Cultivate Healing update #5

Tuesday afternoon update... (Mom’s text)

“Dad is doing great all day.  The Neurosurgeon's asst. removed his brain drain.  His headaches are well managed.  We brought him a half calzone and a meatball and some grapes and he ate the biggest meal he's eaten in 3-4 days.  A really good day. He seems himself. Tomorrow it is expected that they will try to get Dad out of bed and standing, maybe walking.”

Mom and Aunt Donna are very pleased with today, it was a boon after a pretty stressful day yesterday. Still praying and praising God!

Thank you!

Pastor Meg

Cultivate Healing (update #4)

Dear ones, if you want the whole story scroll back to the origin post about Dad, “Cultivate Healing” then read through the updates. This will give you the whole story.

Dad had a 2nd surgery today. The early morning scan showed no change and a physical assessment was not as good as Saturday following the initial surgery relieving the pressure. Dad said, “Everything will be fine,” and was making punny jokes with the nurses before they took him to the OR. The surgeon did end up doing then craniotomy (go big or go home) and feels he got most of ‘the massive blot clot.’ He did everything he could to mitigate the risks he took a long time to: clean the area (no infection), dry (no bleeding) and he also gave Dad an extra boost of anti seizure medicine. The next 24 hours are critical and how he wakes up. Mom is hoping to get to see him post-op around 3pm. I will update this post (#4) after we get more post operation information.

We are still optimistic. Aunt Donna and Uncle Al are with Mom and this is also good. Prayers are appreciated.

Update: 3 hours post op, Dad is aware and says he feels like he was “hit by a truck.” Despite a big headache he is aware. This is a big deal. All the nurses and Doctors are happy with Dad. Now we wait for more test results and eventually seeing if he can mobilize.

Cultivate Healing (Update #3)

Super quick Monday update. Dad had a setback Sunday. His blood pressure and CAT scan numbers are elevated .  Here's Mom's text:

Monday update #2... So here's the thing... Dad had so much blood clot from when he fell that it has overwhelmed his body's ability to reabsorb it. The burr holes surgery was very effective bc it allowed the broken down blood to "gush" out and Dr. T even had to introduce fluid into the cavity to push the air out. There is still a lot of old blood clot that is jelly-like and not broken down which his body is now trying to breakdown quickly into the introduced fluid. Hence his tiredness yesterday. Working overtime. We were given 3 treatment options and the option for a craniotomy (cutting out a flap if skull then putting it back with mending plates) on Wednesday was chosen. This will give Dad 3 days to see if his body will reabsorb the clot. If he doesn't have left arm and leg function heading back to normal on Tuesday we will go ahead with the surgery on Wednesday. Unlike burr holes, the surgeon will take off a piece of Dad's skull, be able to see everything and clean it all out. This option has the highest chance of resolving this issue. It also has higher risks, but it is not an uncommon procedure.

Cultivate Healing (Update #2)

Good news!! I'm going to keep this simple and share Mom's texts:

7:46am "Update...we just spoke with a different Neuro Surgery team member (nurse practitioner), the doctor and PA who did Dad's surgery are off this weekend. A different Neurosurgeon and this nurse practitioner will stop by later today to check in on Dad and we will be able to see the before and after CAT scans. She was able to tell us that the notes say that the surgery when extremely well, they were able to evacuate the old blood so well that a drain was deemed unnecessary! Dad is using his left have almost at 100%. I stopped at Dunkin Donuts and croissant/egg/bacon sandwich and an apple fritter. Motivation to move the hand!"

(Food backstory, after surgery Dad used his LEFT hand yesterday to grab for pineapple upside down cake on his tray to bring it close to himself to eat. Hooray for his sweet tooth and it was a huge boon for mom to see him do this, hence the fancy breakfast today!)

10:19am "PT and OT were just here together and they facilitated Dad getting HIMSELF out of bed, and walking a short walk in the wing here without a walker! Based on their assessment of his abilities this morning he will likely be able to return home. No rehab facility when discharged by the neuro team and the doctor. Yay! He will need follow-up PT," but this is great news. 

Discharge will be determined by the doctor, no plan/date in place yet. I'll do my best to keep you posted. Also, today is Mom and Dad's anniversary, what a great day for such good news.

