Stroke at 57. Our story of recovery.

Day off today that included a surprise OT. Not sure how it went. M is not very communicative today, but did tell me, "I'm glad you are here" in his super soft voice. ❤ Ben and Jake are both here visiting. It is good to be together. We had M use his wheelchair and try to steer himself. Some crazy driving, but he seemed to like some autonomy. We went on the patio and watered the very dry succulents and now we feel we must adopt them. The food here. ....... not inspiring.....Pureed anything does not look very appetizing. Trying to encourage him to be independent, but he is not into it today. My positive is he did not choke as much during lunch... not much, but I'll take it. Patience........

Two weeks ago, I would have never guessed I would be making a post about speech therapy assessments, but here I go. This whole thing continues to be entirely surreal. I keep wanting to wake up from this very bad dream, but I need to come to the acceptance that it is just part of our new reality for now. Speech therapy - Michael did well with his assessment today. He verbalized all the pictures his therapist showed him. He has problems with writing, seeing letters (seeing anything, really, due to the constant double vision), and using his voice. He is not very conversational, but when you ask him something he will reply. We have to remind him to speak louder, and he tries so hard. The funniest exchange of the day was during lunch, after his pathologist left, in the loudest voice I had heard all day, he said "she's hot." Jake and I cracked up! Truly though, she is a super cute, late 20s something. I'm hoping he tries to dazzle her with his awesomeness. She was patient...

First session of occupational therapy this morning was completed before I got here, but by how tired he was when I arrived, they worked him well. The report from the patient said he did better than most. ☺ Headed to lunch soon with his Speech Therapist to check his swallowing progress. Right now it is puree and honey consistency liquids so he does not choke. Out if the gown and into a snazzy hospital shirt and pants. The work begins.

A sincere thanks to our PDA family for the gas cards. I am touched by the outpouring of love and eternally grateful for your support. ❤

We have settled in the acute care facility, Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital in San Bernardino. They have told me about his 3 hour per day training schedule with Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy. I am optimistic they will take good care of him here. They have high expectations and push the limits of recovery. I am nervous, but have to trust the process. They are getting him up for dinner soon. They waste no time getting the healing process started. Breathe...........

I got a call last night from a doctor. My heart started beating again when the doc said Michael was OK but rather he was calling to inform me about adjusting treatment. Prior to leaving Riverside Community Hospital, M had a special Echocardiogram performed. The technician thought she detected a forming clot in the apex of the left ventricle. I kept repeating this over and over to all doctors at Kaiser, but the report had not yet been received. They repeated another Echo here, but did not see anything. However, they wanted a Kaiser Cardiologist to read the RCH test. We got an 8 disk set of the procedure, and after viewing, Kaiser also agreed they saw an early forming clot. So....with this new diagnosis, we are going to begin a new Coumadin (Warfarin) therapy. Good, as it should be very successful in preventing future clots, but I have heard that once you are on...you might never go off.  That's kind of a lot to take in. Lifestyle changes...lots of blood tests and monitoring are i...

Shaving time!

I got to the hospital early this morning to talk to the doctor about his transfer to Ballard Rehab today. I sat with Michael on the bed for a few minutes afterwards and we looked over the papers which they have been using for assessment. He had not done very well with the word section. However, today we put his glasses on and covered his right eye. With his left eye he could read the words! We are so excited!! He even read the label on the picture that said "cognitive tools" LOL! This is AMAZING progress!!

Today we were visited by a rep to inform us that Michael was accepted by Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital in San Bernardino for inpatient services. Our Kaiser insurance will cover up to 100 days of rehab. I cried more tears...but these were tears of joy! Michael will be going there as soon as tomorrow afternoon! He will continue medical services and receive 3+ hours of therapy per day. Right after the rep left we got to have lunch. And WOW did that guy eat! He is still on a pureed diet in that there is still worry he might aspirate his food. But the way that went down, I have no doubt he will do great when they reevaluate his swallowing capabilities. We spent some time looking at pictures of our life over the past few months on my Chromebook. The new house and our recent trip to La Jolla. He enjoyed looking at them while listening to Jazz music where he often knew the names of the songs and one time started singing! When the nurses come in they all agree I am starting him on his t...

When I arrived this morning, Michael was much more awake. He had both eyes wide open and gave me a great smile. His voice sounded even better than yesterday. As with all hospitals they continuously poke and prod all day and night long and he's such a champ through it all. He is still often sleepy and needs lots of rest. Ups and downs...that is the norm. They did an Echocardiogram this morning and did not see anything abnormal. They want to do another type that is more thorough. Clots originate in the heart, so we need to find anything that might look suspicious. They will compare all of the Echos he has had (we are going on 4). His vitals are maintaining normal readings. But they have all the time, so that's nothing new. He is on blood thinners, so hopefully the clots stay away. They have also recommended him for acute physical care, so when he can be released medically he will most likely enter a facility for intensive treatment due to his age and good body strengt...

Tuesday while visiting Michael, I told him I had watered some of our plants in the yard that are not on the automatic watering system. I mentioned a few that I took care of and he whispered "Jade in blue pot." I wracked my brain trying to think of what he was talking about. I didn't see a jade in a blue pot anywhere when I hastily watered this morning. I was worried he didn't quite remember some details, which might happen given his condition. Today, I took a few minutes and went outside to pull a few weeds & see how the plants are recovering from the winter freeze, so I could report to him today that everything is coming back nicely. On the back patio, what do I see? THE JADE IN THE BLUE POT! It was hidden by our covered patio chair and I could not see it from where I was standing yesterday looking for plants to water. Needless to say I smiled ear-to-ear. Something so simple can give me so much hope.

