Quiet Monday

Received a few messages today from Joyce and Grandpa.

Grandma was much sleepier today, which was a bit disappointing to Grandpa.  I think she was worn out from the weekend, especially Sunday with all the therapists and visitors, and Joyce and my mom/Rosemary agree.  

Joyce also suggested that perhaps Grandma is not getting a ton of rest when we are not around (in addition to also not getting rest when we are around), perhaps waking up at night too, so then she needs some days to rest up a bit more.  And it's not easy sleeping in a hospital to begin with!  (Honestly I feel this is to be expected; I myself was even wiped out yesterday and a bit today from the busy day Sunday and I'm perfectly healthy!)  

Mom/Rosemary added that from everything she has read, these days of extra sleepiness are to be expected and are a normal process of the healing post-stroke, and that just because she is sleepy and her eyes are shut, does not mean that she is not aware of sounds or activity.  Just knowing we are still visiting and being there for her will be a comfort. 

We will keep an eye on things, but I think we agreed it is not yet anything to be worried about and that for now it is important to remain POSITIVE and remember that this is all part of the process of recovery.

Joyce called the nurse to check on things and the nurse reiterated that Grandma was sleepier today but did not indicate that there was anything particularly bad about that.  The nurse said that the doctor was telling Grandpa that there are going to be some hard days, and some better days; this is just a harder day compared to yesterday. The nurse also mentioned that Grandma still has kind of restless legs (as we saw late in the day Saturday and Sunday), and the cause of this remains to be seen, but the doctor is looking in to it, getting in touch with Grandma's regular doctor as well.

Also, at some point today Grandma (unknowingly) pulled the NG tube out of her nose, and putting it back in went okay but I understand Grandma had some pain from that process.  Kind of awful to think about, but it is good that Grandpa was there to comfort her and the tube is seated just fine now (confirmed with X-ray).

Joyce also says she talked to Grandma on Grandpa's cell phone today.  She was able to state that she was tired and that it was a harder day. She stated she had eaten, she said that she was fairly comfortable, but that she was sleepy. Joyce said the same things to her as to Grandpa, and urged her not to be discouraged by the more difficult days, reinforcing that for the most part she is so much better than a week ago, and that she should not be afraid of the way she felt, that things would get better. Grandma said something about doing the best that she could, and Joyce applauded that as the truth. 

On Being Positive

Again, I think it is easy to feel discouraged by the ebb and flow of progress.  However, even though it is hard, it is important both for US and for HER to remain positive and remember that this is all part of the process. (There are some links in the Helpful Links page that speak to this.) Recovery will take time and Grandma is already doing so well, in just one week!  As I've said repeatedly, she will continue to have good days and bad days, but she is doing AWESOME for one week later and I think we saw this weekend that she really is continuing to make progress.  Yes, it is frustrating after a series of good days to have things seem to take a step backward, but she WILL get through this!  A sleepy day does not mean things are getting worse.  These are things we should remind her of as well.  

If you're the praying type (and even if you're not), please send your prayers (and positive brain waves and happy thoughts) to help Grandma and Grandpa to remain positive on the more difficult days. <3

Saturday Pictures 2

These are Grandpa's pictures from Saturday:

Good morning!

Getting ready for "launch"

Up, up and away!

Safe landing

 Rosemary, the Queen (napping), Elizabeth, Jerome

New "Helpful Links" Page

In my looking around online, I've come across a number of great resources for stroke patients, caregivers, and their families.  I have collected a number of these links a page which you can find by clicking the "Helpful Links" tab at the top of the homepage.

Let me know if you come across any good pages to add to this list and I'll put them up.

Sunday Socialite!

Grandma had a busy visitor schedule today!

In the morning she had Physical Therapy.  Grandpa was there for about an hour or so before my husband (Jason) and I arrived at maybe 11:45.  Joyce came after lunch.  Then there was the Speech and Swallowing therapist, a lady from church (Marion) with the flowers from the service that morning, the President of the Heritage Harbor chorus grandma sings in (Maggie), and their church pastor (Bill Hathaway)!  And I believe Sally (Dolley's daughter) was going to visit this evening after we left, too.  I told Grandma that one of the nice things about being in the hospital is that she's probably seen more of us family in the last week than she has since Christmas, and all of her friends come to her! She thought that was pretty amusing.