~Meg

PT - Physical Therapy
OT - Occupational Therapy
NP - Nurse Practitioner
PA - Physicians Assistant

Cultivate Healing (Update #1)

Mom arrived at the hospital very early this morning (Thursday Dec. 6), to ensure she would be present for doctor's rounds and found Dad's room to be empty, cleaned and made up for a new patient...turning around to the 4-5 staff she said "Where is my husband!"  Yikes!  They quickly told her Dad was moved back to ICU/Trauma last night at 9pm after his CAT scan was read. He had a 25% increase in bleeding. Sounds scary, but he's ok. Moving back to ICU gives him more attention and the surgeon was in twice this morning. Initially, the staff didn't give him breakfast because they thought they might do surgery today...but the surgeon, after examining Dad, decided Dad was fine to wait until tomorrow morning.  Mom reported that the surgeon likes that Dad's condition "has not deteriorated and that his body is liquefying the congealed clot while we wait for the aspirin to clear out. The surgeon said it's good we waited." So, surgery should be early tomorrow morning (7:15am).  Dad's happy because he gets to eat AND more importantly we have a plan. Dad (like most of us) likes to know what the plan is.

The surgery.  Spoiler alert if you're squeamish about medical stuff skip this paragraph!  Mom reports that the surgeon will drill a burr hole and install one drain. After surgery, Dad will return to the ICU which is great because it's a 1:2 ratio (nurse:patient). The first 24-48 hours following surgery he will have to be flat in the bed. He will have a hole in the front of his head and hole in the back; basic physics, air in fluid out. Laying flat means it drains with gravity. The surgeon does not want Dad upright because fast draining could mean embolisms or air bubbles. So the first 24-48 hours Dad will really have to lay flat and behave. Prayers appreciated. Mom joked that they should tie his head down so he doesn't try to pick it up. I wondered about sedation. We shall see. After a few days they will remove the single drain and then we think he'll be able to move around a little. The surgeon may want to keep Dad a few more days beyond drain removal to observe him. Then Dad will have physical and occupational therapy and assess if he can go home or if he will need to go to a short term rehab facility to do therapy. It's not clear (for anyone in this situation) how quickly he will regain function in the left limbs/side sometimes it's quick and sometimes it's a few months. So, the steps after surgery are somewhat unknown...we have to see how Dad is doing after the first few days following surgery.

Prayers are appreciated. Thank you for reading my posts and not bombarding us with lots of questions. Again, I will do my best to keep everyone updated.

Meg

Cultivate Healing

Cultivate healing

So, it’s been awhile since my last post; and like the last post this essay is also about my family and health.  I am not with my folks, but I have permission to share this for friends, family and prayer warriors on the blog. 

Dad is in the hospital with a brain bleed (subdural hematoma). Mom though he had a stroke on Saturday, took him to the ER in their town. Thankfully, their local hospital is a stroke center, fortuitous. It was determined he actually was experiencing a slow, but significant, bleed in the brain. This bleed is most likely a result of a fall he had mid-November; Dad was dreaming about football and fell out of the bed; bumping his head in the adventure. From the local ER, Dad was transferred via ambulance to the larger city hospital about an hour away from home. Thankfully, this larger hospital is a ranked hospital for treating brain bleeds. He’s in the right place. 

Dad will be in the hospital for awhile, he took aspirin* before he and Mom went to the hospital; which we are waiting to get out of his system. (We learned it takes 5-7 days for aspirin to process out of the system.) The neurosurgeon is optimistic and thinks surgery will be perhaps Friday. Dad is experiencing left side weakness and coordination issues;  he is cognitively fine. In fact, after waiting in trauma 2 in the ER at the big hospital most of Saturday he demanded a room so he could watch the Ohio State football game, something we took as a good sign. The surgery is routine, though they will be drilling a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure. After this procedure he will need to lay flat and still for 2-3 days. Then, he will continue physical therapy (they have already started this before surgery). After surgery and the 2-3 days in the hospital, Dad may need to go to a rehab facility as Mom and Dad’s condo is on the 3rd floor, no elevator. Overall though, Mom says "it’s all good." Dad’s prognosis is pretty optimistic; relieving the pressure should result in normal function though it may take a few days to a few months to regain physical strength in the left side. 

