I have been preoccupied for some time this year.
The wife got a pacemaker January 26, a blood infection that required a month of IV's at home (by Dr. Bears Buddy), then suffered a stroke April 13th. She was recovering quite well after two crainiotomies and an internal ventricle to peritoneal shunt to drain excess pressure off her brain. Then she was moved from the neural ICU to a regular room where an incompetent RN set her back further than she was right after the stroke. She was strapped dowm tightly by the wrists and placed flat on her back. She was left that way choking and thrashing for over 40 minutes. I could hear her coughing coming down the hall. At that point she was rolling her eyes upward like she was going to sleep, then she would cough, grimace and twitch violently. I went down to the nurses station and her nurse was sitting BSing with the other staff. Even with my bad hearing I coud clearly hear Nancy coughing at the nurse's station.
The neurosurgeon was able to repair the shunt and she was moved back to ICU and later moved from ICU to the Rehabilitation unit across town. Unfortunately she developed kidney problems while there which caused regression to extreme lethargy and lack of responsiveness. She went back to the regular hospital on Thursday by ambulance. The kidney function has greatly improved with treatment and she is now quite easily tired, but can respond and carry on a conversation. Her memory appears to be fine.
After all the time in ICU she will need extensive therapy to be able to walk. She has already told me she cannot drive again. (47 years without an accident or any tickets)
Because the stroke was in the left cerebellum, her depth peception is poor, she has more balance problems and gets motion sickness just being having her head lowered and raised too quickly in the hospital bed.
Despite all this she remains pretty cheerful and looks forward to getting home. You guys know she has to be tough to put up with me for the 47 years since we met and almost 44 years of marriage (July 20, 1968).
Anyway,thanks for listening. I just needed to tell someone. The stress gets to me sometimes.
The wife got a pacemaker January 26, a blood infection that required a month of IV's at home (by Dr. Bears Buddy), then suffered a stroke April 13th. She was recovering quite well after two crainiotomies and an internal ventricle to peritoneal shunt to drain excess pressure off her brain. Then she was moved from the neural ICU to a regular room where an incompetent RN set her back further than she was right after the stroke. She was strapped dowm tightly by the wrists and placed flat on her back. She was left that way choking and thrashing for over 40 minutes. I could hear her coughing coming down the hall. At that point she was rolling her eyes upward like she was going to sleep, then she would cough, grimace and twitch violently. I went down to the nurses station and her nurse was sitting BSing with the other staff. Even with my bad hearing I coud clearly hear Nancy coughing at the nurse's station.
The neurosurgeon was able to repair the shunt and she was moved back to ICU and later moved from ICU to the Rehabilitation unit across town. Unfortunately she developed kidney problems while there which caused regression to extreme lethargy and lack of responsiveness. She went back to the regular hospital on Thursday by ambulance. The kidney function has greatly improved with treatment and she is now quite easily tired, but can respond and carry on a conversation. Her memory appears to be fine.
After all the time in ICU she will need extensive therapy to be able to walk. She has already told me she cannot drive again. (47 years without an accident or any tickets)
Because the stroke was in the left cerebellum, her depth peception is poor, she has more balance problems and gets motion sickness just being having her head lowered and raised too quickly in the hospital bed.
Despite all this she remains pretty cheerful and looks forward to getting home. You guys know she has to be tough to put up with me for the 47 years since we met and almost 44 years of marriage (July 20, 1968).
Anyway,thanks for listening. I just needed to tell someone. The stress gets to me sometimes.
