Archive for April, 2016

Well, not everything went as planned!

Monday, April 25th, 2016

After a wonderful evening with friends we said our goodbyes fully intending on one more morning of tennis and then a show our last evening.  The rest is history!  I had a bit of a fainting spell and cracked my brain open at 3 o’clock in the morning.  I was woken up on the floor by Paul who had no idea what had happened.  Fortunately I knew I had passed out.  I actually went back to bed but realized that I had really done a number on my teeth!  So at 9 am we get me dressed and head to ER.  Even the doctors thought things were ok but because I take Warfarin they decided I needed a CTScan.  As the saying goes the rest is history.  An ambulance ride to Barrow’s Neuro in Phoenix and many more CTScans they finally decided it wasn’t going to stop itself so they reversed the Warfarin and took a couple more scans,  all along talking Brain Surgery.  The good news is the reversal worked and I only have blood and swelling which should take care of itself.

That all went well,  I stayed 5 days in the hospital and then got released, bought a plane ticket to get back to SJ and get to my regular doctors to begin the healing process.  A brain bleed takes about 30 days for your body to process the blood.  So Paul dropped me off and returned to the RV,  loaded it and headed to Iowa!  He arrived on Monday and on Monday evening I had a set back that sent me back to ER!  And then another ambulance ride to Kaiser Redwood City which is Kaisers Northern CA NeuroSurgery hospital.  A beautiful facility that is just about a year old.  So while Paul stayed with the RV,  I spent the week in the hospital with a bunch more scans,  lots of new information, and friends and family stepped up for support.

Things I learned while in the hospital is your brain is really important and when you have a Tramma your body does weird things.  The second day there I was told my sodium was too low and I needed to eat salt!  What?   I have been avoiding salt since my very first heart surgery at 26!  Now they are encouraging to eat salty foods, even giving me salt tablets 3 times a day!

Just when I was feeling better, almost myself on Monday and Paul was almost home!  He took 3 days of all day driving with our friend Dennis who flew to Iowa to ride home with him.  The problem happened on Monday evening just as Paul was arriving in Santa Clara.  I had another set back that actually I was very fortunate because I was walking with the nurse and she caught me!  So I’m thinking we are back another week.  The next morning we did a CTScan and then an MRI to see if they could find anything.  MRI!  That is pretty scary.  It takes about 30 minutes inside a tube where the magnets make noises like Jack Hammers, drills, etc…  You have to stay perfectly still or it doesn’t work.  I had a emergency bubble that I could squeeze.  I didn’t have too so I didn’t have to put myself through that again.  The good news is they couldn’t find anything and they just think it is the blood putting pressure.  The bad news is now they are adding another medicine for a couple months to see if it helps.  So far so good!

Learning a new skill!  Coloring!  Very relaxing and actually pretty addicting.  Thanks Annie!

Learning a new skill! Coloring! Very relaxing and actually pretty addicting. Thanks Annie!

I was overwhelmed by the Creative Sensations Coloring Book but once I got the first one done it was a good thing I had it.  Reading wasn’t so good, too distracting and TV gets boring even if you have favorite shows so coloring was definitely a good way to rest my brain!.

So I got out of the hospital on Wednesday and got to return to my own bed!  I am very week but each day I see improvement so I think I am finally on my way.  We will be here until the middle of June with follow up appointments and then there is the Dental work that I will be needing.  I am dreading that but I can get through this also.

The whole time I was in the hospital I wanted to get to the coast!  I love the sand, wind and of course the waves!  That is how I survived the MRI, focus on what you love and you can do anything!

Watching the surfers and loving the ocean breeze.

Watching the surfers and loving the ocean breeze.  Day one after 8 days in the hospital.

So things aren’t as we planned but the good news is we get to spend some extra time with the girls and spend more time with our friends.  We will make the most of it and hopefully get to Estes Park by July for Pauls neices Wedding Reception!  Thats the plan so far,  we will see how it goes.