Shayna was in desperate need of a haircut. Her ends were pretty bad and after we went swimming yesterday her hair turned green....again. Oh the things you go through with such blond hair. So today we got it cut!
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The result of the swallow test showed that he can eat normal food. WAHOO! He is allowed nectar thick liquids and solids. He can't have fresh fruit because there is too much liquid in them but other then that he can have whatever food he wants. Right now at the hospital he is eating chicken, veggies, rice, apple sauce, tossed salad with ranch dressing and a snicker doodle cookie. He has to prove that he can and will eat at least 2000 calories a day. They are going to watch him closely to see if this happens, when it does they will take out the feeding tube.
Last night someone broke into Dad's truck. We don't know what was taken, if anything. Mom has not been home since yesterday. Charleen and Ron and Vick were all staying the night at the house. Charleen's jeep was broken into as well, they took her binoculars. It's bad enough to have your car broken into, but this is just really bad timing. Dad is not aware of this yet. We are waiting for the right time to tell him.....who knows when that will be.
Dad had another swallow test today. As soon as the Dr. looks at it he will let us know if the feeding tube can come out today!! That would be the best news in the world for Dad to hear today. Then Mom can sneak in and your truck got broke into. YAY! Your tube is out......wouldn't that be awesome! He has another full day of therapy today, they will be working on stairs. If Dad can pass ALL of his therapy tests and get his feeding tube out today he can go home tomorrow. Can you believe it. How amazing!!! Let's hope it works out. He is so done with the hospital. He wants to leave NOW! If they decide he can leave tomorrow the Dr.s and nurses will go over a diet plan and all of his medications with Mom. There is a lot to do to get discharged but I know Dad is determined and will do whatever it takes.
So now that things have calmed down a bit with Dad and he is doing better and I have got my brain function back....I think....I remembered that I never told the story of whats going on with Tyler and I.
The day before Dad's stroke Tyler went to Pappillon in Boulder (Las Vegas) to turn in his resume. While he was there he was asked if he could stick around to fly the helicopter. He did and when he was done he was told that if he passed the drug test they would hire him right away. Of course he passed his drug test so he was asked if he wanted to start May 7th or May 21st. He chose the 21st. So, we are moving. We will be living in Henderson Nevada. YAY! We will be closer to Family!! I have absolutely loved living in Arizona and will miss my friends so much but we are all excited for the move.
I am not exactly sure when the kids and I will move. Tyler's new position allows him to work a week on and a week off so we will have time to search for a house and the kids and I plan on spending a lot of time in Utah. One thing we do know for sure is that we will be all moved and settled by the time the kids start school.
CRAZY!
I couldn't get my computer to work last night so here are yesterdays details. As I mentioned before Dad was in Therapy and had to walk over river rock. He actually had to walk over all kinds of terrain and he had to do it backwards as well, he walked through trees and had to keep the limbs from hitting his face. The whole time the therapist was just holding his belt buckle. He did a great job!
He went on a tour of the therapy restroom, they wanted him to see all of the upgrades he could to do his bathroom once he got home. Thank goodness we have Brock in the family and he lives close by. He will help Mom and Dad get this all done. But as I'm happy to report, Dad won't need very many of the upgrades.
Mom stayed the night again last night, she is trying to stay as much as possible when she has company staying at the house that can help take care of the dog.
Dad is and will be on a bunch of medication. Mom went through the list and told me what they are all for. There is about 10 different medications. It's crazy that someone can take so many different meds and not have any effects from it. I hope it stays that way and all of this medication does its job.
The result of his C-PAP with Oxygen study should be given to us today and also the swallow test results....as always I will keep you posted.
The kids wanted to go to Fain Park again today to show Tyler around. We took a picnic and hiked. Today we saw some fish, a turtle, a frog, some crawdads and ducks. When we were at all done at Fain Park we went to Dairy Queen and got some ice cream. Right now Tyler is on his way to his soccer game. The kids and I decided to stay home. We are pretty tired. Me especially, after our 3 hour hike yesterday the kids made me play soccer with them at the park by our house. And then hiking today.....phew!
