by Pete Hayes - The Telegraph

 

 Larry Thatcher thought he’d been through it all. He just didn’t realize he would get to do "it all" over again.

 

Thatcher is pretty much regarded as the River Bend’s "Mr. Hockey." He is, among many things, the SIU Edwardsville hockey coach and the manager of the East Alton Ice Arena. He’s also one of the few people to undergo brain surgery for a rare disorder called arteriovenous malformation. It’s a congenital disorder that left undetected can be fatal.

 

Thatcher underwent surgery in October, 2008 in Phoenix, Ariz. The procedure wad deemed a success, Thatcher went through recovery nicely and he resumed his spots near the ice.

 

But a yearly checkup earlier this past autumn indicated a second surgery would be needed.

 

"I like to think it was just something they didn’t get last time," Thatcher said. "I would hate to think it came back."

 

AVM patients have an abnormal collection of blood vessels. Normally, oxygenated blood is pumped by the heart through arteries to the brain, where it enters a fine network of tiny capillaries. It is in these capillary beds where the blood nourishes the tissues. The "used" blood passes back to the heart through branching thin walled tubes called veins. AVMs lack the tiny capillaries.

 

Stroke-like symptoms Thatcher had experienced prior to his first surgery were actually episodes involving his AVMs.

 

"I had two - one inside my skull and one outside my skull," Thatcher said about his first experiences last year. "The pounding got so bad, I couldn’t sleep."

 

And so, his wife Paula by his side, Thatcher headed back out to Phoenix last month after Thanksgiving. The surgery was performed Nov. 30. A follow-up second – or more accurately a third – surgery was needed the next day.

 

"My doctor told me that I’m not allowed to have (the AVM) return," Thatcher said jokingly. "It’s not fun, but I made it through with great doctors, and the support of my family and some really, really great friends."

 

Thatcher used to talk about having two families: His wife and three sons, Zach, Chris and J.P. as well as his hockey family. But after going through his AVM ordeals, he now says he’s actually got three families with the addition of the people who have learned of his journey through the CaringBridge Web site on the Internet.

 

"I can’t say enough about (CaringBridge)," Thatcher said. "They help get the word out about people going through all kinds of problems."

 

CaringBridge is a nonprofit agency providing free Web sites that connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery. A CaringBridge Web site helps ease the burden of keeping family and friends informed. The sites are easy to create and use. Authors add health updates and photos to share their story while visitors leave messages of love and support in the guestbook. Each day, more than 500,000 people connect through CaringBridge.

 

More than 1 billion visits have been made to personal CaringBridge Web sites.

 

"Our Web site has been a Godsend. We might have been able to give hope to people with AVM. And it has allowed our friends and family back home to keep up with what’s happening with me.

 

"That’s taken a huge load off Paula’s shoulders," he said of his wife. "She has been through so much."

 

While he recovers, Thatcher is taking it slow – for now.

 

"I get still get tired pretty quickly," he said, "but I have a goal of getting back behind the SIUE bench when the second half of the season starts."

 

For the record, that is scheduled for Jan. 15-16 in a two-game homestand against Missouri State University at the East Alton Ice Arena.

 

Until then?

 

"Well, I think I’ll try tackling putting up the Christmas tree," Thatcher said.

 

For more information on CaringBridge, go to: http://www.caringbridge.org.