Frank has been continuing his therapy and doing well. Last week he saw the neurologist and unfortunately they will not take him off of his seizure medication for at least 6 months. He stated that it's a precaution, and they do that with every patient that has had at least one seizure. He said everything was looking good and heading in the right direction. While we were out and about a couple of days before the neurologist appointment, Frank's legs stopped working a couple of times and he could not support himself for a brief moment. He addressed this with the neurologist and he said that it was normal and not something we should be concerned about; this is the first time that has ever happened and it's his nerve's getting re-adjusted.
Today, when he was at therapy, both his speech therapist and the doctor at Marianjoy stated that he is far enough along to be cleared to start the driving re-training sessions. We were happy to hear that because one therapist a while back gave us the impression that as long as he's on the seizure medication, he could not drive at all; however, this is not the case. Frank also saw the eye doctor again today, because he feels like his eye sight is getting better and he does not need to wear glasses as much as he was at the beginning. The eye doctor said this is fine and he should only wear them when he feels like things are not as in focus and as sharp.
As stated before, he needs to get a second opinion from another endocrinologist concerning the tumor on his adrenal gland. The doctor he needs to see did not have an open appointment until April 20th. When he sees him, and if he agrees with the first endocrinologist that they should remove the tumor because it is the main source for the high blood pressure and what not - he'll then have to meet with the surgeon and then schedule the surgery.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 22
Yesterday, Monday, Frank saw the Endocrinologist to discuss removing the tumor on his adrenal gland. The doctor was looking over his blood test (the one they took near the end of his stay at Elmhurst Memorial) and 3 out of 4 things they tested for are pointing to the fact that this tumor IS the main cause of his high blood pressure. And that once they remove it, his body will sync up again and all levels would pretty much return back to normal. Then afterwards, he may only have to be on 1 or even no blood pressure medication. His situation is somewhat rare, but this doctor feels pretty confident that all signs are pointing to this tumor. He said that they would just remove the entire gland, because there are two, and we only need one. Since not ALL signs point to the tumor and there is one thing in his blood work that puts small doubt that this tumor is not the main source, he would like Frank to get a second opinion from another doctor at Loyola. Yes, they can go in and remove the gland without the second opinion, but they don’t like to remove anything from a person’s body unless there’s complete confidence that it’s necessary (whether we need that organ or not). Frank will be calling this second doctor today to make an appointment. After that, if this doctor says yes they should remove it, then Frank will be meeting with the surgeon for another exam and to set-up the surgery.
The Endocrinologist also specializes in diabetes so Frank asked if they could make the switch from insulin shots to pills. The doctor said definitely, and that with slight modifications to his diet and exercise that he feels confident that they can knock it out entirely in a month or so. He switched him to the lowest dose insulin pill possible and doesn’t feel like he’ll have to take it for long. So that was good news!
This past Friday, Frank got his glasses that are helping his eyes focus, so that was another positive. He also saw the primary physician overseeing his case. Frank asked if he could take him off of the seizure pills so he can start practicing driving in therapy. Unfortunately the doctor said he could not because it was the Neurologist that put him on them. Frank will be seeing the Neurologist a week from tomorrow, so hopefully at that time he can stop taking those and then start learning to drive again.
His Occupational Therapist stated that there is nothing else to go through with him – only the driving – so Frank does not have to go to occupational therapy any longer at this point. Therefore, he is only going to Marianjoy for the speech therapy to continue to sharpen his mind.
The Endocrinologist also specializes in diabetes so Frank asked if they could make the switch from insulin shots to pills. The doctor said definitely, and that with slight modifications to his diet and exercise that he feels confident that they can knock it out entirely in a month or so. He switched him to the lowest dose insulin pill possible and doesn’t feel like he’ll have to take it for long. So that was good news!
This past Friday, Frank got his glasses that are helping his eyes focus, so that was another positive. He also saw the primary physician overseeing his case. Frank asked if he could take him off of the seizure pills so he can start practicing driving in therapy. Unfortunately the doctor said he could not because it was the Neurologist that put him on them. Frank will be seeing the Neurologist a week from tomorrow, so hopefully at that time he can stop taking those and then start learning to drive again.
