Deja Vu…Round 2!

Hi! It has been a while since I had the time to sit down and write.  I have had plenty of things to talk about over the last year and a half but none compared to my current reality.

The short version:  On November 1st my dad slipped and fell on his back steps due to ice.  He hit his head and cut his hand.  Due to the fact he needed stitches, mom took him to the ER.  They admitted him for precautionary reasons because he has a mechanical heart valve and defibrillator and had been feeling nauseous.  They determined all was well with his heart and he was experiencing a virus of some kind.   They kept him one night and sent him home.

Once he was home and as the week progressed, he worsened.  Mom took him to his hospital follow-up doctor’s appointment and they sent him to the ER.  He was taken by ambulance to a neurological ICU because they discovered a subdural hematoma.  This was the information that led me to purchase a plane ticket and fly to northwest Arkansas. We had been down this road in 2013 with mom and who knew what this road would look like.  I had to go.  So on mom’s 80th birthday, I flew to Arkansas to be there for her and dad.  I got to give her a birthday hug on her birthday. 🙂  She is doing good.  It is a stressful time and thankfully she has the perfect little service dog to help her through. Jasmine is at it again.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the Lord answered one of the many prayers he will continue to answer.  The subdural hematoma was small and would heal on its on – NO surgery. Woo hoo!  They also found he had a version of pneumonia called Legionnaires Disease.  This is treatable with antibiotics.  So the treatment plan started along with evaluation from physical therapy and occupational therapy in the ICU.  After these evals, it was determined dad would be transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility.  This is where this week begins…

Arkansas will be my home this week.  Dad was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility yesterday.  Great news…happened sooner than expected.  He is still confused and is very weak. I am staying at the facility because he wants to get up whenever he wants and he is not supposed to…he is an independent person.  🙂  The nights are challenging due to his confusion but we are in this together.  I keep reminding him this is a marathon and not a sprint and I have a little experience in that department.

Today he started the day at 7:15 with breakfast.  OT came around 8:30 evaluated him and helped him with getting ready until 9:50.  He rested until 10:30 when PT showed up.  They worked with him 45 minutes followed by Dr. visit, caseworker visit, lunch, orientation meeting, and Speech Therapy.  Needless to say, speech therapy was not the best because he was so tired. He came back to the room and slept for a while. Yay!  

We had several Godwinks – first, the Dr. was amazing. He spent 30 minutes assuring us that this is a team effort. He will spend time today communicating with Drs. from the hospital and his team to make the best treatment plan for dad.  He will get all meds figured out.  He reassured us the confusion is normal with a brain bleed…as have all others treating him. The brain is trying to heal and has been damaged. It can cause confusion.   He has asked a second doctor here to be a second set of eyes.  

They seem to have a great team. I am pleased.  The doctor ended with an amazing prayer and then gave us a mini sermon like dad does.  It brought tears to my eyes.

Daddy has had a busy, busy day but he still found time to read his Bible.  This is the hope we have – that he will continue to be true to who he is in all things.  We are claiming that word ALL once again.  

Romans 8.28 – All things together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose….ALL THINGS!

 

Godwink number two will be blogged about at a later time.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support and prayers. Each one is being felt.  Our specific requests now are:

– His confusion lessens quickly and goes away altogether – he has a cognitive test this afternoon

– His balance and strength return

– He does not try to get out of bed at night on his own

– Sleep at night

– Pneumonia clears up and does not worsen

– No complications from being off his blood thinner due to the brain bleed. –  He will be off for a couple of weeks until cleared by the neurosurgeon.  (He has a mechanical heart valve and has to be on it for life.)

Thank you for joining me as we traverse this De Javu Journey Round #2!

#blessed