So, yesterday Dad had a lot of visitors. It was good for him, it lifted his spirits and he was in a good mood all day. During therapy he was taught some tongue exercises to build the muscle back up. The back of his tongue is not working properly, it is not pushing the food in the direction it needs to be pushed so when he swallows it goes the wrong direction and heads to his lungs rather then his stomach. There is much more to it then that but since I have no idea what they are talking about, to much medical lingo, that is how I will explain it. Once he builds the muscle again he should be in good shape. They will do another swallow test on Monday or Tuesday to see if the exercises helped enough to remove the feeding tube. Lets really hope for this. The feeding tube is driving him CRAZY!!
I just learned that a nurse has been sleeping in his room at night because he doesn't like to obey the rules. He won't wait for a nurse to help him out with anything. He just gets out of bed and takes care of everything himself. This isn't allowed because he is still a little wobbly, and he was still hooked up to all of his paraphernalia so he would just drag it across the room with him. Haha! He has since been removed from all of his IV's. The only thing he still has is the darn feeding tube. Mom stayed with him last night and he slept very well. It was the first time they weren't in every hour doing a sleep study, checking blood pressure or checking IV's. He woke up today feeling very refreshed.
Today he had some therapy, they took him outside to walk over river rocks. He did a great job. The PT's are all very impressed with how well he is doing. He has had visitors again today which he enjoys very much. Mom has not called me very much today. I have not been getting updates as often but I think she is enjoying having someone there with her. So I'm not going to bug her. I will update as I hear things.
It is so amazing that Fain Park is right in our back yard.....Literally! It's hard to see but if you were to blow this picture up you could see right behind them on the very top of that Mountain is homes. That is our neighborhood. Fain Park is so well hidden we never saw it. We even tried to see it on our drive home and still couldn't. We had so much fun we stayed for 3 hours.
My poor mother is exhausted. I can hear it in her voice. I'm feeling so guilty that I'm not there....I should be, but I can't. It sucks!
Anyway, it doesn't seem like updates differ at all. Everyday is therapy, everyday he gets a little better, everyday he's annoyed he's there, every night he can't sleep.....same old same old. Last night they did a sleep study on him and apparently he got NO sleep. I don't know the results on that yet but of course when I know I will post it. Dad's blood pressure was a little high again today but they went ahead and did therapy anyway. He is with the speech therapist now and will be doing another swallow test. Watching Dad go through all of this is taking a toll on Mom. We tend to focus so much on the patient sometimes we forget how hard it can be on the loved ones.....good thing she's so strong!
I was able to get the full details on Travis's story..... He has Histoplasmosis. It's a nasty fungus that is incredibly difficult to get rid of but it is curable. YAY! He will be going back to the hospital everyday for 2-3 months for IV therapy.
The story on how he got it is actually a scary one but it makes you understand just what kind of a person he is. He was kayaking down a river in the jungle of Ecudor with a friend and his friends kayak tipped and went underwater and he got stuck under a rock. Trav dove in to save him and in the process swallowed a whole bunch of water. And that is how he ended up with Histoplasmosis......but he saved a life in the process! I'm proud of Travis and I am so happy to know he will make a full recovery!!
Today I am very stir crazy. I need to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather. Tyler is a t work so I decided to take the kids on a picnic. We are going to Fain Park. We have never been there but it is only a 5 minute drive from our house. I will post pictures soon!
Dad was able to do all of the therapy for the day. They didn't have to turn him away because of high blood pressure. Yay! He had a full day and is extremely tired now. I told Mom to keep track of his blood pressure for me just so I could see how it is going/fluctuating.
At 9:30 this morning it was 161/81
At 4:30 it was 156/92
At 5:41 it was 147/86
Not too bad!!!
Tonight he is going to do a sleep test. They will hook him up to his C-PAP mask and put oxygen through it to see if that helps him out even more. I will update the results of that tomorrow.
I wanted to add some pictures of Dad at therapy. He didn't want me to do it but after Mom explained to him that a picture is worth a thousand words he agreed. He just didn't get why I could tell people how he is doing until I'm blue in the face but when they can see for themselves it helps them understand.
So they are.....
