Need advice

[AKG M3]

Haven't posted in a while and wanted to share my personal story and hopefully get some feedback and advice. I'll try to be brief.

On the afternoon of July 17th while at work I had a seizure. I didn't know at the time what that meant. I know now what it means. For about 30 minutes I mumbled my words, felt like I couldn't speak, couldn't remember my computer passwords, and lost some degree of vision. Closed my eyes and lay my head on my desk for about 30 minutes and slowly started to come back to normal in the late afternoon. I went home right away since this had never happened before and went to bed right away. Slept for 5 hours, woke up around 9pm had some food and went to bed again. It was a very busy week, I hadn't had much sleep and I thought I was over-tired. Weekend went well, no issues.

Come Monday the 20th, morning went well and at lunch time, same thing happened. Was speaking with another co-worker about cars actually and then it happened again. This time I spoke to her in Spanish but pretty much the same scenario. Except it was shorter and followed with a huge headache. I decided to go to the emergency room.

Explained everything, a CT scan, followed by an MRI and admitted to the hospital at the end of the night only having seen my CT scan and a 2.8 cm mass in my left temporal lobe. The next morning doc came to see me and explain the situation. Cavernoma malformation with haemorrhage hence what was creating the seizures. Friday 24th craniotomy - fell asleep at 11am and woke up at 4pm high as a kite lol

Released from hospital on July 26th to recover at home. From what I was told, operation went well and they were able to extract the lesion and now have to take it easy at home for three months. My next visit is in September for another CT scan to see if the haematoma that was left has decreased in size or what I hope for completely disappeared.

I cut my pain pills (oxycocet) right away the next day I got home. Sure cuts the pain but messes with your head and at least for me got me down and that's not who I am. I had a bit of pain but nothing that an Advil couldn't solve. Two days latter no pain at all and haven't had a headache since the first day I got back. I still have to take my seizure pills though until the doc says to stop and happy to report no seizures either since I checked into the hospital since I guess they got me on the pills right away.

So long story short, sorry about writing all that, guess I wanted to vent a bit. Everything happened so fast and ultimately made me fearful and doubtful about my future and cognitive and physical capabilities. I am a very driven individual and have a lot of goals I'd like to achieve. Sitting here now, hopefully recovering well, I was happy with the decision making progress and the speed with which the latter were made. I remained positive, courageous and to me at least, still with a sense of humour even during anesthesia...who knows what moronic things I was saying. I do remember very well that when I woke up and was brought to the ICU the nurse was crazy hot and I didn't stop complementing here. Guess I wasn't doing so hot because a few hours later I was transferred to my own room.

I have another couple of weeks before my doc appointment and since I cannot work I am trying to keep busy. Reading, watching TV, slow walks, naps which are important etc. It's a bit of a challenging time since there are a couple of weeks to go before my CT scan and I really want to know if everything went well. I'm starting my third week at home and starting to get a bit bored especially since I cannot drive!

I was initially told that I wouldn't be able to drive for a year! This was before the operation. I've been reading and looks like it can be a much shorter time. Only the doc can be the judge though. So until I see him next month not much I can do. I got my car here so wondering what your thoughts are to keep it going and proper maintenance - without driving it. Should I start it every day, or week? rev it, etc? At the same time, I think I might order a few mods I've been contemplating that are easy to install on the car. I can't lift anything over 5lbs so these mods are going to be rather simply. The Lux H8 160 for example.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and didn't post pics of the scar or me coming out of anesthesia since I don't want to make you guys sick

[Alohaaaaa]

Holy crap man... I'm glad they worked it out for you. Heres to a speedy recovery!

If you can, get a friend/SO to take the car out every now and again, and drive it around normally, hitting operating temp, maybe run it down the freeway for a bit.

Definitely don't rev it... Or just keep starting and letting it idle (idling has the highest degree of wear on engines).

[Helmsman]

AKG, man what an experience, wish you a super fast recovery back to full strength!

Had to leave my previous motor (550i) in the garage for four month (no, not drinking, but a tad heavy on the peddle for a sec..). Like SPKY said, I had mates who quite willingly vollontered to take her for a spin once or so a week, to keep charge as no power for trickle was available.

Good luck!

[Beemdog]

With collector's cars sitting in a garage on a battery tender, it is generally a good idea to drive them for 20 minutes beyond their warm-up time every 6 weeks or so, weather permitting. You could apply the same kind of tactic to your M3, or just put it on a tender and store it with a full tank for up to 6 months. As stated, idling in the garage is probably not the best idea. Starting it every day not helpful and probably detrimental.