His Occupational Therapist stated that there is nothing else to go through with him – only the driving – so Frank does not have to go to occupational therapy any longer at this point. Therefore, he is only going to Marianjoy for the speech therapy to continue to sharpen his mind.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 16
While at therapy yesterday (Tuesday), Frank saw the eye doctor. Although he can see, at times it’s hard for him to focus, and he see’s flashes of images that are not truly there. The doctor stated that this is normal for a stroke patient and that since the brain is using so much energy to heal itself, that is causes this. Thankfully she confirmed that his eyes are not permanently damaged and as time passes his eyesight will restore itself. She prescribed him glasses that she estimates he will wear for a 2-3 months. He said that it helped him tremendously and he will get the glasses tomorrow (Thursday). The doctor also said that she is not seeing the same problems any more that his chart said he had last week when he was checked in – so this good news because it’s showing that his eyes are indeed improving.
He was also told that his physical movement is fine, so he no longer has to do physical therapy. The majority of his rehab will be speech therapy and some occupational therapy. The speech therapist stated that although he answers questions correctly, it’s the length of time that it takes him that they need to work on. The occupational therapist stated that they can start working on his driving skills as long as he has his glasses and once he is taken off of the seizure medication. As stated before, he will get his glasses on Thursday, and he has an appointment with his primary physician on Friday. So hopefully on Friday his doctor will take him off of the seizure medication and he can start working on his driving as soon as next week!
His therapy schedule will be Mon, Tue, and Fri for 3 hours each day. He’s slowly introducing himself to regular activities at home and is being smart by being patient and not overloading his mind with everything at once. He started using his Blackberry again and being able to send text messages. He also went on his computer for a bit and is teaching himself to type. He is also steadily remembering passwords, account names, and what not. For the days he is not in therapy, he has exercises given to him by his therapists to work on to move his progress along.
We are all definitely anxious to see how the next month will go. He will have to meet with the surgeon next week to discuss plans to remove the tumor on his adrenal gland. And hopefully, not only will his doctor take him off of the seizure medication, but also dial down the amount of blood pressure meds he’s on. He would also like to be switched from an insulin shot for his diabetes to an insulin pill. Out of everything he has gone through, I think he is most concerned about giving himself a small shot every day (feel free to tease him about this the next time you see him!).
Although his has a lengthy journey ahead we are continually thankful that he has come as far as he has in such a short period of time. We continue to pray that he makes a steady, speedy, recovery!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday March 11
Today, Frank was able to show the therapist that he could cook for himself, therefore, that was the last step for him to be changed to outpatient therapy! He will be discharged tomorrow morning and get to spend the weekend at home. Next week he will go to therapy for about 3 days. He still has a ways to go, but continues to make improvements every day. They are projecting that he has about 2 months of therapy, but that could shorten or lengthen. They are still concerned about his eyesight, and he will see an eye doctor on Tuesday. His memory/mind needs the most work, but physically he's almost 100% (beside the eyesight). We also have to start making follow-up appointments with his many doctors so everything stays in control and they can start talking about removing the tumor on his adrenal gland.
Tonight, he was shown how to take his blood sugar readings and they removed the PICC line that was still in his arm and chest. As disturbing as it sounds, they just pulled it out (it was 50 cm long), but he said he did not feel a thing.
His blood pressure has stayed between the 120's to 170's over 80s and 90s. He blood sugar has been under control more as well. He only has to take antibiotics for two more days for the slight case of pneumonia he had. He will continue to take 4 blood pressure medications and seizure prevention medication, but the doctor at Marianjoy said that his regular physician will most likely take away the seizure meds and adjust the amount of BP medication.
We're so thankful for where he is at considering it is not even two weeks yet since he was admitted into the hospital!
Tonight, he was shown how to take his blood sugar readings and they removed the PICC line that was still in his arm and chest. As disturbing as it sounds, they just pulled it out (it was 50 cm long), but he said he did not feel a thing.
