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Mom asked me to THANK EVERYONE for everything. She is so grateful for everything you guys are doing for them. Donations/Food/Friendship...it's all amazing and wonderful.
So she wants you to know, she can't say it enough. Thank you!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Friday mini update
Not much to tell today. Mom said the new unit is pretty noisy, but Steve managed to sleep through a lot of it.
I asked about the clots again, still nothing new. But she said a doctor told her that they are the reason he doesn't keep his eyes open too much. She said the clot(s) cause him to be really dizzy and kind of like he has bad sea-sickness. Supposedly this will get better as the arteries re-route themselves around the clots, but who knows how long that will take.
That's all. Told ya there wasn't much to tell today.
More later!
I asked about the clots again, still nothing new. But she said a doctor told her that they are the reason he doesn't keep his eyes open too much. She said the clot(s) cause him to be really dizzy and kind of like he has bad sea-sickness. Supposedly this will get better as the arteries re-route themselves around the clots, but who knows how long that will take.
That's all. Told ya there wasn't much to tell today.
More later!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Private Room!!
Steve has been moved to his own room! WOOO HOOO!!
The info is:
Room 6 in the IMCO (intermediate care unit). That is on the 6th floor.
Visiting hours are from 9am-8:30pm.
He has a phone that can be called from 8am-11pm and the number is 423-778-6132.
Obviously Steve can't talk to you yet, but mom or someone will be there about 99-100% of the time.
The info is:
Room 6 in the IMCO (intermediate care unit). That is on the 6th floor.
Visiting hours are from 9am-8:30pm.
He has a phone that can be called from 8am-11pm and the number is 423-778-6132.
Obviously Steve can't talk to you yet, but mom or someone will be there about 99-100% of the time.
Thursday Update...
David and I got to see Steve last night and it's amazing how great he looks now that he has that ventilator out of his mouth. He looks like the Steve everyone is used to knowing! :)
When we got there, the nurse said he'd had a fever of around 101, but while we were there she took it again and it was down to 98.3. They have him on 2 antibiotics and tylenol for the Staph - pretty aggressive, so we're happy about that. They told us last night that once they got all the Dr signatures, he'd go on a list to get into his own room in the IMCU - Intermediate Care Unit. This is great news. It means he's still progressing well and that he'll have his own space. Now mom can sit with him all day instead of an hour here or there throughout the day.
His right leg was doing a bit of moving last night. It seemed to be a reflex of having his toes touched, but any movement is good movement we think. He also was doing better with his right hand when mom asked him to squeeze hers.
He was playing catch with the nurses last night also. He would throw his squeezy ball and they would fetch it. I think he has them trained well, don't you? ;)
This morning mom said his fever was back around 101, but they are staying on top of it, so hopefully it goes back down again soon. They got all the signatures they need to get him moved, but now they have to wait on a bed, so it could be sometime today or tomorrow before he gets to leave where he is. Keep your fingers crossed that it's sooner rather than later.
More to come...
I am currently working on getting a link on here so that you can subscribe to the blog and it will send you emails when I have updated it. So stay tuned. I'm also going to work on getting a donation button on here so you can do it online as well as by check through mail or at bank.
When we got there, the nurse said he'd had a fever of around 101, but while we were there she took it again and it was down to 98.3. They have him on 2 antibiotics and tylenol for the Staph - pretty aggressive, so we're happy about that. They told us last night that once they got all the Dr signatures, he'd go on a list to get into his own room in the IMCU - Intermediate Care Unit. This is great news. It means he's still progressing well and that he'll have his own space. Now mom can sit with him all day instead of an hour here or there throughout the day.
His right leg was doing a bit of moving last night. It seemed to be a reflex of having his toes touched, but any movement is good movement we think. He also was doing better with his right hand when mom asked him to squeeze hers.
He was playing catch with the nurses last night also. He would throw his squeezy ball and they would fetch it. I think he has them trained well, don't you? ;)
This morning mom said his fever was back around 101, but they are staying on top of it, so hopefully it goes back down again soon. They got all the signatures they need to get him moved, but now they have to wait on a bed, so it could be sometime today or tomorrow before he gets to leave where he is. Keep your fingers crossed that it's sooner rather than later.
