Sunday, June 05, 2011

Tom Mahala, Jr.

From Tom, Sr.

As mentioned in my note last night, Thomas has AVM arteriovenousmalformation. This is usually something you are born with, and can live your whole life without ever knowing you have one. It is a tangle of bloodvessels, veins and arteries in the brain. It can cause neuro signs, seizures, headache, and in Thomas' case, it bled onto his brain. He is at the age that this is most likely to happen.

The angiogram this morning (Friday) showed that there is an aneurysm in the midst of the tangle. They want to embolize the aneurysm (which is a weak outpouching of a blood vessel) and cause it to clot off and become neutral, by inserting a coil thru a very tiny catheter into the AVM tangle and injecting a glue to block it off. They thought Thomas would have to stay in an induced coma to allow his brain to rest this weekend, but believe it or not, he woke and they liked the way he was breathing. They then decided to extubate him, taking him off the breathing tube. We've spoken to Thomas and he knows his birth date and wants to know when he can go home... for this we are thankful! Thomas will undergo another angiogram on Monday to attempt to embolize the brain vessels and this may have to be done in several stages. They will wait a month after Monday's procedure to let his brain heal, before they continue to treat it, so we're in for the longhaul.We are forever grateful for your prayers and good wishes!...please continue. All the best, Tom

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