Personally, one thing that is going to help me get through this is believing this experience may help someone else down the road. So here is my first PSA. If you have any family history of heart problems or stroke, please check with your doctor about taking a daily low dose aspirin. If you don't know, call your old uncle and find out if they know. Somebody has to have some family history they can share with you. Communicate with your family. Michael had taken low dose a few years ago, then it started upsetting his stomach. He discontinued it. Of course there is no way to know for sure if this would have all happened or not if he had continued, but trust me... an upset stomach and gastric reflux is a walk in the park compared to this. Get an annual check up and speak with your doctor today!   <3

11:30AM Not any huge changes today. His voice sounds better. So that is hopeful. He also still has his sense of humor. Vision is still doubled. When he closes his right eye, he can see with his left pretty good. He just told me that this is his third room on this floor and he knew all the nurses. (which is true) When I told him he is Mr. Popular, he said, "I can't help it." His personality is in tact.  :) We gave him a nice shave and a good hairdo. Just hanging out. 12:30PM Seen by the Neurologist. He always passes the strength tests so well. He is so strong on both sides which is good. His speed for his finger to nose test was improved. His problem is the location of one of strokes was in the cerebellum, so dizziness and equilibrium are a huge factor for now. PT tried to get him up earlier but he was too dizzy to stand. He is being referred to the next level of PT which would be a sports therapist. 1:00PM He did not pass the "swallow" test. So they w...

11:00AM Progress today in Michael's large to fine motor skills. He was able to feed himself ice chips with a spoon. He was able to do the point from finger to nose test, albeit super slow, but yesterday could not find his nose at all. PT stood him up and he shuffled at the side of the bed. He is still quite dizzy and seeing double. At this point we will take any improvement. At 9pm we will pass our 48 critical hours since the thrombectomy. Dr. Charles Stout is our hero. Rosalyn his 1:1 ICU nurse has been awesome. We can expect waxing and waning, as they call it. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad.  5:35 performing an Echocardiogram to see if they can find the source of the clotting problem. Still no read on that. The technician thought she might see something and I had to sign a waiver for them to inject him with an agent to better show the area of interest. 9pm Since he is considered stable, he was transferred back to Kaiser Moreno Valley to continue monitoring and th...

When we first arrived after his MRI, I held his hand and asked him to squeeze and he did. Then he was squeezing 3 times... I Love You! We were communicating. His breathing tube was allowed to be removed as he was breathing okay on his own. We got to meet with the doctor and look at the recent MRI results. You could see the areas of damage in the brain. One of which was in the hypothalamus region as well as the cerebellum. I wish I could remember all of the words that were thrown around. But medical language is very difficult to retain, especially when you are so exhausted.  He had about three or four affected areas total in the brain. At this point the doctor seemed to be pleased that he had responded in the way he had so far. With some times of being awake and responding to our requests. Interacting with us. Within 6 months we should what our "new normal" will be. What we said in the beginning was just a bump in the road, is now more like a detour. But we can be str...

What we thought was the event in fact was not. At 4:00 PM on Saturday, March 24, Michael suffered what was actually THE EVENT. He looked at me and said, "Left side tingle, I'm OK." and then started looking like he was having a seizure. Frothing at the mouth, shaking uncontrollably. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. I pushed the nurse call button, then ran to get them. Before long I was being rushed out of the room, and all of the medical personnel came in. The thing that freaked me out was the calmness that everyone had. I know it is their job and they encounter this daily. You want to scream  "MOVE FASTER!!!!!" You notice other people walking by with their lives in full tact while mine is falling apart. I'm sitting in the hallway across from the room watching the activity the best I could....I just knew it was bad. They took him down to ICU to consult with the stroke team. They got my belongings and took me to the downstairs waiting...

Wednesday, March 21 I went to work as usual at 7:00. When I left, Michael was sitting at our table eating a bowl of cereal. He was fine. About 8:00 I received a call. "I think I'm having a stroke." I told him to hang up and call 911. I grabbed my purse and glasses and rushed to the car. And called 911 myself. The operator said she had not yet gotten a call from him. Little did I know, he was completely out of it, right after we hung up. On my way I called our neighbors Shelley and Marty. Luckily they were home and rushed over to our house. I opened the garage door with our garage door app. (I never thought of using that for this type of emergency...but a great purchase) You'd like to think you are in complete control and able to remain calm in a situation like this. But I guess the fact that I made it home in one piece was good enough.  I just chanted the entire 23 minute drive. "You are strong...you are alive...you will not leave me....." Whi...

Three Days of OK Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday went by. Two of the days we did our usual 3 mile walk. He still had a bit of a headache, but he often has one that is described as "dull". At lunch one day he felt a bit dizzy, but that passed quickly enough,

Saturday, March 17 Michael felt odd earlier in the day. We thought it was dehydration from not drinking enough water over the past few days he'd attended the CUE Conference in Palm Springs We went about our day just feeling a bit tired, then at dinnertime when he attempted to come to the table, he tried to stand, but couldn't. I went over & helped him to his feet and guided him to the kitchen table. His teeth felt sensitive and his jaw unresponsive. He went to get a drink of hot tea and had to make 2 attempts before finding his mouth. This was using his dominate hand (right). We called the Advice Nurse at Kaiser and she suggested we call 911, but since he was doing better at that moment, we just headed to Kaiser Medical Center Moreno Valley Emergency Room which is 30 minutes away. When a patient comes in with his symptoms there is no time wasted. They whisked him directly to the back and took his vitals. Results good. Within 5 minutes had an EKG completed. Results...