More to come...
I am currently working on getting a link on here so that you can subscribe to the blog and it will send you emails when I have updated it. So stay tuned. I'm also going to work on getting a donation button on here so you can do it online as well as by check through mail or at bank.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Staph Infection :(
Mom got word this morning that Steve has Staph in his lungs. I guess there are a couple kinds of staff and what he has isn't the worst kind, but due to our family history Staph is a bad bad word. The nurses have been on top of it from the start and he's on antibiotics and they sound positive he'll get over it soon. Mom thinks as long as he doesn't get a bad fever then this won't really be too bad of a set back and he'll still get to change facilities soon.
At this point we don't know when/where of anything of that tho.
Keep praying and I'll post again soon!
At this point we don't know when/where of anything of that tho.
Keep praying and I'll post again soon!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Great Tuesday Update!!
I just talked to mom and Steve had a good night/morning. They did some rehab with him today. got him sitting with his feet hanging off the bed again. Also had a couple big guys pick him up so he was standing up. He needed their support, but they said just that he was willing to do that was great. Of course we all know he'd do anything :)
His doctor told mom if he keeps this up he'll be ready to move to a new facility within 2 DAYS. :)
This is really awesome!
Mom is out now trying to take care of some stuff in Calhoun and calling another possible facility for Steve. This one is in Rome. That would be really convenient for her, so maybe that will work out.
If you have more questions or need updates, email me - daisygirl@davidandstaci.com. Mom is feeling a little overwhelmed these days. I'm sure you understand!!
His doctor told mom if he keeps this up he'll be ready to move to a new facility within 2 DAYS. :)
This is really awesome!
Mom is out now trying to take care of some stuff in Calhoun and calling another possible facility for Steve. This one is in Rome. That would be really convenient for her, so maybe that will work out.
If you have more questions or need updates, email me - daisygirl@davidandstaci.com. Mom is feeling a little overwhelmed these days. I'm sure you understand!!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Memorial Day Update
Sorry it's been a few days since the last update. Here goes...
Thursday evening David and I went up to see him and he was awake, but pretty frustrated. You can tell he's ready to be better and definitely ready to be off the ventilator.
Over this holiday weekend, we got to see him a few times. He seemed to be in better spirits - had his favorite channel on every time - The Golf Channel. He's absorbing the tips from the pros so he will be ready when he gets over all of this mess :)
Seriously - he is trying very hard to communicate and gets a little frustrated when we can't figure out what he's trying to tell us. Paul is the best at figuring it out. He's very emotional, which is very normal for stroke patients. He is so happy to see all his friends and family and he shows it. He'll laugh, he'll cry. He gives us the thumbs up and the sign for I Love You. He tried to write again, but it's hard since he can't see what he's writing and b/c he is not left handed.
He is moving his right leg a little each day. He can barely barely move his right fingers sometimes. All is good progress, just slow. But we'll take it!
Unfortunately the ventilator is a must for him for a while. The doctors said that until he can swallow and cough completely normal, they have to keep the ventilator in to keep his airway open. He really hates that - as you can imagine. But, as long as he has the paralysis on his right side he is unable to swallow correctly, so things (fluids/saliva/secretions) are going into his lungs instead of his stomach. We do not want that at all. He has gotten over the pneumonia and we want to keep it that way.
On a positive note - they have a longer term solution for the ventilator and have taken it out of his mouth and put it in through his trachea. Please forgive me, I am not 100% on what to call this procedure. But it's similar to what Christopher Reeve had to help him breath. Steve is breathing almost completely on his own, but again - he needs this to keep his airway clear.
What does this really mean for him? Well, it's really a great thing. With the ventilator in the new location he can become more mobile. He is not confined to the bed beside the machine anymore. Once he gets stronger he will be able to move to a new facility that specializes in rehabilitation/therapy of stroke patients with the trachea ventilator. We do not know how long until that happens, but if things go well, we're somewhat hopeful it could be within 1-2 weeks. At this point we are not sure which facility he will go to for this, but right now I think the options are 1 - a different unit where he is now at Erlanger, 2 - Kindrid Hospital, also in Chattanooga, or 3 - the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Ga.