Keep in mind I didn't see Grandma Saturday and this was the first time I saw her since Tuesday, but I thought she looked great today.  Tremendous progress from last Tuesday, and even Grandpa thought she was a little better than Saturday.  Fantastic last few days in contrast to the not-so-great Wednesday and Thursday.

Vitals are stable, medication for infection is working.  Nurse didn't say anything about her temperature or BP today, just that "everything looks good" so I imagine that includes her fever having gone away. Yay!

Grandma was a chatterbox today!  She is talking longer and more clearly.  Where earlier she was only speaking in short sentences or a few words at a time, she was speaking in fuller sentences, a few at a time today.  She continues to follow the conversations in the room, looks around the room pretty easily now, and stays awake and alert for longer periods of time.

Joyce is going to give the Discharge Coordination nurse a call tomorrow to see when they think Grandma might be moved to that rehab facility in Heritage Harbor and check with the facility Admissions lady about what else needs to be done on our end to ensure there is a room available for her when that time comes, but that is at least several days off I think.

Speech and Swallowing update

• This therapist comes in every day to see how Grandma is doing with speaking and with swallowing, since the muscles on her right (stroke) side are a bit weaker than her left, and it will take some practice for her to work back up to "normal."
• Grandma was given a little sponge on a stick and asked to "brush" her teeth and tongue with it and she did this very well.  I'm sure that felt pretty good!
• The therapist worked with Grandma to eat some applesauce on her own and swallowing.  She did great, and the therapist says she is cleared for snacks (e.g. applesauce, pudding, mashed potatoes, mashed-up banana, other puréed food, honey-thick liquids) whenever she wants them! (So long as a nurse is around.) Another milestone accomplished!
• Since she appears to be swallowing pretty well (acknowledging that her right side is weaker) the next step is to work on her endurance.  That is, Grandma needs to be able to keep up the energy and use of her muscles to eat a meal.  When she is at the point where she can eat her meals and meet her caloric needs on her own, then they can take the NG tube out of her nose, but until then they want to make sure she is getting enough calories by being fed through that tube.
• In a few days they will do a swallowing xray to check how her throat muscles are doing.

Attitude

When asked how she's doing, Grandma was pretty upbeat today.  "I'm not complaining at all," she said. She noted repeatedly, "Most people don't make it to this age," and that she felt pretty positively about how things were going.  Although she doesn't remember everything fromt he first few days of her time in the hospital, she is encouraged when we remind her of how far she has come, comparing earlier in the week with where she is now. "Even I am surprised," she said, in reference to how well she was making progress with everything.  She added that "some people have this stroke and they don't live through it," and that others "don't do as well after," trying to keep things in perspective.  Grandpa said he reminded her this morning that they have been together for so many years and he would like to continue with that... and Grandma agreed.  Considering how she sometimes gets depressed by her limitations with getting older, this is great to hear and I think it is good to keep her thinking positively. <3

Cute anecdotes:

• Sometime when I was out of the room for a moment, Joyce asked Grandma if she was interested in having some music brought in sometime, and Grandma started SINGING. "I make my own music!" (I'm so sad I missed this!)
• Grandma was so talkative today that the Speech and Swallowing Therapist at some point had to tell Grandma, "I'd love to hear more of your stories, but we have to get through this test...!" Sounds like the Lena we all know, chatting people up!
• At the end of her visit, the Speech and Swallowing therapist assured Grandma, "Believe me, you won't have this forever, things will definitely improve," to which Grandma responded emphatically, "Yeah, I hope not!!"
• I announced to Grandma that my mom had text messaged me asking, "How is the Queen of Everything doing today??" Grandma thought that was funny.  I told her that I contemplated bringing in the tiara I wore for my bachelorette weekend in May so that everyone would know that "the Queen is here" but none of us were expecting Grandma to say, "Nah, don't really need that... Everyone knows it anyway!" I thought Grandpa might fall over, he was laughing so hard. :)
• We put on the TV in her room for a little while and came across a channel that was showing a motocross race, which I guess Grandma had never really seen before.  She kind of shrieked at the crazy jumps the riders were making.  So sweet to see her excited by this.
• As we were leaving, I asked Grandpa if there was anything he needed help with at home before we left for Virginia, like dishes, laundry, or cleaning.  He said no, but confided, "In all of our years together, I have never had to do the laundry. Your uncle John the other day showed me how to do it, and even made some labels on the machine, 'Step 1', 'Step 2'... And actually, it's kind of easy... I got everything washed, ran the dryer, sorted things...!" He seemed kind of proud of himself. I told him, "Yeah this must make you appreciate all the things Grandma has taken care of all these years!" He agreed, said it was kind of humbling. :)  <3

I think that's about all I have.  I have some pictures myself, and Grandpa just sent me his... I think I'll post those tomorrow.