His blood pressure has stayed between the 120's to 170's over 80s and 90s. He blood sugar has been under control more as well. He only has to take antibiotics for two more days for the slight case of pneumonia he had. He will continue to take 4 blood pressure medications and seizure prevention medication, but the doctor at Marianjoy said that his regular physician will most likely take away the seizure meds and adjust the amount of BP medication.
We're so thankful for where he is at considering it is not even two weeks yet since he was admitted into the hospital!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Mon March 7 - Wed March 9
On Monday and Tuesday, Frank continued to see a speech therapist in the hospital and talk to various doctors. His blood pressure was still a little unstable, but generally is hanging around 180. He has a slight case of pneumonia, and is taking antibiotics for it. Hopefully he knocks that out of his system soon.
On Monday he spoke with an Endocrinologist about the tumor on his adrenal gland. They are now talking about removing it. Although it’s not the main source for high blood pressure, if it’s removable, they would prefer to do surgery to remove it. Tuesday morning they drew blood to run tests on it. As of right now it looks like they will be removing it in a month or two. We have not heard back on the blood test results (nor am I 100% sure what they are exactly searching for with that blood test – I did not speak to the doctor personally).
Last night, Tuesday, Frank was finally discharged from the hospital! He is now at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Center in Wheaton, IL. He will be there for inpatient care, and will eventually move to outpatient care where he will go about 4 days a week during the day for his therapy. However, at this time they do not know when that switch will occur. We hope he will only stay the night a few nights, since he is anxious to get home, but we really don’t know.
The doctor that examined him last night did notice that although physically he’s in a really good spot compared to the majority of stroke patients, he is seeing some disconnects with the right side of his body. He is also seeing a nerve problem with his eyes. Therefore, they will do therapy not only for his memory/mind, but for his body as well. They want to be 100% sure that he’s able to move steadily.
Today, Wednesday, Frank said he had some good therapy and once again, the staff is happy where he is at already. They are saying they project him to switch to the outpatient therapy on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, the eye doctor will come in to help with his eyesight.
We will have to see how these first few days goes as the therapists at Marianjoy make their assessments and figure out exactly what Frank can and cannot do right now. I will update once they provide any sound assessment and when the results of the blood test from Monday come back.
For those of you who are in the area and would like to visit him, his room number is 2216, and visiting hours are 9am – 8pm. He has therapy throughout the day, so you should probably call him before coming. His room phone # is 630-909-8216.
Please pray that he will get rid of the pneumonia quickly, and that he will be switched to outpatient care no later than Tuesday!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sat. March 5 & Sun March 6
On Saturday, the doctors were able to get Frank completely off of the blood pressure medication from the IV drip and on to only blood pressure pills. Therefore, they moved him out of the CCU and into a regular room! The doctor stated, as for the tumor on his adrenal gland, it is so small that in cases like that they do not remove it. And it was my misunderstanding that this was the main cause of his high blood pressure. This is something minor and not the main cause. Therefore they do not know what the main source is. And as they were saying the day before, in most cases they do not know what it can be. The plan is to get it under control with medication, and to modify a person's diet. When moved to his new room, he felt good not being hooked up to an IV and a machine!
Saturday night, when the nurse came in to check his blood pressure, it had spiked to around 200/100. She had to call the doctor and was instructed to give him an IV drip of another type of blood pressure medication. She kept asking how he was and he was fine - no dizziness or headache.
Sunday was a pretty calm day. The speech therapist came in for a bit to go through some exercises. The main therapy doctor came in and explained that he spoke with the speech therapists that have been seeing Frank and they stated that to be safe, it would be best after he is discharged from the hospital to be checked in to a rehab facility and to stay there for a couple of days to be assessed. Then from there he can be at home, and go to rehab 3 to 4 days a week. He is VERY anxious to leave the hospital and to get started on his therapy. There is only so much he can do in the hospital with books and worksheets to work his mind.
The only thing keeping him in the hospital is his blood pressure. Since it's still not stable, they do not feel comfortable releasing him. They are estimating though he should be discharged any time between Monday to Wednesday.
Frank is of course getting a little discouraged because things that came so easily before, he has to take his time to think about (i.e. reading a clock, basic subtraction and multiplication). He understands that it won't come back over night and we have a journey ahead of us.
