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20 February 2007
August 29, 2005 was a date that changed the my life. Katrina blew in over Mississippi destroying many dreams, hopes and desires in a few hours for a lot of people. I pretty much lost my business that day. Friends were displaced, or lost forever. Life changed for many. A couple days before the hurricane my family buried an aunt. The thought of this being the hardest time of my life crossed my mind.
I was finally able to get a new job on January 2, 2006. Things seem to being moving in the right direction. I performed well at the job, and was sent to Fort Lauderdale, FL for school in February. While at the school, I woke up tired one morning. I just figured it was the stress of the past six-months catching up with me. This job and the remnants of my business caused me to work in the 80 - 95 hours a week. In March, went to the physician with the fatigue issue. My blood glucose was 134. He said cut down on the sugar and carbohydrates. I did this, no improvement. I was getting worse, my nerves were getting shorter. It was as though something was riding my nerves.
Finally in May, I quit the job. It took about two-weeks or rest to recover, somewhat. Went back to the physician in late May and the blood glucose was normal. My energy level was about half of normal.
In June, started another long hour job. I compensated in all ways possible, cut out all extra's that would require energy. August 8, 2006 went to the physician with a sharp pain in the lateral side of my neck. Diagnosed as stress. A prescription was given for a muscle relaxer. It seem to go away.
August 24, 2006, woke-up in the middle of night with an extremely sharp pain in the left lateral side of my neck. It lasted about 10 minutes, and I went back to sleep. The next day the side of my neck hurt, and I kept messaging it. That night the pain returned again, with the same intensity. Woke the next morning feeling a little feverish. Attended church that morning, and stopped for some lunch. Could not chew because my neck and jaw were hurting so badly. Thought maybe I had a version of the flu, and laid down for three hours. Woke-up and could barely move my head, extreme headache, felt really bad.
Went to the local small-town emergency room. Had a fever of 101, blood pressure of 150/120, and fatigued. A lumbar puncture was performed to test for West Nile virus. Was there for eight hours. They simply did not know what was wrong. They released me to return to my physician. The nausea started during Monday evening. Went to see the physician on Tuesday morning with symptoms. Again, no idea what was going on with me. The nausea went projectile after leaving the doctor's office.
Tried to return to work on Wednesday, which was sixty miles away. Stayed only about thirty-minutes before the pain in my neck felt like it was choking me. I went to a friends house and laid down till the next day. The next morning my friends insisted that I go to see another doctor, because I was so pale.
This physician sent me directly to the local emergency room. This hospital is much larger than the small town I lived in at the time. At this time there is a swelling in the left side of my neck. A cat-scan was ordered and the aneurysm was "accidentally" found. The top of it showed on the cat-scan. This was August 31, 2006. I was hospitalized for the Labor Day weekend for observation. All matter of test were performed to determine the cause of the symptoms. No diagnosis was ever made.
I was told that I have a AAA, measuring 5.25 cm.
Since that day, the fatigue has been getting worse, the shortness of breath after exertion is worse, and the pain in the left side of neck is constant with varying degrees of pain. There is, also, swollen lymph nodes in the neck. There is a painful, swollen lymph node in the left side of my chest, this showed on the cat scan. This has been previously diagnosed as ganglion cyst. Have had for about three-years problem with swelling my feet and hands.
I was told in the hospital that aortic arch aneurysms are a-symptomatic. Further, research has shown me that most of the symptoms I exhibited are part of aortic arch aneurysm, but yet the symptoms were totally ignored by the medical community. To be fair, I am a 42 year-old white male with no previous medical problems that would lend to this diagnosis. No physician would look at me and even start to guess my diagnosis.
I was told after the diagnosis that retirement would be the best choice. Have applied for Social Security, and moved home to my parents. Lifting anything over ten-pounds is prohibited. Should avoid stress, and straining. In December, another cat scan was performed to check the status of the aortic arch aneurysm. It had not grown or changed shape. Now I am on a six-month rotation for check-ups. The cardiologist says I may live the rest of my life like this.
I am thankful that the aortic arch aneurysm was "accidentally" found, and I have a chance to protect myself. The hectic lifestyle prior the aortic arch aneurysm would have certainly killed me. I now have the chance to enjoy my relationship with my family and friends.
I would like to say that all the post by everyone has been a great help to know there is life after this.
Discussion, comments, or questions: Flint Brent
© Copyright 2006 Flint Brent
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