Dad has a day filled with Therapy. At 10:00 he goes down for Occupational Therapy, 11:00 Speech Therapy, 1:00 Physical Therapy and then he gets a little break. 3:00 he has more Physical Therapy.
Today when he woke up he was able to walk down to his shower and back. He even got himself dressed. He did his own zipper and tied his own shoes!! The shoes took him about twenty minutes but he sat there until he had it done. He is so determined.
Dad was pretty mad at all the nurses this morning when Mom got there. Last night he told the nurse that the tape on his nose holding his feeding tube in was bothering him. The nurse removed the tape and fixed it up so it wouldn't bother him anymore. This morning the new nurse thought he had pulled it off. He couldn't make them understand that it wasn't him and to not put it back on. It's been a few hours but he is still ticked. Haha!
His blood pressure was really good this AM. It was 138/80 and when they took him down to Therapy it shot up to 178/102. They are still letting him work though. They are just keeping a close eye on it.
I'll keep you all posted on how therapy goes.
Doc (Dad's dog) spent the day with him at the hospital. It was a much needed visit for both of them. Dad's blood pressure finally came down. It is currently 153/80. Huge difference. I can't help but think it was all Doc's doing. Once Dad could see that his dog was OK he could settle down a bit. Haha!
I am so annoyed this morning, first of all I have been trying since 8:30 to get the updates posted but my stupid computer is crapping out on me. I need a new computer so bad! Every time I went to add a picture my computer would freeze and then it would shut down and would loose everything I typed....GGGRRRRR! I think I am finally getting it to cooperate so I will hurry and write the important stuff.
This morning Dad got up and had his shower. While he was in the shower he accidentally pulled out his feeding tube. They had to do an x-ray to see if the tube was pulled out to far. If it was they would have to go through the procedure of putting a new one in. Luckily it was OK. No need for a new one. He will be with his feeding tube for at least 7 more days it looks like. When he was done with all of that he went back to his room to relax and read his paper. He's looking pretty good, don't you agree?
I thought it was important to show proof that Dad is doing so well. This is a picture of him walking down the hall without a walker.
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Dad was able to get moved today. He is now on the 12th floor for Rehab. They have had him up and walking without the walker. He is doing GREAT! The Dr. figures that he could be there anywhere from 7 to 14 days and then they will move him to outpatient rehab. I know this is going to be hard to believe but he is teasing all the nurses. That just doesn't sound like him....or does it? HAHA!
The CT results are back. The brain bleed has stopped which is amazing news!! However there is still swelling in the brain, but this is pretty normal. The better he gets the more the swelling will come down. The Dr. is not concerned about it at this time. He still has to have his feeding tube which is a huge disappointment for him, he HATES that thing. All of the medication that he is on has caused his feeding tube to get blocked. If they can't flush it out he will have to have another feeding tube put in. The best news of all is that they have decided it will be OK for him to be released to physical therapy with his feeding tube. So TODAY he is moving to the PT room. It is on a different floor, I'm not sure which one yet. Yay!! Finally out of Critical Care. Another bit of amazing news....Dad was able to walk down the hall, have his shower and walk back to his room, all WITHOUT his walker!!! He is making huge improvements!
I don't really have anything to report but I just talked to Mom so I thought I would at least write something. Dad is feeling a little agitated still. He just wants to get out of the hospital. He is having a really hard time just sitting in the same room. It is so not Dad's personality to do nothing. He is a little stir crazy to say the least. He is sitting up in the chair this morning reading his news paper. He gets frustrated when his right hand won't turn the pages like he wants it too. He is trying so hard to use the hand with everything he does, it's great therapy and he is determined to get the mobility back. The speech therapist was in again this morning. His swallow tests are getting better! We won't know the results of the CT scan of his brain until later today....who knows when? I will update as soon as I hear......
