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Hey everyone! I am, at last, home! I have been for a couple of days now, and in spite of the constant pain stemming from the surgeries in which I had done, am enjoying being back in a familial atmosphere. If you keep up with this blog, then you are aware of the c02 laser Dr. Alomari did on my leg back in June. Those legions have scarred over and looks utterly fantastic now, (pics are on here in one of my more recent posts) but the pain in which I endured in order to recover was momentous! Dr. Fishman performed a very similar surgery, albeit in a more taboo area; we'll just say the thigh and regions of the buttock. He also did some schlerotherapy to help stop some rectal bleeding I have been experiencing for several years now. This is not the first surgery I have had done in relation to rectal bleeding; a lot of KTS patients, so I've noticed, are more hesitant to talk about this facet of this condition. I completely understand, as I was too for the vast majority of my teen-aged years. However, what many do not realize is that rectal bleeding is anything but ucommon in KTS patients. Some I have talked to have been rather surprised/delighted to find out that they are not the only ones who have been impacted by KTS in this way!

I am currently in so much pain from the laser in which Dr. Fishman did on my thigh and buttocks. The areas are still healing (they were done just over a week ago), but I know ultimately the surgery needed to be done. Lasering these areas was not done in an effort for the areas to look better cosmetically, but rather as a way of preventing infection. Some of these areas ooze out continuously (blood, lymph. Fluid) and allow bacteria to sneak in. Since cellulitis infections have been a tremendous burden on me throughout my lifetime, it is essential to have surgeries of these kind done every now and then to lower my risk factor.

It is currently not even 7am as I write this but since I could not sleep due to pain, I wanted to update you all on the surgery I had done with Dr. Steve Fishman. As many of you may be aware, Dr. Fishman and Dr. Alomari are both members of the vascular anomalies team at Children's Hospital Boston. I trust both of them immensely and am grateful for the incredible work in which they have both done on me, improving my quality of life drastically over the years. - A

Below is a picture of me and my sister right before I was discharged!