Please pray for his patience and that he gets released soon from the hospital soon!
Saturday night, when the nurse came in to check his blood pressure, it had spiked to around 200/100. She had to call the doctor and was instructed to give him an IV drip of another type of blood pressure medication. She kept asking how he was and he was fine - no dizziness or headache.
Sunday was a pretty calm day. The speech therapist came in for a bit to go through some exercises. The main therapy doctor came in and explained that he spoke with the speech therapists that have been seeing Frank and they stated that to be safe, it would be best after he is discharged from the hospital to be checked in to a rehab facility and to stay there for a couple of days to be assessed. Then from there he can be at home, and go to rehab 3 to 4 days a week. He is VERY anxious to leave the hospital and to get started on his therapy. There is only so much he can do in the hospital with books and worksheets to work his mind.
The only thing keeping him in the hospital is his blood pressure. Since it's still not stable, they do not feel comfortable releasing him. They are estimating though he should be discharged any time between Monday to Wednesday.
Frank is of course getting a little discouraged because things that came so easily before, he has to take his time to think about (i.e. reading a clock, basic subtraction and multiplication). He understands that it won't come back over night and we have a journey ahead of us.
Please pray for his patience and that he gets released soon from the hospital soon!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday, March 4
This morning, when I walked into Frank's room, he was awake and I asked him why he wasn't eating breakfast. He told me that he was having a test done, and that he couldn't eat. I was glad that he was able to understand and repeat what the nurse must have told him earlier before I got there. When the nurse came in I asked for details and she explained that he was having a TEE test done. They would have to sedate Frank, and guide a small camera in a tube down his throat into his heart to get a better picture. This shows more detail then a CAT scan can, since it gives better views of the back of the heart.
A little later in the morning the doctor stopped in to provide more details. He said that the CT scan from the day before showed that he has a small tumor on his adrenal glands. This would explain the high blood pressure due to the excessive amount of hormones that they are releasing due to the tumor. He also said that Frank's potassium levels are still low and he could possibly have Conn's Syndrome. My own personal research shows that Conn's Syndrome results in high blood pressure and loss of potassium through a tumor in the adrenal glands. It can also affect the kidney's, which would explain the higher levels showing in his kidney's through his blood work. The doctor also said we were in a sense, lucky, to have found a source of the high blood pressure. In about 90% of cases they never find the source of the high blood pressure. He was the most concerned about running the TEE test because this would show if there was a clot in the heart that was slowly breaking apart sending the small clots up to his brain (since the MRI showed a "shower" of clots through out his brain).
After the TEE test was complete, they were able to tell us immediately that they did not find a clot in his heart and everything was fine, which was great to hear. Therefore, the conclusion they are making that the little clots in his brain were formed over an extended period of time due to his high blood pressure. Also, the doctor told us that the kidney scans he had done yesterday came back just fine and there are no problems there (hallelujah!).
He had some therapy - they walked him up and down the hall and worked on some memory tests. Once again, physically he seems fine, but it will be a journey getting his brain to function properly again. It's amazing to see how well he's moving when just earlier this week he was on a respiratory ventilator! We really have to all work together to get his mind moving. We are starting very simple, such as getting him to write out and say the alphabet. This was difficult for him at first, but after a few times he was able to read it straight through without skipping any letters - he still needs to practice writing it, though. He was also able to read some words very slowly. He seems to have the most difficult time with math - subtraction more than addition. For some reason, '8-2' would trip him up, but '8+2' would not. He stated that he was discouraged that he can't do something so simple, but I'm trying to encourage him and remind him that he's very smart and it's all there - we just need to retrain his brain to get it all out.
He was more interested in TV today, and was actually using the button to change the channels which is something he was not doing before. He was also asking about how the Blackhawks are doing!
His blood pressure is still not stable enough to move him out of the CCU, unfortunately. Hopefully in a few days it will be so he can move to a regular room!