We finally got the results from the kidney test. Every thing looks good, there has been no damage to the kidneys. YAY! Mom was told that the reason the Dr. isn't in much to see him is because he is stable. They don't feel like they need to check on him a million times a day. That is good, I just wish they thought the same during the night. It's ok though. I'm glad they stay on top of things. Dad is going in for a CT scan of his brain tomorrow at 5:00am. He will also be having another swallow test. Hopefully they don't give him chocolate pudding again! As long as the CT results AND swallow test results come back good they will release him from Critical Care. They don't want him leaving ICU with a feeding tube. Let's hope for the best and as always I will update as I hear things. Really quickly I want to thank everybody for your support and encouraging words. We have received so many calls, texts, Facebook comments and comments on the blog. I want you to know that every one of them is appreciated. I can't wait for Dad to be able to read back on all of this and see how many people love him. THANK YOU!!
I just talked to Mom and still no word on the results. He got up and used his walker to get down the hall to the shower, he was even able to walk a few steps without the walker. His Occupational therapist said he might not qualify for therapy there in the hospital because he is doing so well. We don't know that for sure but it was nice to hear that he is doing so well. Hopefully we have those results soon. And just in case anyone is wondering....Yes, I was able to successfully finish my laundry. All is well. However, today I was labeling my meat to put in the freezer and I labeled my Hamburger as Chicken. I'm going to pretend this is normal!
This morning Dad is a little agitated. They just don't let him sleep, which is normal but can get old. Other then that he is doing very well. This morning he wanted to walk down for another shower so the nurses are getting ready to help him out with that. We still don't have results. They are doing a shift change and Dr. rotation today so he will have a new Dr. today. She will not be in until this afternoon so until then....no new news.
I just talked to Mom and there is nothing new to report. No news from the Dr. on the kidney test and no changes. Just the same old, same old. I will post in the morning when I hear from Mom.
So Dr. Garcia said that he doesn't have all of the numbers back for the kidney test so we will have to get the results tomorrow. If I hear anything between now and then I will make sure to post!
I think I need to take some time to just relax. I have had nothing but chaos and emotional stress since Thursday. Absolutely no sleep and it was incredibly difficult for me to leave the hospital. I got home and had a good nights sleep. I think I slept pretty deep. When my alarm went off this morning I woke up feeling like I had drank a gallon of nightquil. I knocked everything over trying to get to my alarm. Right now I'm trying to clean my house and keep up on updates and get the laundry done. I just did a whole load of laundry for no reason. The machine was washing away and when the buzzer went off I went to put the clothes in the dryer but ALAS! Nothing was in there. Apparently I forgot to fill the washer. Haha!
I just realized I forgot to mention something VERY important. This weekend while I was at the hospital Britton was in the Prescott Mile High Soccer Tournament. They played a total of four games over two days. Out of the four games they only lost one of them. Britton made a total of four goals and I don't even know how many assists. His team ended up taking FIRST PLACE! Unfortunately Britton had to leave before medals were handed out so they could pick me up from the airport. As soon as he gets his medal I will post pictures. Good job Roughriders! We are proud of you!! I just got a call from Mom and she said Dr. Garcia was just in. They can not get Dad's Blood pressure to stabilized so they are going to keep him in ICU today. Maybe he will get out tomorrow.....Keep your fingers crossed!
Yesterday was a crazy busy day. We had so many visitors and I had to leave the hospital by 3:30 to catch my flight. Thank you to all of the visitors. I think it gave Dad a boost. And thank you to those of you who have sent flowers. They are all beautiful. I want to say thank you to Brock and Asenath, they spent a lot of time at the hospital with us. It was so nice to have them there to visit with, they helped keep my mind off things. And they brought treats!! Brock is going to be mowing the lawn for Dad. You have no idea how much stress that relieves. A huge thank you to Charleen. She has been taking care of Dads dog and staying the night with him and helping take care of Shane. She even cleaned Mom's house, took out the garbage, planted flowers, hung out at the Hospital and got me to the airport. How amazing is she? Mom's neighbor/friend/my second Mom Colleen is also helping to take care of things. We appreciate you all so much. I just didn't have time during the day to do a post and by the time I flew to Phoenix and drove the 2 hours to my house I was beat. I just wanted to spend some time with my family, have a shower and go to bed. I'm sorry