Well to add to the chaos of our lives, Berlin got hit with some serious storms yesterday and we have NO power at my mom and dad's house.... so we lived by candlelight last night, had to empty the freezers into coolers, and are trying to survive the heat without AC. So i'm finally getting to blog this morning at the hospital.. fortunately they have wireless network.
My dad looks so much better this morning. They took off his EEG and took out his oxygen so his head isn't taped anymore and his nose isn't itchy! less things for him to pull at.
Late yesterday afternoon, the doctor met with us again and gave us some good news...
they did 3 very specialized tests to look at his heart and all his arteries and veins from his middle up. These are tests they never did at Jefferson... they found completely clear everything that indicates NO STROKE! No cardiac issues at all. This is huge news. So...
The doctor really feels this is a demyelination process (i guess can be described as the sheath around his axons in his brain are affected some way). How i wish i did better in my neuro classes! This is ususally caused by an infection of some sort. The more in depth tests from his lumbar puncture are supposed to come back today as it took a few days to get from the lab. The doctor thinks they'll get here today at which point he can be treated with steroids, antibiotics, or other medication and have a good prognosis! this will help shrink and eliminate the masses in his brain that are pressing on this centers of his brain affecting his speech and memory.
Let's hope we get some answers soon, but he's looking so much better and we're trying to explain to him that this is a temporary thing as i don't think he understands and is frustrated that he doesn't want to live like this. He has an aide by his bed 24 hrs a day to make sure he is okay and doesn't pull on his tubes. Also, they said he's been very restless and has even tried to get out of bed which is not good as he's connected to too many tubes and is at a fall risk.
He did Skype with Samantha and Nick yesterday which brought a smile to his face. I hope we're on the upswing!
I'm heading back to GA on Saturday and Dave's staying until he's not needed anymore. His boss has been very understanding fortunately.
Thanks for all the notes and phone calls. It's nice to know so many people care about him.
Kristi
So glad to hear this Kristi!
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