A little later in the morning the doctor stopped in to provide more details. He said that the CT scan from the day before showed that he has a small tumor on his adrenal glands. This would explain the high blood pressure due to the excessive amount of hormones that they are releasing due to the tumor. He also said that Frank's potassium levels are still low and he could possibly have Conn's Syndrome. My own personal research shows that Conn's Syndrome results in high blood pressure and loss of potassium through a tumor in the adrenal glands. It can also affect the kidney's, which would explain the higher levels showing in his kidney's through his blood work. The doctor also said we were in a sense, lucky, to have found a source of the high blood pressure. In about 90% of cases they never find the source of the high blood pressure. He was the most concerned about running the TEE test because this would show if there was a clot in the heart that was slowly breaking apart sending the small clots up to his brain (since the MRI showed a "shower" of clots through out his brain).
After the TEE test was complete, they were able to tell us immediately that they did not find a clot in his heart and everything was fine, which was great to hear. Therefore, the conclusion they are making that the little clots in his brain were formed over an extended period of time due to his high blood pressure. Also, the doctor told us that the kidney scans he had done yesterday came back just fine and there are no problems there (hallelujah!).
He had some therapy - they walked him up and down the hall and worked on some memory tests. Once again, physically he seems fine, but it will be a journey getting his brain to function properly again. It's amazing to see how well he's moving when just earlier this week he was on a respiratory ventilator! We really have to all work together to get his mind moving. We are starting very simple, such as getting him to write out and say the alphabet. This was difficult for him at first, but after a few times he was able to read it straight through without skipping any letters - he still needs to practice writing it, though. He was also able to read some words very slowly. He seems to have the most difficult time with math - subtraction more than addition. For some reason, '8-2' would trip him up, but '8+2' would not. He stated that he was discouraged that he can't do something so simple, but I'm trying to encourage him and remind him that he's very smart and it's all there - we just need to retrain his brain to get it all out.
He was more interested in TV today, and was actually using the button to change the channels which is something he was not doing before. He was also asking about how the Blackhawks are doing!
His blood pressure is still not stable enough to move him out of the CCU, unfortunately. Hopefully in a few days it will be so he can move to a regular room!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thursday, March 3
Frank had a busy day today. When I arrived he was pretty wide awake and was finishing his breakfast. He was talking as much as yesterday. He was a tiny bit quicker with responses, too. I reminded him that he was in the hospital and that he had a stroke. A little after telling him that he said, "wow, I can't believe I had a stroke." He started remembering and listing off people who have come in a visited him this week. It is good to see that names are coming easier to him. He still has to think hard about things and it takes some time, and there are some things he can't remember at all still - but everything will take time. A little later in the day he mentioned getting back to work, and I reminded him that he needed to get 100% better and that everyone at work is praying for him and wants him to get better first.
Today the speech therapist cleared him for regular water, so he does not have to drink the thickened water. He was very happy about that and drank a lot.
He also went down for a CT scan of his adrenal glands. He also had a PICC line inserted - which is inserted into the arm and inserted up a vein stopping just above his heart. This allows them to put the medicine/IV fluids through this and to draw blood. Although it sounds painful, he said it didn't really hurt, and in the long run it will probably be better so he does not have all these IV needles in his arm with the risk of pulling them out.
He also had a little physical therapy done today. They had him get out of bed and sit in a chair, along with standing up and taking a few steps forwards and backwards.
I have not heard anything back about his kidney scans, but did talk to the doctor about the MRI results. First, the MRI was of only his brain, and not the whole body. It didn't show much more than the CAT scan from the other day. He had the larger main stroke that put him in the hospital. However, the CAT scan had originally shown an old mini-stroke, but the MRI showed that he had MULTIPLE mini-strokes scattered through out this brain. The thing is, they do not know what has CAUSED the stroke. They are not sure if he has a tumor that may be affecting his metabolism that is causing him to retain sodium which is leading to the high blood pressure and then to the stroke. They do not think is it anything related to his heart though because it is strong.
I am not sure what the plan of action from here is - if they plan on doing more tests to try to figure out how the stroke occurred and why he has high blood pressure, or if they will just try to treat the high blood pressure and continue on with therapy and eventual discharge from the hospital. I hope to get more answers tomorrow.
