Stan the Traveling Stent Graft

Some children carry teddy bears and blankets where ever they go, or even a gnome. Well, I carry Stan the Stent Graft. Ok, so I´m a nerd. My family first saw the symptoms when I named my cat Squareroot at age 12 and the disease has progressed and worsened ever since.

I work for a company that makes medical devices for a disease called abdominal aortic aneurysms or AAA. One of my responsibilities was to create national awareness of the disease and treatment options. There is no better way to educate people than through my blog; that is, all 5 readers.

AAA is the 16th leading cause of death in the US and those highest at risk are people over 60 who have ever smoked and those with a family history of the disease. AAA is a bulging of the abdominal aorta, the main blood vessel, or artery, in the body that distributes blood from the heart to the rest of the body. When the arterial vessel walls become weak, the pressure of the blood flowing through the aorta will then cause the aorta to bulge and possibly rupture. Unfortunately, for the most part, there are no symptoms and people are not even aware that they have this disease until it is too late.

A stent graft, a tube made of polyester with metal mesh, protects the arterial walls from the pressures of the blood flow and is permanently placed inside the artery through a minimally invasive procedure. To me, a stent graft looks like one of those Chinese finger trap toys where you put one finger into each end and then your fingers get stuck inside.

Stan has been with me from the beginning and has thoroughly enjoyed his time in Guatemala. He crashed the quinceañera with me and had a little too much to drink. I had to take him home and leave a glass of water by his bed. He sleeps in my knapsack.

In this picture, he is praying for money with the local woman. Our company stock has not seen the light of day in the last 8 years, and so anything might help at this point.

Stan even made it to Lake Atitlan and enjoyed a cup of tea with the beauty of the lake in the background. He enjoyed his massage at the lake and easily conformed to the various pressures from his masseuse.

Stan spends his afternoons studying Spanish for 4 hours a day with his teacher. He is having difficulties deciphering when to use por and when to use para. For the most part, he is learning and hopes to come back bilingual. I will keep you updated on Stan´s progress.