I'm sitting in my Dad's hospital room at John Hopkins hospital in Baltimore. He was visiting with Nancy and Brandon and had a hemorrahagic stroke - basically a ruptured blood vessel in his brain early Tue am. His symptoms were weakness in his arms and legs. He finally agreed to go to the ED Wed afternoon.
Initially went to a small community hospital near Nancy's house but they didn't have the equipment to treat the brain bleed and transferred him to John Hopkins. So I had to scramble to book a flight, pack and make arrangements for work and feeding the cats! It felt so much better when I got here so I can manage his care firsthand. He was in good spirits when I saw him. His blood pressure spiked slightly and the nurse said it was because he was excited to see me.
Overall he is doing well considering. He is walking a little unsteadily and his right side is slightly weaker than his left. But he is alert and his memory is intact. The physical therapist asked him if he had any hobbies and my Dad said yes, bad ones - drinking, smoking and gambling! The therapist laughed and said she's never heard that before. I was a little embarrassed but what else can you expect from him?
A little concerning are his blood pressure and sugar levels - both are high. They need to manage it so he can go to a rehab center for PT. I was thinking it would be funny if we send him to the rehab center where Rob is. They can be roomies!
We decided to have him stay and do the rehab here in MD. They will move him to a facility closer to Nancy. It would be risky to have him get on a plane or sit in a car for 8 hours. So we're just waiting to see if he's transferring tomorrow or Sunday.
Renee sent this picture of them that was taken over the summer. We are all praying that they will be walking like that by next year! Please keep them in your prayers! This will be the third stroke-related illness with someone close to me in less than 6 months. One fatal....seriously, how much can a person take? But I'm looking at my Dad's stroke positively as I now know it could be much worse. It's a wake-up call for him to take care of himself and no more hobbies!
Initially went to a small community hospital near Nancy's house but they didn't have the equipment to treat the brain bleed and transferred him to John Hopkins. So I had to scramble to book a flight, pack and make arrangements for work and feeding the cats! It felt so much better when I got here so I can manage his care firsthand. He was in good spirits when I saw him. His blood pressure spiked slightly and the nurse said it was because he was excited to see me.
Overall he is doing well considering. He is walking a little unsteadily and his right side is slightly weaker than his left. But he is alert and his memory is intact. The physical therapist asked him if he had any hobbies and my Dad said yes, bad ones - drinking, smoking and gambling! The therapist laughed and said she's never heard that before. I was a little embarrassed but what else can you expect from him?
A little concerning are his blood pressure and sugar levels - both are high. They need to manage it so he can go to a rehab center for PT. I was thinking it would be funny if we send him to the rehab center where Rob is. They can be roomies!
We decided to have him stay and do the rehab here in MD. They will move him to a facility closer to Nancy. It would be risky to have him get on a plane or sit in a car for 8 hours. So we're just waiting to see if he's transferring tomorrow or Sunday.
Renee sent this picture of them that was taken over the summer. We are all praying that they will be walking like that by next year! Please keep them in your prayers! This will be the third stroke-related illness with someone close to me in less than 6 months. One fatal....seriously, how much can a person take? But I'm looking at my Dad's stroke positively as I now know it could be much worse. It's a wake-up call for him to take care of himself and no more hobbies!
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