What a week!
Not that I have a strong presence on LJ, but I did want the few of you that read this that might not have heard to know why I've been MIA for the week.
Thursday, May 4th my grandfather had a massive stroke. His sister, in from California, found him when they went over to his apartment in the morning. He was semi-conscious. The MRI showed that the damage was severe and includes most of the left side of his brain from top to base and the neurologists feel that the damage is done and is irreversible. He has been stable since they admitted him and on Tuesday(?) they discharged him to Pine Valley Nursing Home. My grandmother has been living there for the past 1 1/2 years due to her dementia and inability to care for herself. My grandfather who had his first stroke 14 years ago was unable to provide the necessary care to keep her at home, but was able to take care of himself enough to stay in assisted living and was visiting her practically daily. The staff at the nursing home says he's more reliable than the postman. :) So now roles have reversed again and my grandma is back to "taking care of" my grandpa. She sits in his room and holds his hand as he comes in and out of sleep. He participated in trying to sit on the side of the bed with therapy yesterday, failed his swallow eval, and we are still uncertain of how long he'll live. We are pretty certain that the quality of his life will be significantly diminished and chose not to have a surgically placed feeding tube though at the time he is getting artificial nutrition through an NG tube. That can only last 1-2 weeks though and if he can't swallow and doesn't want to live a life on tubes he will pass away soon.
So there's that.
Then last weekend Matt's Dad was admitted to the hospital too. He has had a lot of colon problems and started bleeding again. You might remember that when he was in the hospital the last time they put him on coumadin and he bled, but this time it's not medication-related. They finally did a colonoscopy and biopsy. We should find out Tuesday(?) what the diagnosis and plan of care will be. He was discharged home on Thursday and seems to be in good spirits, if on a very restricted diet to limit the trauma to his intestines.
THEN of course Matt was violently ill from Tuesday through Wednesday.
AND did I mention that Monday I left work to go to the doctor and finally find out what is going on the the frequent nausea and recurrent back pain. I'm not pregnant! We know that for sure. I probably have reflux again (probably from stress, gee I wonder why) and an XRay showed moderate stenosis in my low back (L4-L5) which could be why my back keeps hurting, but I still think it's also a recurrent muscle strain/injury. But no space plague for me (yet).
So that's the week. Joy!
Thursday, May 4th my grandfather had a massive stroke. His sister, in from California, found him when they went over to his apartment in the morning. He was semi-conscious. The MRI showed that the damage was severe and includes most of the left side of his brain from top to base and the neurologists feel that the damage is done and is irreversible. He has been stable since they admitted him and on Tuesday(?) they discharged him to Pine Valley Nursing Home. My grandmother has been living there for the past 1 1/2 years due to her dementia and inability to care for herself. My grandfather who had his first stroke 14 years ago was unable to provide the necessary care to keep her at home, but was able to take care of himself enough to stay in assisted living and was visiting her practically daily. The staff at the nursing home says he's more reliable than the postman. :) So now roles have reversed again and my grandma is back to "taking care of" my grandpa. She sits in his room and holds his hand as he comes in and out of sleep. He participated in trying to sit on the side of the bed with therapy yesterday, failed his swallow eval, and we are still uncertain of how long he'll live. We are pretty certain that the quality of his life will be significantly diminished and chose not to have a surgically placed feeding tube though at the time he is getting artificial nutrition through an NG tube. That can only last 1-2 weeks though and if he can't swallow and doesn't want to live a life on tubes he will pass away soon.
So there's that.
Then last weekend Matt's Dad was admitted to the hospital too. He has had a lot of colon problems and started bleeding again. You might remember that when he was in the hospital the last time they put him on coumadin and he bled, but this time it's not medication-related. They finally did a colonoscopy and biopsy. We should find out Tuesday(?) what the diagnosis and plan of care will be. He was discharged home on Thursday and seems to be in good spirits, if on a very restricted diet to limit the trauma to his intestines.
THEN of course Matt was violently ill from Tuesday through Wednesday.
AND did I mention that Monday I left work to go to the doctor and finally find out what is going on the the frequent nausea and recurrent back pain. I'm not pregnant! We know that for sure. I probably have reflux again (probably from stress, gee I wonder why) and an XRay showed moderate stenosis in my low back (L4-L5) which could be why my back keeps hurting, but I still think it's also a recurrent muscle strain/injury. But no space plague for me (yet).
So that's the week. Joy!