Marilyn in FL... did you get my email?
- Thread starter judy-mass
- Start date
colleenmomof2
Well-known member
(((Marilyn))) So glad to hear she's doing very well!
Hugs to you and mom. Colleen
Hugs to you and mom. Colleen
mariadnoca
Moderator
(((Marilyn))) Hope she's doing ok and glad they caught early.
Thank you ALL for your thoughts and prayers. Here is the story:
Mom (age 87.5) was at Sister #4 on Christmas Eve for big family dinner and started acting odd, so Sarah immediately gave her 2 aspirin (blood thinner!) and rushed her to the Wexford hospital within 10 minutes. They determined she had had a mini-stroke and kept her overnight for observation. Then while talking to Sister #2 (certified rehab nurse) in her hospital room, she had the big stroke on Christmas Day. The hospital immediately started the stoke clock and gave her de-clotting medication that only works within a 2-hour window, then air-lifted her to Presbyterian Hospital (much bigger) in Pittsburgh where she had emergency surgery to open up the brain artery that was almost completely closed from plaque buildup. They threaded a wire from groin to carotid artery to brain to ream it out--amazing! Then they kept her in ICU for a few days to ensure no peripheral damage had been done by the brain surgery and I waited until she was out of the hospital. Wednesday she was released to Sister #3 for home rehab and I flew to Pittsburgh. She only has a little trouble getting out longer sentences and a minimal weakness on the left side; otherwise everyone is very pleased: speech, physical therapy, and doctors. We did homework each day. Here's an example:
"Read the following list and add a similar item:
"Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Quincy...."
On the other hand, I took her for a hearing test while in PA and it turns out she has significant hearing loss (due to her age, not to stroke). And for some reason she is FIGHTING all of us about getting hearing aids. I've tried all the logical reasons: she's not hearing my phone calls, she doesn't hear her pill dispenser (which is on a timed alarm device) and then added guilt to the mixture by saying she soon wouldn't be able to hear her grandchildren. When she said she would get them when she can't hear ANYTHING, I had to pull out the engineer speak and tell her you can repair a car when it's slightly damaged, but it reaches a point where replacement parts no longer work.
She's still not going for it. Stubborn woman.
Mom (age 87.5) was at Sister #4 on Christmas Eve for big family dinner and started acting odd, so Sarah immediately gave her 2 aspirin (blood thinner!) and rushed her to the Wexford hospital within 10 minutes. They determined she had had a mini-stroke and kept her overnight for observation. Then while talking to Sister #2 (certified rehab nurse) in her hospital room, she had the big stroke on Christmas Day. The hospital immediately started the stoke clock and gave her de-clotting medication that only works within a 2-hour window, then air-lifted her to Presbyterian Hospital (much bigger) in Pittsburgh where she had emergency surgery to open up the brain artery that was almost completely closed from plaque buildup. They threaded a wire from groin to carotid artery to brain to ream it out--amazing! Then they kept her in ICU for a few days to ensure no peripheral damage had been done by the brain surgery and I waited until she was out of the hospital. Wednesday she was released to Sister #3 for home rehab and I flew to Pittsburgh. She only has a little trouble getting out longer sentences and a minimal weakness on the left side; otherwise everyone is very pleased: speech, physical therapy, and doctors. We did homework each day. Here's an example:
"Read the following list and add a similar item:
"Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Quincy...."
On the other hand, I took her for a hearing test while in PA and it turns out she has significant hearing loss (due to her age, not to stroke). And for some reason she is FIGHTING all of us about getting hearing aids. I've tried all the logical reasons: she's not hearing my phone calls, she doesn't hear her pill dispenser (which is on a timed alarm device) and then added guilt to the mixture by saying she soon wouldn't be able to hear her grandchildren. When she said she would get them when she can't hear ANYTHING, I had to pull out the engineer speak and tell her you can repair a car when it's slightly damaged, but it reaches a point where replacement parts no longer work.
She's still not going for it. Stubborn woman.