Mom Had a Stroke
My mom’s health has been difficult for as long as I can remember. She had a mini stroke a few years ago but on Oct. 30th she wasn’t feeling well while out to lunch with my dad and he took her to the ER at Mercy Hospital. They ran a bunch of tests and found her BP was over 200. Her blood sugars were also high. The EKG was abnormal but the MRI didn’t show anything. They kept her for 5 days and released her home.
The next morning she fell in her bedroom. Thankfully my brother and his daughter (who is in school to be a nurse) were there. They called 911. She was transported by ambulance to Banner Baywood. This time her speech and left side were affected. She went through a slew of more testing. Her BP was high in the 200’s again and her blood sugars were again high. Mom really wanted Jared and Walker to come give her a Priesthood Blessing so we all went together.
It was determined that this time she did in fact have a full stroke. A Lacunar Stroke. This type is deep in the brain.
She was at Banner for another 3 days. They discharged her home and the next morning, again, she fell in the bathroom and was taken by ambulance back to Banner.
All the testing started over again and nothing new was found besides her BP and blood sugars were high. They were about to discharge her home when a good friend of mine advised me that she needs to go to a Step-Down/Rebab Facility. After some discussion with my dad and a long day of phone calls with the insurance company they were approved. But not before mom had another episode. The doctors ran tests while she was going through it but they weren’t able to see anything. Isn’t that strange?
Since it took so long to get insurance approval and she had another episode they kept her another night. Which we were all grateful for. On Friday November 10th she was released to the Alta Mesa Rehab Center. She was there for six days and released home on the 16th.
She’s been doing well since coming home. There was a small blip with a UTI but that is common after a hospital stay and she got antibiotics quickly.
She has a physical therapist coming to the house 3 times a week. A home care nurse twice a month. And they are receiving food help from their insurance until she is cleared.
I’m so glad she’s on the mend!! She had us pretty worried!!
No one prepares you, and I don’t know if anything can prepare you anyway, for when your parents age and they have serious medical issues.
I’m so grateful for my sister Robin who was a rock star and spent so much time at the hospital with Mom and Dad helping them sort out the information from Mom’s medical team and relaying it out to the family as well. Very thankful she could be there!
Now, let’s not have any more scares!
