Dom has been back at work full time; 2 days in the office & 3 days from home, for about 2 months now. The most obvious hurdle to resuming life pre-stroke has been Dom not being allowed to drive. So the goal for us was to get a plan in place to see Dom driving again ASAP...so that he can stop driving me crazy! :-)
Dom had an MRI in December & we got the results on Jan 16. The MRI showed that the clot is shrinking! This is fantastic news & is exactly what the Neurology team were wanting to see! The MRI also showed a small number of dead brain cells; this was expected as the stroke did cause brain trauma for Dom. After the doctor asked some questions regarding Dom's cognitive and motor skill abilities it was determined that there has been no effect (at least not an obvious effect) as a result of these dead brain cells. It is an extremely small number and so the doctor was not surprised by this either.
The changes in Dom that we have noticed since he had the stroke could possibly be caused by the anti-seizure medication, so we are hopeful that these small differences disappear once this medication is no longer needed. The changes are small, and we are now used to them. Dom & myself are probably the only ones that really notice these differences; other family and friends wouldn't even realise that there is a difference. For example, Dom is now more short-tempered and gets very angry, very quickly. Having said that, he is aware of this and does try to control himself...not so well when Carlton lose though! Another small change is that Dom speaks his mind more in public than he ever did before. We are both very open with each other, but would always keep some thoughts to ourselves when out in the big wide world...at times, to me, it seems like Dom forgets where he is and will say something to me that has me cringing & looking around to make sure no one else overheard him! Again, this is tiny, and others wouldn't notice these changes, but I do & initially, it seemed to be major to me, but now that I'm used to what I lovingly refer to as 'Dom 2.0' it is not a big deal.
So the outcome of the Neurology follow up appointment:
- Dom will come off the anti-seizure medication over the next 4 weeks; gradually reducing the dose.
- 6 weeks from the last dose of anti-seizure medication Dom will be able to drive again; provided there are no relapses now the anti-seizure medication has ceased.
- Dom will remain on warfarin as the clot is still there (but shrinking), and his Ulcerative Colitis and genetic predisposition to clotting has him at a higher risk of having another clot.
- Another follow up appointment has been scheduled for March, 2015 to review his progress again.
Dom & I were both really happy with the outcome of the appointment & I am already thinking of places Dom can take me on a date once he returns to driving!
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| Chillaxing in Lincoln Park, Carlton before the Neurology appointment at RMH. |