about that. I know there are a lot of you that depend on these updates. I will do better. So lets see, lets start from yesterday afternoon. He has been trying really hard to use his pen to write. he couldn't quite hold onto it so he would make little scribbles. I felt like if the pen molded to his hand a little better he would be able to get the grip. I wrapped some of his Thera putty around the pen and he was able to hold it much better. He even wrote his name! Also the Nurses took Dad down for a shower and he walked the whole way with his walker. He is doing so good with his mobility. He had a really good night too. He is using his C-PAP mask to sleep at night and it has made a huge difference in the energy he has during the day. Today I talked to Mom and she filled me in on the happenings. This Morning at 7:30 (all of the times that I write will be Utah time) he went in for an ultra sound on his kidneys. He had to have the Ultra sound because high blood pressure causes the heart and kidneys to work double time. So the Ultra sound was to see if there is any damage to the kidneys we won't have those results until about 2:30. Dr. Garcia said that they are having a hard time stabilizing his blood pressure. They are trying a bunch of different medications to see what will work best for him. Dr. Garcia said that as soon as his blood pressure comes down they will let him leave ICU. That is the only thing keeping him there. They are hoping that he can move out of ICU today!!! We also know that his brain swelling is coming down because he is more alert and staying awake much more. When the brain has an injury it makes you sleep so it can try to heal itself. As of right now Dad is sitting in his chair reading his newspaper. How cool is that? Earlier today the Speech Therapist came in to see Dad. They did another swallow test and this time gave him pudding. He HATES pudding. I guess he was gagging and trying really hard to throw up. I feel bad for him but it kind of made me laugh, Dad has the worst gag reflexes. If you pretend your gagging, it will make him gag..... The Therapist said his swallowing is improving. Great news!! The therapist gave him some ice chips that he can munch on during the day. I think Dads speech is also getting better. Some things are still hard to understand but he has come a long ways. I talked with him on the phone a little bit ago and he was able to tell me about gagging on the pudding. He is still very emotional, this is normal with a brain injury, and it makes it hard for him to speak, but all in all he is doing really well. I will keep updating as soon as I hear things. I just have to wait until I hear from Mom. When I was at the hospital I would grab the Ipad and type while the Dr.s and nurses were talking. Mom is really busy, but we will do our best to keep everybody in the know. Thanks for following this journey with us. We love you all!
Last night the nurses tried to get an IV started in Dads left arm but the couldn't find a vein so they bandaged his arm in two places. This morning the bandages were driving him crazy so he started using his right hand (this is his injured hand) to remove the bandages. He didn't want any help. He wanted to do it all on his own. It took him about twenty minutes to get both bandages off but he did it! Every once in a while he will grab his pen and some paper and start trying to write or he will grab his putty or sponge and start working his hand. I'm so glad he is trying so hard and is determined to get better.
We just went through the shift change so we have new nurses for the day. Dr. Garcia just came in to do his assessment on Dad. Last night Dad was having a hard time responding to the nurses questions and his right eye was responding to light quicker then his left. This concerned the nurse enough that he called in a Dr. The Dr came in and checked him out and felt it was nothing to be concerned about so when Dr. Garcia came in this morning he went through a bunch of tests. He checked his eyes, had him do leg and arm exercises, and asked him a bunch of questions. Turns out everything is fine. He was just super tired and had a hard time responding. When the nurse left the room last night (actually this morning around 3am) my Dad raised his arms like what's the problem, I'm doing everything I'm asked. It's nice that they are so on top of things here and any slight change they check right away. It makes me feel better. I'm not sure what is on the agenda today but when things happen I will post it. I do have to go to the airport today around 4 so there will be a few hours I won't be able to post but I will do it when I can.
We are still here. Right now they are trying to get an IV in Dad. So far nobody has been successful. We are now waiting for someone else to come in. We have been told this person won't miss. We will see. The respiratory nurse will be in in about 15 minutes to put on his C-PAP mask for the night then it's lights out. However things move slow here so it might actually be around 1:00. I just hope that he will be able to sleep better tonight then he has been. He needs his rest and that's hard enough to do when they have to come wake him up every hour for check-ups. Today was a busy day but he made it through. Yay!
