A month ago I solo'd my dad's newly acquired RV 7. Here's the thread:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=65108
Little did I know, that would be my last time flying GA, possibly for good. I'm so glad though, that we decided to fly that day. It was one of the most fun days I've had in a long time.
Here's the story. I'll try to keep it short.
Last week, my new wife and I was driving in my truck (me driving). All of a sudden, I was having a hard time finding the words to speak. I just thought I was distracted with driving. When I asked her what I just said, trying to jog my memory on what we were talking about, I realized I couldn't understand what she was saying. For about 10 minutes, I couldn't communicate. I could not speak, and could not understand what she was saying. I had absolutely no other symptoms. Lucky me for me, my wife is a speech pathologist. She instantly started trying to figure what it was. She convinced me something was wrong, and that I may be having a stroke. We went to the hospital and had an MRI within a few hours. They found a Cavernous Angienoma. It's basically a clump of blood vessels that are tangled up, and are leaking blood. These themselves are not dangerous, but I'm unlucky in the fact that it's in a VERY sensitive are of my brain that controls speech. It is likely that has been since birth and just now decided to irritate that part of my brain.
I never imagined in a million years that I'd be writing this right now. My FAA 1st medical is gone. If I were to be fixed right now, it would be probably a minimum of 14 months to be able to get it back. The problem is, it's in such a delicate part of my brain, it's likely that surgery to remove it could have some serious risks. We need more tests and will be getting those over the next month.
Flying is everything to me. The day me and my dad last month flew the RV7 and the 170 was awesome. It's something I will never forget it. But, I am also so lucky that this didn't happen when I was soloing the RV. My little episode of not being able to speak was likely a minor seizer. It could have likely have been a full blown seizer. That could have been bad.
The good things is that I'm completely find. Except for mixing up my words a little more than normal, I'm OK. This is not something that will kill me, it just will require for me to be on anti seizer medicine for the rest of my life. If I do get it removed, it's full blown brain surgery. If they remove it, and I have no complicated from the surgery, I will never have any more problems and should be able to get my medical back. I just don't know if the risks are worth it.
I'm trying to accept that I may never fly an airplane again. It's a scary feeling. I have been flying since I could walk, started flying gliders when I was 13, and new I wanted to be an airline pilot as long as I can remember. I was a captain at my commuter airline, and was hoping to move on to the majors next year when they started hiring. I also was going to be starting pilot training soon for the air national guard for the Knoxville, TN. I was going to fly a KC-135 tanker.
It's all gone. Everything I've worked for is gone.
But, there are always gliders. I would love to be able to get into those again. And there are things like the RV 12. Maybe someday they will be able to come out with a tiny RV3 powered by a rotax.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I'm sorry if some of this doesn't make sense. I'm still not 100%. I just want to remind everyone to not to take flying for granted. At my age, I am completely healthy. I never had any idea there was anything wrong. I guess I am very lucky though. It could be much much worse.
Everything happens for a reason. But I'm not sure why flying, something that is such a part of my life, has been taken away from me.
I keep reminding myself of the positive. I'm healthy. I have an amazing wife, who may have saved my life, and I'll be able to spend a wonderful Christmas with all my family.
Steve
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=65108
Little did I know, that would be my last time flying GA, possibly for good. I'm so glad though, that we decided to fly that day. It was one of the most fun days I've had in a long time.
Here's the story. I'll try to keep it short.
Last week, my new wife and I was driving in my truck (me driving). All of a sudden, I was having a hard time finding the words to speak. I just thought I was distracted with driving. When I asked her what I just said, trying to jog my memory on what we were talking about, I realized I couldn't understand what she was saying. For about 10 minutes, I couldn't communicate. I could not speak, and could not understand what she was saying. I had absolutely no other symptoms. Lucky me for me, my wife is a speech pathologist. She instantly started trying to figure what it was. She convinced me something was wrong, and that I may be having a stroke. We went to the hospital and had an MRI within a few hours. They found a Cavernous Angienoma. It's basically a clump of blood vessels that are tangled up, and are leaking blood. These themselves are not dangerous, but I'm unlucky in the fact that it's in a VERY sensitive are of my brain that controls speech. It is likely that has been since birth and just now decided to irritate that part of my brain.
I never imagined in a million years that I'd be writing this right now. My FAA 1st medical is gone. If I were to be fixed right now, it would be probably a minimum of 14 months to be able to get it back. The problem is, it's in such a delicate part of my brain, it's likely that surgery to remove it could have some serious risks. We need more tests and will be getting those over the next month.
Flying is everything to me. The day me and my dad last month flew the RV7 and the 170 was awesome. It's something I will never forget it. But, I am also so lucky that this didn't happen when I was soloing the RV. My little episode of not being able to speak was likely a minor seizer. It could have likely have been a full blown seizer. That could have been bad.
The good things is that I'm completely find. Except for mixing up my words a little more than normal, I'm OK. This is not something that will kill me, it just will require for me to be on anti seizer medicine for the rest of my life. If I do get it removed, it's full blown brain surgery. If they remove it, and I have no complicated from the surgery, I will never have any more problems and should be able to get my medical back. I just don't know if the risks are worth it.
I'm trying to accept that I may never fly an airplane again. It's a scary feeling. I have been flying since I could walk, started flying gliders when I was 13, and new I wanted to be an airline pilot as long as I can remember. I was a captain at my commuter airline, and was hoping to move on to the majors next year when they started hiring. I also was going to be starting pilot training soon for the air national guard for the Knoxville, TN. I was going to fly a KC-135 tanker.
It's all gone. Everything I've worked for is gone.
But, there are always gliders. I would love to be able to get into those again. And there are things like the RV 12. Maybe someday they will be able to come out with a tiny RV3 powered by a rotax.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share. I'm sorry if some of this doesn't make sense. I'm still not 100%. I just want to remind everyone to not to take flying for granted. At my age, I am completely healthy. I never had any idea there was anything wrong. I guess I am very lucky though. It could be much much worse.
Everything happens for a reason. But I'm not sure why flying, something that is such a part of my life, has been taken away from me.
I keep reminding myself of the positive. I'm healthy. I have an amazing wife, who may have saved my life, and I'll be able to spend a wonderful Christmas with all my family.
Steve
