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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Seizure...

Here I am again, not knowing where to even begin. My face hurts from crying... yet I know that things could be far worse and I have faith and hope that they will get better.

Mom had such a great day yesterday and I was so happy that it was a "snow day" at school which allowed me to spend time with her - seeing her do so well. It's hard to believe how quickly things can turn around.

Early this morning I talked to dad and he said she walked all the way around the ICU ward (more than twice as far as yesterday) without stopping for a break.

Today was a good friend of our families funeral. Manuel, who my dad worked with at RTD, passed away last week from Stage IV liver cancer. Mario made arrangements to come and stay with my mom so my dad would be able to attend the services.

I called Mario at 11:45 this morning to see how she was doing and he said good. She was sitting in her chair, dozing in and out while listening to the radio.

About 11:30, the nurse had come in and said that they might move her back up to the 3rd floor (non-ICU unit).

They had just taken her vitals at 11:40 and everything was good;
Temp 97.6, BP 132/60, Oxygen 97 & Heart Rate 79.

After our phone call, Mario said he noticed her dozing and told her "Mom. Wake up! You're missing the story!" and she looked at him and laughed, then dozed off again.

At 11:50 she suddenly woke up groaning and lifted both arms at the same time in a locked position in front of her. When he called to her and tried to get her attention, she lulled her head to the left but didn't focus or respond to him. He called for help.

The doctor came in with more staff and took her down for a CT scan. They had told Mario it could be another stroke, the same stroke, a hemorrhage, an infection or a seizure.

When I got to the hospital, she was lying in a non-responsive state with her lips pursed shut (very strange because we usually can't get her to close her mouth when we want her to breathe through her nose). The respiratory team was suctioning mucus through her nose.

The results of her CT showed no acute bleeding - although we were told this might not be seen for 6-7 hours. The neurologist came in and when he examined her, she finally responded. She raised her arms and moved her feet when he asked and she even seemed to open her eyes. He believes that she had a seizure which is apparently a common result of bleeding in the brain from a stroke. They have started her on a seizure medication called Kepra.

The best she came out if it was when she saw Mateo and Sophia and reached over to hug them. It was a brief glimpse of mom. Soon after, she seemed to be in pain and received her pain meds. It looked like they offered her some comfort in a less tense sleep.

About 6pm she started getting fidgety and making more groaning sounds. Her breathing sounded horrible. Her nurse said it was similar to her fit this morning. Respiratory did another nasal drain and she got more pain killers along with some Ativan. She is resting in a comfortable - or at least less tense although completely "out of it" kind of way. I can only hope and pray that this is what she needs. It's hard to imagine how much this day has taken out of her.

My apologies if this doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm writing this out on my phone with bloodshot eyes and a pounding headache.

Please pray for her.

xox,
Tommy

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