The respiratory therapist came in about an hour ago and got Dad all hooked up to the C-PAP machine. The C-PAP machine is a mask that forces air through the mouth and into the lungs. Since he has had this on he has had regular breaths and when sleeping he has not snored once!!! AMAZING!!! Shane has the exact same mask so now they can be twinners. How cute is that? This mask is to give him a more restful nights sleep without missing any breaths. When Dad sleeps he will stop breathing and then he takes a huge gasp of air. This isn't good and the mask has completely cured that. They are hoping that since he will have a more restful sleep that tomorrow during therapy they will see an aprrovement in his energy. I can't wait to see the difference.
We are with the occupational therapist now. She is the one who is teaching Dad dexterity. She gave him a pen to see how well he could hold a pen and write his name. She had to wrap tape around the pen to make it thicker so he could hold it. He was able to grasp the pen but couldn't write. She also gave him some Thera putty and she is doing all kinds of activities with it. He definitely has strength in his arm but the coordination isn't there. The more he practices the better he will get. I can't remember if I mentioned that he went for another walk today. He went down the hall and back and did fantastic. He is having a great attitude. And making us all laugh. I think he is going to handle this all very well. It's going to drive him crazy to be in the hospital so I think he will work harder to get out. I'm proud of him!
We just talked with Dr. Garcia. He said that Dads brains swelling is at its peak. He thinks in the next couple of days it will start coming down. He's going to be here in ICU for a few more days. During the night when he sleeps he doesn't like to breath very good so they are putting him in a C-pap mask to help give him the oxygen he needs. We were also told that Dad is mobile enough that we don't need to worry about bed sores. That was a huge concen for me but no worries there! Right now Dad is watching a golf game!! shayna has been calling and texting constantly to check up on her Grandpa. When I told her Grandpa was watching a golf game she said well now that's my Grandpa. He's going to be just fine! I believe her!
We just got the results of the swallow test. He is going to have to stay on the feeding tube a little longer. When he swallows it is going into his lungs. We are not sure how much longer he will have to stay on the feeding tube but for now it is the best thing for him.
We just found out that my Cousin Travis was vacationing in South America and got sick. Is is in a hospital in Oregan right now. They think he has some sort of African fungus and it has spread throughout his lymph nodes. This concerns them and they think it could possibly be cancer. Apperently the two act alike. We won't know for sure until a biopsy is done. Please keep him in your prayers. He is one of the most amazing guys you could ever know. I love you Trav. Back to Dad. The speech therapist just came in and told us they will be doing a swallow test on Dad at 11:00. More info on that later.
Last night mom and I left the hospital about 9:30 so we could go home and get some sleep. We got here this morning at about a quarter to eight and he was having a check up with the nurse. He kind of had a rough night. He just got very little sleep with having check ups every hour. He fell asleep about an hour after we got here and is sound asleep now. The dr. Should be in to see him so I will do more updates then. By the way. Blogger is giving me lots of problems. I can't get my posts to publish so hopefully it won't become a problem. I will get the updates out ASAP.
The Physical Therapist was here. After doing some tests she thought she would have him try sitting. When she saw how well he did with sitting she let him stand. He had good balance and strength so she let him walk with a walker. He walked down the hall and back and did really well. The only problem was that he would get a little tired and would loose his grip with his right hand without realizing it. When he got back to the room he didn't want to get back in bed so we got him all situated in a chair. He sat in the chair for a couple of minutes and realized he needed to pee so he got up and walked to the toilet! Yay!! He is doing so well. We still have a long road ahead of us but this is better then we hoped for. I'm excited to see where he is at in a month. Just as we were finishing up with physical therapy the speech therapist arrived. She gave him some ice chips, sips of water and some applesauce. He was able to chew and swallow with no problem. The only concerning thing was that he can't swallow on command. They will work with him more tomorrow. At the end of all of this the nurse started Dad on Heperin. A blood thinner just so he won't develops any clots since he is not that mobile. He is still very emotional but We had a lot of progress today. Wouldn't it be awesome if tomorrow was the same.
Dr. Garcia (neurologist) just came in to see Dad. After looking at all of the tests, scans and blood work they believe that the stoke was caused by high blood pressure. Scans of the heart show a history of "wear and tear" on the heart because of untreated hypertension (high blood pressure. This kills me. The first job I ever had was working for a hypertension specialist. If only you could see signs of hypertension. They are saying that he will for sure be here through the weekend. We won't know how long after that until we se how he is doing in another couple of days. Once he is released he will be scheduled to see a cardiologist. Until then we go day to day. We still have not seen the speech or occupational therapist. We are just playing the waiting game....