Best wishes on a speedy recovery. I wouldn't worry about the car too much-- and your idea of adding easy mods like the angel eyes might be good to keep busy and avoid going stir crazy from being too idle. Take it easy...

[Alohaaaaa]

It's funny here in winter to see when a chinook rolls in and all the Porsche's and Ferrari's in my community go out for their little warm up spins

[s85e90]

God Bless You man!! Saying a prayer for you that all is well in your upcoming visits!

The car will be fine, leave it as is.

[New2Roundel]

I'm very happy to hear that things are looking good for you! I hope that your recovery time continue to move in a positive direction. Regardless of the car, please continue to update us about your progress.

As far as storing the car for a while, my understanding is that you will want to buy a battery maintainer, fill the tank and throw in some fuel stabilizer (make sure to run it a little to ensure that the stabilizer travels throughout the entire fuel system), and over-inflate your tires to prevent flat spots. Personally, I don't like starting/idling the car every few weeks as those cold starts and low rpms can, IMO, increase wear. The best idea is to get a loved one to take the car around the block every few weeks. Although not a loved one, if I lived closer I'd volunteer to keep your car healthy---I know, I know, I'm just a selfless, great guy! :-)

I can totally believe how you would be bored. After about 3 days on vacation, I start wishing I was back to work---unless I have something going on that keeps my mind occupied. Beach vacations, as you can imagine, are not my favorite. In any event, put this time to good use! Just because you can't drive the car doesn't mean you can't still keep it in your life. Maybe do the following:
--Polish or learn how to polish the hell out of every aspect of the interior exterior
--Start buying mods, lots of them!
--Install said mods
--Put together some car models--preferably M3s!
--Start acquiring and reading a literature collection about cars
--Start looking into car-based art---in my TV room, I have a bunch of 40s-60s advertisements for various euro races, and a couple of cool BMW ads as well.

Hopefully, you don't already do these things, but you get the idea. I mean there's only so much Jerry Springer one can handle in a day!

[Alohaaaaa]

Instead of over inflating, it's better to leave the car on jack stands or a hoist, to take pressure off the suspension and stop any premature wear.

[dparm]

Glad to hear your doctors were able to identify the problems so fast, and good luck with the recovery.

You're very lucky you didn't have a problem while driving -- could've had a pretty bad accident. Most states will suspend or revoke your license if that type of situation happens.

It's very possible you could start driving before that one year mark. Maybe a friend or family member could periodically drive the car to make sure it doesn't develop any problems? At the very least, you can turn off your collision insurance and save a lot of money. In the end it is just a car. Your health and your life are far more important.

[Beemdog]

Originally Posted by 3SPKY5U

Instead of over inflating, it's better to leave the car on jack stands or a hoist, to take pressure off the suspension and stop any premature wear.

I'd be careful with that-- there are a lot of cars that don't do well with the wheels hanging unsupported for a long-term (jacked by the body only). This generally leaves sway bar bushings oddly compressed, flex brake lines fully extended, shock absorbers hanging on their stops, etc. Not much wear and tear when a vehicle is not in motion, and modern tires rarely develop any issues with flat spots that don't drive out in the first few miles.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by Beemdog

I'd be careful with that-- there are a lot of cars that don't do well with the wheels hanging unsupported for a long-term (jacked by the body only). This generally leaves sway bar bushings oddly compressed, flex brake lines fully extended, shock absorbers hanging on their stops, etc. Not much wear and tear when a vehicle is not in motion, and modern tires rarely develop any issues with flat spots that don't drive out in the first few miles.

I agree. Subjecting tires to a vehicle weight is normal, and tires are cheap to replace if there is a unfixable flat spot.

Subjecting suspension parts to an abnormal state for an extended peroid of time isn't normal and I can see how it'll wear on those components.

[burtonsbs5114]

damn, first and foremost, I wish you a speedy recovery.

As mentioned, I would top the car off on fluids, add stabilizer to the fuel, get a battery tender and cover it. I would have a friend take it for a spin every few months to keep the juices flowing.

[cenix]

hope you get better soon. this is serious business with the brain. looks like you're nearly 99% there with the proper attitude. keep it up and all things will be fine!

[AKG M3]

Thank you very much for the kind words and support. Means a lot and is very encouraging. Thanks again.

Great ideas and suggestions. Done deal. Some of my buddies will take the car out for a nice drive once a week and I'll tag along as a passenger. In the meantime, I'm ordering a few mods that I'll be able to do myself as I continue to get better.

No surprise, can't wait to get the green light from the doctors that I can drive!

Last thing I did in June was tinting my windows. First time for me, always kept my windows clear but I really like the way it turned.



Thanks guys!