On his visit tonight, mom said you could tell he was happy to have the ventilator out of his mouth. he was feeling his teeth and his mouth and even wanted kisses from Mom. So cute :)
News about the clots? Not yet. They did another MRI on him this weekend, but his regular Dr hadn't been in yet, so we have no real official word. The weekend Dr told mom basically what we all already know. Until the other Dr can review the MRI results, we won't know if the clots are any smaller or anything like that.
Thanks for bearing with me on these updates. And as usual Thank You for the Prayers!!!
Thursday evening David and I went up to see him and he was awake, but pretty frustrated. You can tell he's ready to be better and definitely ready to be off the ventilator.
Over this holiday weekend, we got to see him a few times. He seemed to be in better spirits - had his favorite channel on every time - The Golf Channel. He's absorbing the tips from the pros so he will be ready when he gets over all of this mess :)
Seriously - he is trying very hard to communicate and gets a little frustrated when we can't figure out what he's trying to tell us. Paul is the best at figuring it out. He's very emotional, which is very normal for stroke patients. He is so happy to see all his friends and family and he shows it. He'll laugh, he'll cry. He gives us the thumbs up and the sign for I Love You. He tried to write again, but it's hard since he can't see what he's writing and b/c he is not left handed.
He is moving his right leg a little each day. He can barely barely move his right fingers sometimes. All is good progress, just slow. But we'll take it!
Unfortunately the ventilator is a must for him for a while. The doctors said that until he can swallow and cough completely normal, they have to keep the ventilator in to keep his airway open. He really hates that - as you can imagine. But, as long as he has the paralysis on his right side he is unable to swallow correctly, so things (fluids/saliva/secretions) are going into his lungs instead of his stomach. We do not want that at all. He has gotten over the pneumonia and we want to keep it that way.
On a positive note - they have a longer term solution for the ventilator and have taken it out of his mouth and put it in through his trachea. Please forgive me, I am not 100% on what to call this procedure. But it's similar to what Christopher Reeve had to help him breath. Steve is breathing almost completely on his own, but again - he needs this to keep his airway clear.
What does this really mean for him? Well, it's really a great thing. With the ventilator in the new location he can become more mobile. He is not confined to the bed beside the machine anymore. Once he gets stronger he will be able to move to a new facility that specializes in rehabilitation/therapy of stroke patients with the trachea ventilator. We do not know how long until that happens, but if things go well, we're somewhat hopeful it could be within 1-2 weeks. At this point we are not sure which facility he will go to for this, but right now I think the options are 1 - a different unit where he is now at Erlanger, 2 - Kindrid Hospital, also in Chattanooga, or 3 - the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Ga.
On his visit tonight, mom said you could tell he was happy to have the ventilator out of his mouth. he was feeling his teeth and his mouth and even wanted kisses from Mom. So cute :)
News about the clots? Not yet. They did another MRI on him this weekend, but his regular Dr hadn't been in yet, so we have no real official word. The weekend Dr told mom basically what we all already know. Until the other Dr can review the MRI results, we won't know if the clots are any smaller or anything like that.
Thanks for bearing with me on these updates. And as usual Thank You for the Prayers!!!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
5-22-08 Update
On Tuesday, Steve had to have a feeding tube put in his stomach so he could get nutrition. Because he was still having problems breathing enough and coughing on his own, they also put the ventilator back in. We were worried he wouldn't be very happy about this, but he knows they are only doing what's best. Most of Tuesday they tried to keep him relaxed and getting as much rest as possible. He really needs to gain some strength in order to be able to breath/cough properly on his own. That night was good for him, and my mom - she slept at least 8 hours without interruption. I know she needed that so much!
Yesterday - mom said that the 4 and 8:30 visits were GREAT. He was very awake, alert, and responsive. The rest was doing it's job :) The sat him up at the end of the bed so he could move his legs more. He is still doing really well with his left side. And he moved his right foot 7 times while laying in bed. So that is great progress. We also found out that his pneumonia is all gone!! That is a relief.