Mom is a trooper and as a result of this “excitement” rescheduled her final breast cancer reconstruction surgery for mid February. She is understandably disappointed but as she is stable this is a logical choice. Hopefully, Dad will be more recovered by then, and I (or one of my aunts) might even be able to go and help. 

John and I continue to await the eminent arrival of baby James T’s; though, we hope he will wait until at least the end of his week 37, which would be December 16. The baby is healthy and measuring big. I’ve experienced some Braxton Hicks practice contractions and am consequently trying to take it easy and not be stressed (ha, ha)!  We are fortunate even in the midst of a difficult year for my family to have a blessing to celebrate. We are also grateful for the excitement and support of our church family around our son. 

I’ll keep you posted. Mom does not want this on Facebook, but I can share on the blog so check back once in awhile for posts. I’ll do my best. 

Thank you for your prayers! 

PS. Dad does not have a phone in his room. You can send cards to the condo, Mom is commuting back and forth to the hospital and she can carry any notes to him.

                                           

Cultivate Hope

Cultivate Hope

It’s been a stressful few weeks, but also it has been a very hopeful few weeks. Sounds like a Dickens novel, “it was the best of times it was the worst of times.” So, as not to be melodramatic let me elucidate. 

My family found out that my mother had bilateral breast cancer in August. We had a saga with insurance but thankfully short version of the long story it worked out. Mom had surgery 2 weeks ago. I flew to Florida to be with her (and Dad) in the hospital and at home. It was stressful, but I’m deeply grateful I could be there. My congregation was supportive of my absence, two local pastors covered in case of ministerial crisis and it was a gift to just go focus on my parents. Mom did very well, she’s impressive and we got the preliminary news the day of surgery that she would likely not need further treatment (other than recovery from a double mastectomy and reconstruction). Praise God! Note, since then (today actually) the doctor confirmed Mom will not need any chemo or radiation. Hallelujah! Also, since my aunts and sister were coming in waves to care for Mom I was able to head back to Winnsboro and not miss a Sunday in the pulpit. So, things fell into place. God is so good. 

Then we had news of this big hurricane, Florence, that was coming to South Carolina and it was going to be bad. I think the only tv program on when we got back to my folks condo was the weather channel. Stressful to see the news again and again. Next, one of my two flights home was cancelled; I could get to Charlotte but not Columbia. Church members are calling and suggesting I stay in Florida. But the Charlotte leg was still on and John was willing to come to Charlotte; so my Aunt and Uncle took me to the airport while Dad stayed with Mom until Aunt Ginger arrived. Aunt Ginger and I missed each other by less than 30 minutes. Bummer. As we’re driving to the airport I got a text from the airlines saying my flight was delayed, again. Stress. But we continue. I get to security and the agent all but calls down Jesus when she reads my destination...”honey, you sure you want to go there!” I smile and nod. Then, I got the full pat down of my pregnant self in the security line because I’m just lucky I guess. Lit up, something on their monitors. Eventually I get myself sorted and to my gate and the flight is delayed again. Deep breaths. After what felt like 9000 years we board the flight...there are a whopping 14 people. The pilot says prepare for some bumps. Yikes. But, the flight was smooth! The stewardesses were really nice and I had a good audiobook. Though by the time I deplaned and wandered through the Charlotte airport and got to John I was so tired, hungry and relieved that I just cried...poor guy. Like big alligator illogical crying. Doesn’t that response (crying)  to big emotions drive you crazy! But I guess it was just liquid relief. Since it was much later than hoped I’d arrive in Charlotte, we spent the night at my brother in laws house near Charlotte and made it back to Winnsboro the next morning. 

See, what I mean now of the theme of stress and hope. Moments of big worries and moments of divine providence. It is funny, in a very good way, how life not only reminds us we are not in control but also that we are taken care of by something much bigger than us, God. 

Oh and our gender scan was delayed until Monday the 17th...but the appointment happened and baby boy (yes it’s a boy!) looks healthy and happy. Heart, organs and such look good. God is amazing. Our boy is weighed in at 1.8 ounces and measuring about 5 days ahead of his due date. I also think he might be tall because I think from the pictures he’s got big feet. Excited to meet him in about 15 weeks. 

Grateful to be #WINNingwithyou

Pastor Meg