Sandi and her stroke

I would have had this up earlier but we just suffered through a nearly two hour power outage. No fun with temps outside at 110. Dinner number two is underway now and one hopes the power stays on long enough that we get to eat it.

I am absolutely exhausted between the pain, the heat, and the stress of everything here.  I did manage to get, I think, three hours of sleep last night which helped a little bit. We are on our own here and that means I am doing everything myself with what help I can get from the boys. Don't get me wrong, they do help. But, they can't drive, make the trek from the parking garage into the hospital any easier, or help me not hurt when I am sitting there. I have been sitting up so much that my leg is not shrinking at night and seems to be somewhat swollen all the time. Not a good sign. But, it is what it is.

AS TO THE MORE IMPORTANT MATTER....Sandi is a little better tonight.

Apparently  what happened is she has been throwing blood clots out of her heart and up into her brain. This may have been going on as far back as April 2010 when she had a heart attack and stroke. We had been told then that everything was resolved and she was stable. Apparently she wasn't and most of the clots were undetected during followup visits and did not present symptoms for her to take note of until last weekend.

Most of the clots broke up and dissolved but several that she threw on Saturday and Sunday did not dissolve and break up. This is why she got so screwed up and her brain swelled. Theoretically they have dissolved now. they see at least six impact points across the top of her brain indicating clots that have either almost dissolved or still formed up that have scarred her brain.  Apparently her brain scans indicate the brain of a 71 year old female with senile dementia bordering on Alzheimer's. Considering she is 51, pretty scary stuff.

Tomorrow, at some point most likely in the morning, they are going to do a TEE which is a deal where they will knock her out and put a camera down her throat and look at her heart from the backside. The belief is that something might be wrong on the backside of her heart in the major artery and since it can't be seen from the front, this is the safest way to go look at it.

Theoretically, if the clot situation can be stopped, some of this can be reversed with meds. How much is permanent is something that will take time. She is better today and more coherent. o far today no headache and no nausea. She could read the clock again and she could work the TV remote and once again knows it is daytime.

She is aware of her surroundings, knows she is not quite right, and knows that she has a big problem. She asked me to thank everyone for their prayers and support and to let you know how much it means to the both of us.

It does and I thank you.

Kevin