Thanks again so much for all the prayers, positive thoughts, good vibes, etc.  I do pass your messages along and Grandma is just so humbled to hear about everyone who is thinking of her!

-Christina

Saturday Pictures 1

My mom/Rosemary sent these pictures along from her visit from yesterday (Saturday).

Sitting in a chair! Working with one of the nurses I think.

Resting

The Presbyterian Women of the Congregation at church brought by a handmade "prayer shawl" on Friday. What a sweet label they put on it!

Elizabeth saying goodnight before going back home.

Sitting Pretty Saturday

Sorry this post was delayed; I spoke to my mom/Rosemary late in the day about her visit Saturday and was too pooped to finish up chores, write, AND make it to bed at a decent hour for our visit today. But at least it's good news! -Christina


On Saturday, Grandma got to sit up in a fancy lounge chair for most of the day, rather than lying in the hospital bed!  Probably a nice change of scenery for her.

My mom/Rosemary went to the hospital this day with my sister Elizabeth, who was unable to visit earlier in the week since she had ben fighting off an infection (cold or flu I think).

Grandma looked great this day!   She is no longer hooked up to any IVs, just the NG tube down her nose/throat, and a port for medications in her arm. The nurses check her vital signs manually every few hours (as opposed to in Critical Care when she was hooked up to machines that checked everything constantly) and her vital signs have been great: blood pressure back down, fever was down, and she was responding very well to the antibiotics she had been given for the urinary tract infection.  Sounds like it was another good day.

Although she still takes a lot of naps during the day, Grandma is able to spend more time awake and alert; last week when I saw her on Tuesday she would last about 15-30 minutes before feeling sleepy and taking a nap, but on Saturday my mom reports Grandma was able to sit and chat and "socialize" for an hour, hour and a half at a time!  It is still important that we let her rest when she gets tired because she needs that time to heal, but it is great that her "endurance" if you will is improving.  (Entertaining all these guests is hard work! ha!)

Mom reports that a Physical Therapist came by to check how Grandma was doing as far as movement. She can bend her knees, move her legs around, can shrug both shoulders, and point her toes!  Although she has some trouble raising her right arm (the stroke side), she can fully extend it with some encouragement.  Awesome!

When I first saw Grandma on Monday afternoon, she had a hard time keeping her eyes all the way open and was "in-and-out," talking a bit and then napping again.  Saturday I'm told her eyes are much more open, and she can move her eyes around a lot better, even looking to her right (stroke site), which is terrific.  On Tuesday she had trouble seeing the clock on the wall in her room; Mom told me Grandma can now see the clock just fine. (She is able to look around better which is probably a contributing factor in that progress.)

I think Grandma is eager to get moving again.  She has been a little restless, wiggling her legs around.  (She's not one to sit still for long, and she's now been in the hospital almost a week!) She continues to get some cramps in her legs, but as she starts using those muscles again that should go away.

As far as Grandma's attitude, I think she has good times and not-so-good times, which is rather understandable.  She acknowledges that she is 90 years old and "not many people make it to this age," and when we tell her how her progress is going beautifully she feels pretty encouraged by this news, but I think she also has her moments where she feels like, "I'm not sure if I can do this."  Thus, it has been really important for us to remind her that things will get easier and will get better.  How she is now is not how things will be forever; this is just a step.  Sometimes it can be a challenge to keep her spirits up, but I think the past couple days' progress have been so encouraging, both for Grandma AND Grandpa that even though there might be "good" days and "bad" days, the general trend is one of improvement!

(Mom, let me know if I missed anything or if there are any other little anecdotes to add...?)

I'll post on my visit today (Sunday) very soon. <3

"Everything good happened today!!!"

