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I had my follow up from Iowa Methodist.

I had a good follow up. The Dr. said that I was doing well. He was actually astounded by my progress. He had me walk heel to foot, touch his finger, touch my nose and many other things. He did reccomend that I go to Iowa City to follow up with a stroke specialist. But, he was very pleased with everything I told him. His only area of concern was with my INR because it was a little low. He wants it at between 2 and 3. It was only 1.48. So, he wants to keep me on the Warfarin as long as my INR is low. The VA wants me off the Warfarin in about 2 more months. Then they want me on low dose Aspirin for pobably the rest of my life. But the Dr. at Iowa Methodist wants to see me on Warfarin longer. But he was just offering his suggestion.

He also said that the reason I have problems at night is because I have had both sides of my cerebellum removed. Apparently there are 5 parts of your body that are necessary for balance. If any one is gone, then when another is taken away, it makes balance worse. He said, before I had a chance to tell him, that I was stumbling around at night. That is because the eyes are another part of your body that is necessary for balance. Because my cerebellum is gone, that makes my eyes much more important. If my eyes are gone, then my cerebellum becomes more important. If my cerebellum is gone, then my balance will be shot.

Overall it was a good visit and he was genuinely astouned when he saw me. The last time he saw me, I was in a hospital bed and I could not even do anything on my own. Now I am able to do  everything on my own, even walking!!!

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