So far today - he is really tired in the mornings, but still responsive when talked to. He is still on the ventilator, but if all goes well, may come off in another couple days. They want to be really sure tho, so they don't have to put it back again like this time.
As you can see the power of God through prayer is amazing. Please keep it up!!!
More updates soon...
Yesterday - mom said that the 4 and 8:30 visits were GREAT. He was very awake, alert, and responsive. The rest was doing it's job :) The sat him up at the end of the bed so he could move his legs more. He is still doing really well with his left side. And he moved his right foot 7 times while laying in bed. So that is great progress. We also found out that his pneumonia is all gone!! That is a relief.
So far today - he is really tired in the mornings, but still responsive when talked to. He is still on the ventilator, but if all goes well, may come off in another couple days. They want to be really sure tho, so they don't have to put it back again like this time.
As you can see the power of God through prayer is amazing. Please keep it up!!!
More updates soon...
The Back Story...
I think a lot of you are aware of what is going on with my stepdad. In this post, I am going to document everything I'm aware of that has happened so far. But first let me thank everyone for praying for him and for my family.
Backstory - Steve hadn't been feeling 100% for a while. His biggest worry was some vision problems that scared him - double vision/blurred vision. So the week of 5/10 he went to the dr. He was tested for a few things and we found out then he was not diabetic, but he did have high blood pressure and started medication for that. He also did not have a thryroid problem. So Monday, 5/12 he had an MRI to see if he might have a tumor or anything and it came back clear. So that was good. Except that same day he was having major vision/eye problems and we later found out he had passed out at home while doing yard work.
Day 1 - Tuesday May 1 - I am not sure of all the details of how it happened, but Steve was rushed to the hopital in Dalton after his secretary noticed him having some problems. That morning he thought he was fine and he had been texting with David about the golf outing that weekend, but he wasn't ok. :( He had had a stroke. He was helicoptered to Erlanger in Chattanooga as they have a very very good stroke team in place there to help him. We found out that he had a blood clot in his brain stem on the left side. Due to it's location, they did not want to start him on blood thinners b/c they were afraid it might bleed into his brain - not good. So they just started him on aspirin. He had paralysis in his right side as a result of the clot. He could understand everything that was going on, but he could not really communicate to anyone else very well.
Day 2 - From what I can remember, I feel like this day was mostly the same. No worse, no better. He was very frustrated b/c he couldn't talk or move much, but they were hopeful he'd get to move to a private room soon instead of ICU.
Day 3 - He did not have a good night and early Thurs he had another stroke. There was another clot in his brain on the right side and then two more in his shoulders (i think???). The new one in his brain was a bad bad one, so they did a procedure on him to target that clot and try to dissolve it. The artery those clots are in are the size of a strand of hair. After the procedure, the dr said they got 60% of it and that possibly the rest would dissolve over the next couple days w/ the meds from the procedure. A possible risk was that the other clot would still bleed into his brain, so we prayed and hoped that wouldn't happen. They decided to try to get him to wake up after that to see how his body reacted to the increased blood flow from moving/talking. Around 8 or so that night, his doctor told my mom that he didn't expect him to make it through the night. He thought the new clot was coming back and that Steve would just slip away during the night.
Steve is a fighter and about an hour later he opened his eyes and he started moving his left arm. he responded to questions from family. It was truly amazing and one small prayer answered by God so far.
Day 4-current - Steve is such a great man. He has had so many visitors come to see him. It's so amazing. I really think this is fueling his fight. He works very hard to communicate with his visitors. He still only has use of his left arm, but will give the thumbs up, OK!, and try to do other sign language/sharades symbols to get his point across. He has moved a couple fingers on his right hand and a toe on his right foot. He can't wait to get out and get back on the golf course!! He developed pneumonia and was put on a ventilator to help with that. the paralysis caused him not to be able to swallow properly and a lot of stuff was going into his lungs. They stayed right on top of his care and although he still has pnemonia, his fever is lower and they took the ventilator out yesterday. Breathing is still very difficult for him. They are giving him meds to help relax him so he can not need to try so hard and hopefully he'll get his strength back up soon and overcome the breathing and pnemonia.