My mom/Rosemary went to Annapolis again today and just sent me a very encouraging email! Here's most of it:

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Hi Teenbelle, Joyce and Elizabeth,

I love you girls. Here goes, a very long status update:

I am glad I did not talk with you last night, Christina…. apparently yesterday was another very discouraging day according to Johnny and dad.  Johnny and daddy came home very disappointed.  First that stupid cardio doc came in and acted like he did not want to really talk about anything and was very negative, then he left.

Mom was sleepy all day, and very quiet. She had a fever in the morning.  Well it was discovered that she did INDEED have a UTI for two days at minimum. So she is on antibiotics now.

She also has a small NG tube for food. She can eat food though. She ate today.

Everything good happened today!!! (They knew I was coming) -- the neuro guy came early; I do not know if Johnny and daddy were there, but they shared that the neuro doctor ran some tests on mom's brain. That information came back very good.

The crappy skinny short measily cardio doc had the day off, so another cardio doc came and Johnny and dad said he was very pleasant and wanted to answer any questions. He was easy to talk with, and encouraging!!

So that was good. I arrived at 11:00.

While I was there, we also had a visit from the Speech and Swallowing therapist and mom ate food, as explained above.

She had a visit from the Occupational Therapy (OT) lady, we got mom sitting up. She was excellent. The OT told me that the OT at the Heritage Harbor rehab center is her friend and she is excellent at rehab. After this sitting up exercise, stretching legs attempt, wiggling feet, mom's BP was kinda high, 170/90 I think…

We learned that we really need to make an effort to stand on mom's right side and get her to move her head and roll her eyes over to the right.  She looks left. That is the stroke, her right side weakness. The OT girl was marvelous.

We met with a Care Coordinator. She discussed what goals need to be met in the immediate time frame, mainly stabilization and treating the infection, and how we should go ahead now and insist on a private room for mom at HHRC because that is what daddy wants.  She said we should keep pressing for that.

We also discovered that mom contracts her right leg in bed, then when trying to straighten it out we got a horrible gracillis muscle spasm which took a long time to massage out, at least 5 minutes of my massaging and rubbing. I think that will be a constant issue until she gets more tone in her right leg. If you push on the ball of her right foot, she is likely to contract her entire leg, so I feel like she needs massage therapy to get those muscles loose.

Okay what else, what a full day.

OH! She got a package from the church. They made her a prayer shawl. [In her favorite colors, Mom says! -CHA]  I opened it for her. She looked at it and touched it, and said "oh, oh" so sweetly about 100 times. She loved it. Mom is so sweet. Then she finally with her left hand picked it up and I thought she wanted to cover her self in it, but no, she attempted quite well to wrap it around her neck, so daddy and I helped her, then Johnny got some pics. [Will try to get one of those this weekend -CHA]

While we were at lunch (mom was sleeping soundly) apparently Physical Therapy showed up. I was told the got her up on the side of the bed again.  Well, when we came in the room, I asked mom how it was going, and she told me that someone came and made her sit up again, and then she sounded very VERY discouraged. She said, "I do not know why my blood pressure goes so high, I don't know why." I told her not to worry, it would get better. She was quite sad, so opening up the package with the shawl was a great diversion.

I think we will see more improvement as the UTI is treated and she feels better. I would believe that the past few days of lethargy has a lot to do with that.

----

So yay!  After two more discouraging days it's wonderful that today went so well!

I hear that Shelley and Sally also went out today, and Johnny is headed home tomorrow morning.  Elizabeth is finally over her virus/cold (yay!) so she, her fiancé Jerome, and Mom will be going to Annapolis tomorrow (Saturday).  Jason and I plan to go out on Sunday. What a popular lady! ;)

Friday picture

 

My uncle Johnny posted this picture to Facebook.

"Today is the best so far since Tuesday."

Guest Book Fixed

I replaced the guest book setup so if you had trouble posting to it, go ahead and try again; it should work now.  Thanks.

Request from Grandpa

Grandpa added that he appreciates all the kind words, well wishes, and prayers this week, but he asks that people do not bring him meals as he has more than he can handle right now.

If you're eager to help, I'll try to see if there are any specific ways Grandpa could use it, but I think he's okay for the moment.