Continuing Adventures in the ICU
(the actual brain scan)
This weekend was a very stressful weekend that I hope no one ever has to go through. I received a phone call at 1am from my sister. She called and told me to go home immediately. Mom was having a stroke.
I arrived in Morgan Hill twenty minutes later. Upon arriving, the ambulance was already there and I had parked in the street. I ran straight into the house and saw the gurney in the hallway. My daughter (whom was staying the night) was crying. Pretty much everyone at the house didn’t know what to do except stay out of the way of the EMTs. They had my mom lifted in what looked like in a blanket and put onto the gurney. They wheeled her out while the family pretty much figured out who was driving with whom to Kaiser Hospital.
My Dad went with the Ambulance and my sister, daughter and I went in my car. My brother took his car to get a local friend to take care of the dog.
Upon arriving at the hospital, we of course had to wait in the waiting room for the doctor to do their thing. We found out that when they arrived, they immediately took her to get her brain scanned. When we were allowed in the back (after the scans), my Mom was doing a little bit better, however she had been vomiting (or dry heaving at that point) while the doctors were evaluation the situation. We took turns going into the Emergency Room (since only 2 people were allowed at a time).
The neurologist came in and confirmed that she indeed had a bleed-out stroke. Her brain was bleeding in the fourth ventricle of her brain (the part of the brain that makes you feel sick and throw up). It’s also in the part of the brain where they cannot operate. It was likely caused by high blood pressure (which my Mom has medication for..since she does in fact have high blood pressure). My Mom was admitted into ICU that night to monitor everything closely.
Anika was still up and awake during the whole ordeal. She was watching a movie in the same room as my Mom when started convulsing uncontrollably. This scared Anika because she had no idea what was wrong. At about 5am, I opted to take her home so she could sleep. During that time I tried to sleep too but it’s the uncomfortable sleep in which you toss and turn without real sleep.
I got up early to get ready to head back to the hospital. I made the kids some food before I left them in Annette’s care. I left and picked up some In & Out Burger for my brother. He stayed at the hospital all night.
When I arrived, I snuck into the ICU and saw my Tia Carmen already there watching over my Mom. My mom woke up briefly after noticing that I had come in. She was used to waking up periodically because the nurses were obviously watching her closely and taking vitals every hour or so.
As of Saturday though, her strength had improved dramatically. Even though half of her is numb, it’s mostly the tingles. She can for the most part feel, however there are parts of her body that are still numb. Her left eye is weak. She can’t focus on one object without having the eye drift. She had this eye covered so she doesn’t get dizzy when looking.
I stayed at the hospital for most of Sunday. I left around 6pm because Anika was having a hard time without me being at home. After all, she was the one who was there. Before I came home though, I had my mom record a message to Anika on my iPhone. She told her that everythin gwas going to be fine, and people sometimes go through things like that and not to worry. Anika was comforted by the message. I think it was very important to know that her Grandma was alright. Anika then requested that I find her Alien plush toy she had in my car and deliver it to Grandma.
I left the house after I ate a quick dinner that Sunday night. I drove down to Morgan Hill and helped my Dad pack some stuff up to deliver to the hospital. I packed phone chargers, backpacks for the kids and a glass clown fish that my brother made for Anika (she’s taking ot for show and tell on Friday). I drove up back to the hospital on Sunday night and spent my time there until I was kicked out at 8:30pm.
This morning (Monday), I went to the hospital at 8:30 (during normal visiting hours). When I arrived, my brother was sleep sleeping with his head down on the bed. My Dad was already awake and talking to me about the night.
They had performed the follow up brain scan that night. I arrived in time for the doctor to come in to talk about the scan.
As of this morning, they said that the bleed in her brain is still there. They said this was normal for it to bleed a little bit more before it resolves itself. It could take up to 72 hours to determine if the bleeding has stopped. They ordered a dye based scan for this afternoon. That will help them map what is going on with her blood vessels.
So that is the deal. I will follow up (when I can) as it happens.
I have received numerous messages both on Facebook, and txt messages. I can’t really express my gratitude. My mom gets all the messages. I will continue to give them to her as it goes. 