As of right now, we have no new news on the clots. That is great, but still pretty scary to me. Until I hear they are gone, or at least going away, i just don't feel like we are safe. Mom thinks they will do another scan tomorrow or Wednesday. In the meantime, the doctor is amazed at Steve's progress and they are working constantly to make sure he pulls through this.
I am so thankful that God is doing so much to get Steve on the right path. I am SO thankful for all the prayers and well wishes that so many people are saying for Steve. Prayer is a powerful thing. Please keep praying. This isn't over yet.
I will post updates on here as I get them if you want to check back.
Backstory - Steve hadn't been feeling 100% for a while. His biggest worry was some vision problems that scared him - double vision/blurred vision. So the week of 5/10 he went to the dr. He was tested for a few things and we found out then he was not diabetic, but he did have high blood pressure and started medication for that. He also did not have a thryroid problem. So Monday, 5/12 he had an MRI to see if he might have a tumor or anything and it came back clear. So that was good. Except that same day he was having major vision/eye problems and we later found out he had passed out at home while doing yard work.
Day 1 - Tuesday May 1 - I am not sure of all the details of how it happened, but Steve was rushed to the hopital in Dalton after his secretary noticed him having some problems. That morning he thought he was fine and he had been texting with David about the golf outing that weekend, but he wasn't ok. :( He had had a stroke. He was helicoptered to Erlanger in Chattanooga as they have a very very good stroke team in place there to help him. We found out that he had a blood clot in his brain stem on the left side. Due to it's location, they did not want to start him on blood thinners b/c they were afraid it might bleed into his brain - not good. So they just started him on aspirin. He had paralysis in his right side as a result of the clot. He could understand everything that was going on, but he could not really communicate to anyone else very well.
Day 2 - From what I can remember, I feel like this day was mostly the same. No worse, no better. He was very frustrated b/c he couldn't talk or move much, but they were hopeful he'd get to move to a private room soon instead of ICU.
Day 3 - He did not have a good night and early Thurs he had another stroke. There was another clot in his brain on the right side and then two more in his shoulders (i think???). The new one in his brain was a bad bad one, so they did a procedure on him to target that clot and try to dissolve it. The artery those clots are in are the size of a strand of hair. After the procedure, the dr said they got 60% of it and that possibly the rest would dissolve over the next couple days w/ the meds from the procedure. A possible risk was that the other clot would still bleed into his brain, so we prayed and hoped that wouldn't happen. They decided to try to get him to wake up after that to see how his body reacted to the increased blood flow from moving/talking. Around 8 or so that night, his doctor told my mom that he didn't expect him to make it through the night. He thought the new clot was coming back and that Steve would just slip away during the night.
Steve is a fighter and about an hour later he opened his eyes and he started moving his left arm. he responded to questions from family. It was truly amazing and one small prayer answered by God so far.
Day 4-current - Steve is such a great man. He has had so many visitors come to see him. It's so amazing. I really think this is fueling his fight. He works very hard to communicate with his visitors. He still only has use of his left arm, but will give the thumbs up, OK!, and try to do other sign language/sharades symbols to get his point across. He has moved a couple fingers on his right hand and a toe on his right foot. He can't wait to get out and get back on the golf course!! He developed pneumonia and was put on a ventilator to help with that. the paralysis caused him not to be able to swallow properly and a lot of stuff was going into his lungs. They stayed right on top of his care and although he still has pnemonia, his fever is lower and they took the ventilator out yesterday. Breathing is still very difficult for him. They are giving him meds to help relax him so he can not need to try so hard and hopefully he'll get his strength back up soon and overcome the breathing and pnemonia.
As of right now, we have no new news on the clots. That is great, but still pretty scary to me. Until I hear they are gone, or at least going away, i just don't feel like we are safe. Mom thinks they will do another scan tomorrow or Wednesday. In the meantime, the doctor is amazed at Steve's progress and they are working constantly to make sure he pulls through this.
I am so thankful that God is doing so much to get Steve on the right path. I am SO thankful for all the prayers and well wishes that so many people are saying for Steve. Prayer is a powerful thing. Please keep praying. This isn't over yet.
I will post updates on here as I get them if you want to check back.
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