January 23rd

Dad made it safely to Iowa City. THANK YOU DON LUCAS! I spoke with Martha and she said that within 10 minutes of being there he had doctors on him. He has an MRI scheduled at 2, so we will know if there has been any major change in his edema. I just faxed a list of questions to Martha to give to the doctors:


In Reference to Jim Shoning.

We have been doing a ton of research on our own and have found some interesting case studies. I have learned a number of things:

The aneurysm may not be completely occluded which is causing the edema. (I don't think that is the case.)

There is something called a "water hammer effect" which means the blood flow pulsing across the aneurysm creates this phenom which causes the edema.

The coil itself can cause hydrocephaly and edema.

The aneurysm can have changes in the epithelial tissue that causes edema.

Steroids aren't working because there is no inflammatory marker in the edema that makes anti-inflammatory drugs work. Checking spinal fluid can answer that?

Stimulant drugs may work and have in some cases rather than steroids.

This is a healing process of the aneurysm that can happen as much as 24 months after the coiling and the symptoms will diminish.

The aneurysm wall changes to protect itself from bursting, and the edema is a trade off.


Here is a list of things I have found in doing some research. I am sure you know all of this, but I just had a few questions.

Would checking his CSF be beneficial in deciding what drug to try?

I am curious of the stimulant drug tried in one study. It didn’t say what it was, but is this something we could try?

Could the Legionnaire’s disease he contracted at Mercy Capital be the problem if his MRI results come back with little to no change since his last MRI?

Is there anything that could be done if there is a “water hammer effect?”

Is there a way to find out if he indeed has a reaction to the coil? That seems to be a common side effect in Bare Platinum Coils and Hydro Coils, although I know you used Matrix. (perianeurysmal edema and hydrocephaly strong indicators) Would any sort of anti-rejection medicine work if that were the case?

Can you just do a head transplant? :)

I will update later when I have more info.