later in the day it was getting worse, with more constant headaches. This morning is much the same. I slept okay last night, although I woke myself up out of zombie dreams several times. I’m sure I’ve developed a higher tolerance after six weeks of headaches. I’m really hoping to get back to a somewhat normal life next week. I see the neurologist on Monday and I hope to go back to work by the middle of next week. I’m anxious to hear what suggestions the neurologist will have for me.
More Waiting
I’m in my sixth week of recovering from the DAVF embolization - sitting around at home doing very little. The few times I’ve gone out, I’ve paid for it later with worse headaches.
I hate to complain, there are times that six weeks of nothing sounds dreamy, but I’m more than ready to get back to real life. As much of an introvert as I am, I miss being around people - I think I’m pretty much fully recharged at this point. I must admit, it took four weeks for me to rally start getting stir crazy. Though I was pretty drugged up for the first three.
As long as I take it easy, the headaches are tolerable. It’s when I try to do much of anything that they get bad. If I can find something to concentrate on, I can tune them out. I’ve been reading a LOT. I lost count of how many books and comics I’ve read over the last few weeks. Also, some TV shows and movies, when I can tolerate the sound. One thing I miss a lot is listening to music. There have been several new releases that I have queued up, but haven’t been able to listen to without pain.
I see a neurologist on Monday, less than a week away now. I’m really hoping that she can help me deal with the pain.
Good news/bad news
I just talked to my neurosurgeon’s office about the MRI I had on Monday. My doctor said everything looks great. Unfortunately, I’m still having the headaches. They have referred me to a neurologist who will help me with pain management. Hopefully they’ll be able to help and I can finally rejoin society!
MRI & MRA
I spoke with my neurosurgeon’s nurse practitioner today. They’ve scheduled me for an MRI and an MRA on Monday to hopefully figure out why I’m still having these dang headaches. I should have the results pretty quickly, my neurosurgeon wants to look at them before he leaves town next week.