A therapy doctor did come in to talk to us. He said the main part of recovery for him is his memory, more than physical. We can all see that he moves well and it seems like that part will be easy. But with him still having a hard time remembering things and talking slowly, that will take some time. We'll have to take it one day at a time and see how he is once discharged from the hospital; he may need to go to a facility where he needs to stay all the time for treatment, or can be at home, and go do the therapy facility 4 times a week. Time will tell. Right now, we are anxiously awaiting to get him out of the CCU and into a regular room, but he is still on the blood pressure medication which is the one thing that is keeping him in this unit.
Today the speech therapist cleared him for regular water, so he does not have to drink the thickened water. He was very happy about that and drank a lot.
He also went down for a CT scan of his adrenal glands. He also had a PICC line inserted - which is inserted into the arm and inserted up a vein stopping just above his heart. This allows them to put the medicine/IV fluids through this and to draw blood. Although it sounds painful, he said it didn't really hurt, and in the long run it will probably be better so he does not have all these IV needles in his arm with the risk of pulling them out.
He also had a little physical therapy done today. They had him get out of bed and sit in a chair, along with standing up and taking a few steps forwards and backwards.
I have not heard anything back about his kidney scans, but did talk to the doctor about the MRI results. First, the MRI was of only his brain, and not the whole body. It didn't show much more than the CAT scan from the other day. He had the larger main stroke that put him in the hospital. However, the CAT scan had originally shown an old mini-stroke, but the MRI showed that he had MULTIPLE mini-strokes scattered through out this brain. The thing is, they do not know what has CAUSED the stroke. They are not sure if he has a tumor that may be affecting his metabolism that is causing him to retain sodium which is leading to the high blood pressure and then to the stroke. They do not think is it anything related to his heart though because it is strong.
I am not sure what the plan of action from here is - if they plan on doing more tests to try to figure out how the stroke occurred and why he has high blood pressure, or if they will just try to treat the high blood pressure and continue on with therapy and eventual discharge from the hospital. I hope to get more answers tomorrow.
A therapy doctor did come in to talk to us. He said the main part of recovery for him is his memory, more than physical. We can all see that he moves well and it seems like that part will be easy. But with him still having a hard time remembering things and talking slowly, that will take some time. We'll have to take it one day at a time and see how he is once discharged from the hospital; he may need to go to a facility where he needs to stay all the time for treatment, or can be at home, and go do the therapy facility 4 times a week. Time will tell. Right now, we are anxiously awaiting to get him out of the CCU and into a regular room, but he is still on the blood pressure medication which is the one thing that is keeping him in this unit.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Wednesday, March 2
This morning when Ryan and I got to the hospital Frank was awake. He gave us a pleasant surprise and started talking a little bit! His speech is a little slurred and it takes him quite some time to figure out what he wants to say, but we were very happy that he's able to say more. One of the first sentences he said was, "I want to go home". He's still confused about where he is, so we have to keep reminding him and what has happened. Therefore, it definitely seems like his short term memory is affected. One of the more complex sentences he said was, "they keep talking but aren't saying anything". He was telling us that he didn't understand why he was here or what the nurses were saying. Once again, we just have to keep telling him where he is and what happened.
He is now saying his own name, which he didn't know before. And, for all of you who know Frank really well, guess what one of the first things he asked for? A soda!
A speech therapist came in the morning to test to see if the stroke affected his ability to swallow drinks and food. He did really well and she said that he can eat soft foods and thickened beverages. Hopefully tomorrow he can start drinking straight water. He ate lunch and dinner today. He was able to hold utensils, with his right hand I might add, and feed himself. However, I noticed while he was feeding himself, that his sight has been affected because he was having difficulty judging how far the plate and cup was from him and would miss the plate when trying to scoop the food.
He's using his right arm more and the right side of his mouth is not drooping as much when he smiles. He can also stick out his tongue, which before he would not do.
Today he went for an MRI test but we won't know the results till tomorrow when the Neurologist looks them over.
I am still anxious about his kidneys, and as I type this, they are doing the ultrasound on them to assess the damage. I assume that the doctor will explain the results of the ultrasound tomorrow morning.
His blood pressure is still somewhat high and keeps bouncing around. Until they can get a tight control on it, they cannot move him out of the Critical Care Unit. Tomorrow, they said they will start some bedside therapy focusing on the strength in his arms.
