MRA Report (not much yet)
Yes, I had the MRA on Friday night. Driving through SF traffic on Friday night was far worse than the MRA experience, which was the usual thing (although with an IV rather than an injection for the contrast dye). Although they can be a bit stressful, I still emerge relaxed.
I should note one looming concern is that the scan was in the thoracic area of my back and that is above where the nerve roots for the foot emerge. So I don't yet see an absolutely direct connection between the AVM (in the thoracic area) and nerve problems in the foot. Of course, anything that impacts the spinal cord would likely cause some nerve problems somewhere (as all the nerves are all bundled together in the cord). Also on the "less than good" news - my plan of multiple treatments going from least invasive to most invasive has one problem. If the first treatment is radiation that will injure the surrounding cells enough that they will never heal quite as quickly in the future, making surgery in that area a bit more difficult. But we will see what the doctors tell me on Wednesday (assuming I remember to call them in the midst of Girl Scout Cookie season :) ).