We have had some visitors today which was nice. Dad has been awake quite a bit this afternoon so it was nice to get to talk to him for a bit. He is trying so hard to communicate but it is pretty hard to understand him. Uncle Robin brought over his IPad so if Dad needs too he can type out messages for us. There isn't anything to report on right now but after lunch some therapists are going to be stopping by. Dad has been pretty emotional today. It's hard to see him upset but we will get through this.
Shifts changed so we have a new nurse. He was here yesterday morning as well but I didn't meet him until now. Dad was actually able to say some words. And he seems to be in good spirits. He is laughing at my mom for some of the questions she is asking. When the nurse asked him what his name is he spelled dug and started laughing. He was able to wiggle his toes and could lift two fingers on his right hand and touch his fingers to his nose. Of course all of this is difficult and frustrating but it's a good sign. He will have a therapist come in later and they will discuss walking.
So here is the awesome news. Dr. Garcia came in and said the stroke hit a part of the brain that will heal. If it would of hit just slightly to the side it would have completely paralyzed him. Since it hit where it did he will get movement back. We don't know to what strength but he will have mobility and the speech we can work on. Great news! I am so happy!
Mom and I didn't get much sleep. We had to sleep sitting up in the chairs in Dads room. Talk about uncomfortable. The nurses came in every hour to check vitals, eye movement and arm and leg strength. During the night they had to put oxygen on him and he still has it on this morning. The doctors and nurses will be in again around 8 so hopefully there will be more to report then.
There really isn't anything to report. I just have a lot of nervous energy and posting on the blog gives me something else to do while I'm sitting here. We just had the nurse come in to check his temp. It has gone down slightly. We moved his position in bed and he looks much more comfortable. His blood sugar was checked and it's at a normal level too. I probably won't update until morning as nothing is changing. Good nite.
Right now Dad has a fever. We are just working on getting that lowered. He is still sleeping. Mom and I are just visiting. Hopefully she can get some rest tonight. She needs it.
I just got to the hospital. Dad looks pretty good. He is trying to talk but can't at all. That is very frustrating for him. He shakes his head for yes and no questions. He just told the nurse that he doesn't have any pain or nausea. The nurse just touched both sides of his face and he could feel it but he couldn't feel it on his right arm. Mom and I are going to sleep at the hospital tonight so we can be with him. I know I didn't update much. But that's all we know. I will keep posting.
As you may or may not know my Dad had a stroke this morning. I am sitting here at the airport now waiting for my flight back to Utah. I am going to do my best to update the blog as much as possible to help keep friends and family in the know. When the stroke happened this morning he was unable to move his right side at all. About an hour ago he was able to move his right arm and leg and when asked he was able to follow a finger with his eyes. These are all very positive things!! He is still unable to speak and they have put in a feeding tube. Unfortunately this is all I know and won't know much more until I can see him for myself. Updates will be more often once I'm in Utah. Thanks for your prayers.
I can't believe my baby turned 8. Where does the time go? She had a very busy day on her Birthday. She had to go to school then she had dance class then she had soccer practice. Soccer got canceled because of rain. It really worked out in our favor though because she just wanted to get to her presents.
This is the very sad looking cake in the shape of nail polish that I made for her. If you can't tell what it is don't worry, your not the only one. Shayna liked it though and that is all that matters!
Here she is after her dance class opening presents!
Enjoying the message from her new foot spa.
While she was at school I decorated the house so she would have something fun to come home to.
Later that night after dinner and a shower we ate the cake.
And painted fingernails. I love how they turned out!
Britton lost his 8th tooth on Shayna's 8th Birthday. They both thought that was pretty cool.
And we even upgraded the bird cage. Even I felt bad for the little cage we had them in. They love all the space they have now. Yay for being able to spread your wings.
Saturday we took Shayna to Peter Piper Pizza for her Birthday Party.
Even though some of her friends couldn't make it, it turned out to be a great day! She had so much fun.