Let's pray that his blood pressure gets under control so they can move him out of the CCU and start a little more aggressive therapy and that his kidney tests come back good.
He is now saying his own name, which he didn't know before. And, for all of you who know Frank really well, guess what one of the first things he asked for? A soda!
A speech therapist came in the morning to test to see if the stroke affected his ability to swallow drinks and food. He did really well and she said that he can eat soft foods and thickened beverages. Hopefully tomorrow he can start drinking straight water. He ate lunch and dinner today. He was able to hold utensils, with his right hand I might add, and feed himself. However, I noticed while he was feeding himself, that his sight has been affected because he was having difficulty judging how far the plate and cup was from him and would miss the plate when trying to scoop the food.
He's using his right arm more and the right side of his mouth is not drooping as much when he smiles. He can also stick out his tongue, which before he would not do.
Today he went for an MRI test but we won't know the results till tomorrow when the Neurologist looks them over.
I am still anxious about his kidneys, and as I type this, they are doing the ultrasound on them to assess the damage. I assume that the doctor will explain the results of the ultrasound tomorrow morning.
His blood pressure is still somewhat high and keeps bouncing around. Until they can get a tight control on it, they cannot move him out of the Critical Care Unit. Tomorrow, they said they will start some bedside therapy focusing on the strength in his arms.
Let's pray that his blood pressure gets under control so they can move him out of the CCU and start a little more aggressive therapy and that his kidney tests come back good.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tuesday, March 1
At about 8 am the nurse took him off of the sedative so he would wake up because he needed to be up while they took the breathing tube out. He was slowly waking and seemed to recognize me. He seemed like he wanted to smile at me, and attempted to say something. The respiratory doctor adjusted the machine so Frank was breathing on his own. After he woke up a little bit more, they removed the tube.
The doctor also informed us that he was borderline diabetic and that he was not sure if that an MRI was still necessary because the CAT scan from yesterday showed a lot of detail.
When the neurologist came in later in the morning, he stated that at this time the MRI was not necessary and that today they would focus on lowering his blood pressure some more. Frank has been sleeping all day, and it is very difficult to wake him up. He will open his eyes a little bit, but then close them again.
A kidney doctor stopped in at about 2pm and explained that high blood pressure impacts the function of the kidneys. She stated that his blood work is now showing that there could be a problem with his kidneys. They will be performing tests on that, so more information to come.
He is moving his arms a lot, which is a good sign. However, the nurses have to keep a close watch because of the IV's that are in his arms. At about 7pm, he pulled a couple of them out which is not good because it's hard for the nurses to find good veins and he needs a continual flow of his BP medication. It is also painful to him when putting the IV's in. He may need to be restrained to prevent this from happening again.
If Frank's BP goes down, and he is more alert, the plan is to start assessing what he is having difficultly doing and create a therapy/rehabilitation plan. They also still need to assess if the brain damage has affected his ability to eat/swallow. If he can't, then they will be putting a temporary feeding tube in place.
Lastly, he pulled at my heart strings this evening. He opened his eyes and waved and I took his hand. He grabbed my hand with both of his, brought my hand to his face and kissed it.
Let's pray that he relaxes and isn't so restless, so then he won't be moving around too much and pull out his IV's again.
The doctor also informed us that he was borderline diabetic and that he was not sure if that an MRI was still necessary because the CAT scan from yesterday showed a lot of detail.
When the neurologist came in later in the morning, he stated that at this time the MRI was not necessary and that today they would focus on lowering his blood pressure some more. Frank has been sleeping all day, and it is very difficult to wake him up. He will open his eyes a little bit, but then close them again.
A kidney doctor stopped in at about 2pm and explained that high blood pressure impacts the function of the kidneys. She stated that his blood work is now showing that there could be a problem with his kidneys. They will be performing tests on that, so more information to come.
He is moving his arms a lot, which is a good sign. However, the nurses have to keep a close watch because of the IV's that are in his arms. At about 7pm, he pulled a couple of them out which is not good because it's hard for the nurses to find good veins and he needs a continual flow of his BP medication. It is also painful to him when putting the IV's in. He may need to be restrained to prevent this from happening again.
