lumbar drain, no changes

[kaj]

Well, we took my mom home today. She ended up pulling out all of her iv's and snapped the lumbar drain after 33 hours. The therapists stated that there were no significant changes. Good News, no hydrocephalus. Bad news, she isn't any better. She is now weaker and more confused. I think the move was too much for her. She did have an echo to find out why her blood pressure keeps falling so low. It went down to 82/60. Very scary. She did have a heart attack as well but the cardiologist said that she is not showing signs of heart failure. We will get the echo results soon. Boy, is God testing us. We get the message loud and clear.

Question, my mom is now thinking when you ask her a question. You can really tell that the wheels are turning. Did any of you experience this? At first, you would ask her a question and she would say anything whether it was right or wrong. Now, she actually stops and thinks about. She also answered me wrong twice and then corrected herself. I am hoping this is still showing signs of improvement. I am grasping at anything I can to remain positive. I still think a miracle will happen. Jan. 23rd is 7 months. The bathroom thing is still not working. She tells us that she has to go when she is actually going. I hope this gets better!!!!
Thanks for listening. It was a very bad experience for us this time. I thought much more of Rush univ. hospital before this visit.
Best wishes,
Kim

[rmbing64]

So sorry for all of your difficulties. I will continue to keep you all in my thoughts and prayers and hope for continued improvement. Rose

[wonderland]

Kim: I am also so sorry to hear about your mother's struggles. I don't know but it
would seem to me that self correcting and thinking before answering sounds like
an improvement to me. Hang in there, I am sure your mother really appreciates
everything you are doing for her.

Pamela

[Greenie]

The thinking is encouraging. She just needs time. Her body is terribly weak. This whole ordeal has weakened her beyond anything we (caregivers) can comprehend.

No hydro, no heart issues. That's all very good news. Everyday she is healing. But it takes a lot of time. The survivors on this board tell us in story after story of all that they go through--tiredness, pain, weakness, confusion. It's a very long, long road. Your Mom had an SAH and a heart attack. That's a lot to recover from.

But she is making steps. They are small and hard to see when you're in it everyday. Hang in there, Kim. She just needs time. My Mom still struggles with fatigue and eyesight. I dont think she'll ever be the way she was. She was a little dynamo. The rupture took a lot out of her.

I feel your frustration. You want your life to get back to normal as well, and I know where you're coming from.

Hugs, Brenda

[goldie411]

Stay positive, sounds like your mom is showing some signs of improvement..I will keep you both in my prayers for continued progress..take care Cin

[kaj]

I hope this is progress. Since she came home from the hospital, she is trying to get up on her own all the time. Unfortunately, this is not good because she isn't able to stand on her own except for about 30 seconds.


Blood pressure

her blood pressure is all over the place and her echo came back fine. The cardiologist thinks that her problem is neurological. Did anyone else have this happen to them? Just curious.

Best wishes, Kim

[Travelingdueo]

Getting up... can't stand on own except for about 30 seconds...
Ray was like that... he couldn't stand up wanted to fall backwards.. and didn't realized he couldn't stand.. trying to get out of bed!
One of the things I worked with him was to have him stand up at the table or counter.. by putting hands on the table and lean forward.. that seemed to help as all of sudden he was able to hold on to the walker and just progress rapidly..
I would stand behind him holding on to his clothes ...
Then when he could pull himself up on the walker and just stand.. didn't want to work on the walking just standing - then when the PT came she worked on the standing and walking..
Not sure if your mom can do that but it may help wanting to get up...


Blood Pressure.. Rays was all over the place when he was in ICU but I think that was to keep it up for spams.. and he also contacted a infection from the drainage tube in his head.. once they took it out and with meds it was finally gone! so not sure why that is