If Frank's BP goes down, and he is more alert, the plan is to start assessing what he is having difficultly doing and create a therapy/rehabilitation plan. They also still need to assess if the brain damage has affected his ability to eat/swallow. If he can't, then they will be putting a temporary feeding tube in place.
Lastly, he pulled at my heart strings this evening. He opened his eyes and waved and I took his hand. He grabbed my hand with both of his, brought my hand to his face and kissed it.
Let's pray that he relaxes and isn't so restless, so then he won't be moving around too much and pull out his IV's again.
Monday, February 28th
The next morning, Monday, was a little more positive - his blood pressure had come down some and he had also said the words 'I know'. He also would use his right arm some to wave and was flexing his fingers.
However, he took a slight turn for the worse and had a seizure and stopped breathing. The nurses called code blue and were able to stop the seizure. Although he started breathing on his own, the breaths were not strong and they decided to put him on a respiratory ventilator to breath for him. They also had to put him on a sedative (propofol) to sleep because he would be too agitated with the breathing tube down his throat into his lungs.
Since he was a on ventilator they could not do the MRI. They did do another CAT scan.Through this CAT scan, they were finally able to see the stroke near the left/back side of his brain in the Parietal Lobe. This affects speech, memory, and sight. They also said there was a very small old stroke on the left side of his brain. They are not sure when this occurred, but it must have been minor enough to were Frank did not even know it had happened and was functioning normally. They also performed other various tests.
The goal for the day was to monitor him and keep him on the ventilator and make sure he did not seizure again. The next day they would want to take him off of it and possibly do the MRI.
Sunday, February 27th
Friday (25th) Frank texted messaged me (about 6pm) and stated that he had a migraine. The message, although simple, seemed coherent.
Saturday afternoon, a friend called and left him a voice mail, however, he never returned the call.
Sunday, at about 1pm, I called Frank and he did not answer. I asked a friend of his that lives on the same block if he had heard from him and he said no. They went to Frank's house, and Frank answered the door; however, he was not able to speak well and was 'out of it'. They asked him if they should call 911 and they agreed.
When Frank got to the ER they said he blood pressure was about 300/190. The doctors and nurses stated they have never seen a blood pressure this high. They did a CAT scan, and it did not show any hemorrhaging. This was a good sign, however, it also did not show a sign of a stroke. They moved him up to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) and were most concerned about slowly lowering his blood pressure. He could not speak, other than the words 'yes', 'no', and 'ok'. He had a hard time moving his right side of his body. His neurologist said that the next day he would want to do an MRI. The doctors stated that although the CAT scan did not show the stroke - this was not uncommon - that it takes a while for the stroke to actually appear on the CAT scan and that the next day would give us more answers.
I spent the night with him and the nurses were coming in checking and doing tests. When he would look over and see me he would wave at me, but he did not wave at the nurses. Hopefully this means he recognizes me and is a good sign.
Saturday afternoon, a friend called and left him a voice mail, however, he never returned the call.
Sunday, at about 1pm, I called Frank and he did not answer. I asked a friend of his that lives on the same block if he had heard from him and he said no. They went to Frank's house, and Frank answered the door; however, he was not able to speak well and was 'out of it'. They asked him if they should call 911 and they agreed.
When Frank got to the ER they said he blood pressure was about 300/190. The doctors and nurses stated they have never seen a blood pressure this high. They did a CAT scan, and it did not show any hemorrhaging. This was a good sign, however, it also did not show a sign of a stroke. They moved him up to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) and were most concerned about slowly lowering his blood pressure. He could not speak, other than the words 'yes', 'no', and 'ok'. He had a hard time moving his right side of his body. His neurologist said that the next day he would want to do an MRI. The doctors stated that although the CAT scan did not show the stroke - this was not uncommon - that it takes a while for the stroke to actually appear on the CAT scan and that the next day would give us more answers.
I spent the night with him and the nurses were coming in checking and doing tests. When he would look over and see me he would wave at me, but he did not wave at the nurses. Hopefully this means he recognizes me and is a good sign.
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