pamuk
10-06-2006, 04:47 PM
As many of you know I have been a member of this forum for a couple of years following the discovery of my five unruptured annies and the subsequent coiling of three of them. I thought my annie journey had actually taught me a lot about the brain but I now know I actually know very little! and I am now needing advice since my cousin has had what has been described as a bleed on the brain. My cousin is single, no kids her parents are not alive so her cousins are her nearest relatives, I am the closest to her locally - a lot of my family live overseas, so I am listed as the hospital contact for the family.
Can anyone tell me the difference between a stroke and a brain haemorrage,
I thought I knew the differences but apparently I dont
I got a call just over two weeks ago to say my cousin had been admitted to her local hosp (about 6 hour round trip from where I live) with a stroke. My understanding of a stroke then was a stroke is caused through oxygen reduction to the brain from a blood clot.
The next day the hospital told me that she was in a bad way was paralised down her left side and could not even swallow.They had done a CT scan which suggested a stroke. They also mentioned she had fallen out of the hospital bed bed twice though the night!!!. and sustained some bruising.Friends that had visited her that day said she was in a bad way. shouting screaming in pain and the hospital were trying to get her pain meds established. I asked the hosp on the phone if she had had a SAH (and explained annies were in the family etc) and they said well she has had a stroke and so bleeding will be involved. I didnt understand that statement I didnt think that bleeding was automatically involved with a stroke. The next day I saw her and she had got some swallowing ability back and her speech although a little slurred was ok, her memory was fine and she could hold a normal conversation, but she had no feeling down her left side and was still complaining about the pain in her neck and head. I had another word with the staff about the bleeding and they said they were going to do another brain scan. The next day I got a phone call to say they were transferring her to the Regional Neuroscience Centre, surgical ward an hour away, this is the centre where I had all my annies coiled. she was being transferred to the same ward I was on last year.. I asked why she was being transferred to a surgical ward and they said the second brain scan had revealed a second bleed and they thought she may need surgery.
I went the next day to the Neuro Centre and it was strange going there as a relative as the last time I was on the ward I was the patient. She was much better, able to swallow almost normally with much improved speech and her memory was fine, cognitively fine, but still parilysed completely down the left side. I was amazed at how well she was considering the fact she had had a second bleed. I spoke with the staff who said she was there for observation only. I asked why she was on this surgical ward and they said that she was there in case she needed urgent surgery and there was a high risk of that, but she was just being observed for the time being. She has since been seen my neurosurgeons, neurologists etc and there has been some slight improvement. The neurosurgeons confirm she has had two bleeds but say that surgery is not necessary? Today I got a phone call to say that she was being transferred back to the local hospital she came from as she no longer needs to be on a surgical ward (she was on it about ten days) as the threat of the need for imminent surgery no longer exists!. They say that surgery is unnecessary (I dont understand this) and even if she had surgery it would not bring back the feeling to the paralised areas and trying to recover some feeling in those areas that is the most important thing now. The local hospital has confirmed all this and they say that physiotherapists will work with her and bring her to her maximum potential after which she will be discharged once care has been arranged, they say she may be able to have carers at home, but nursing home care may need to be arranged.
I still dont know what has caused this bleeding from a blood vessel as they put it, I thought that the only cause of bleeding from a blood vessel was an annie but they wont confirm she had an annie, does anyone know if a blood vessel can just bleed say through a tiny weakness that isnt an annie? or if a stroke can be something else rather than a blood clot as I thought it was - the hospital have never said she has had a blood clot, they have always maintained that she has had two bleeds from a blood vessell, and the way they say it makes it sound quite a frequent occurance but it isnt something I have heard of. Also I always thought surgery was automatic after these type of incidents, has anyone had this experience when surgery hasnt been performed?
The whole thing has been a bit traumatic for me, it is only a year since she was visiting me in the same ward she was on. When I looked at her I realised how lucky I had been to find out about my annies and get them treated, but I also felt anxious because I still have another two annies they are just monitoring and I thought well I could also be looking at my future.
Thanks for your help
pam
Can anyone tell me the difference between a stroke and a brain haemorrage,
I thought I knew the differences but apparently I dont
I got a call just over two weeks ago to say my cousin had been admitted to her local hosp (about 6 hour round trip from where I live) with a stroke. My understanding of a stroke then was a stroke is caused through oxygen reduction to the brain from a blood clot.
The next day the hospital told me that she was in a bad way was paralised down her left side and could not even swallow.They had done a CT scan which suggested a stroke. They also mentioned she had fallen out of the hospital bed bed twice though the night!!!. and sustained some bruising.Friends that had visited her that day said she was in a bad way. shouting screaming in pain and the hospital were trying to get her pain meds established. I asked the hosp on the phone if she had had a SAH (and explained annies were in the family etc) and they said well she has had a stroke and so bleeding will be involved. I didnt understand that statement I didnt think that bleeding was automatically involved with a stroke. The next day I saw her and she had got some swallowing ability back and her speech although a little slurred was ok, her memory was fine and she could hold a normal conversation, but she had no feeling down her left side and was still complaining about the pain in her neck and head. I had another word with the staff about the bleeding and they said they were going to do another brain scan. The next day I got a phone call to say they were transferring her to the Regional Neuroscience Centre, surgical ward an hour away, this is the centre where I had all my annies coiled. she was being transferred to the same ward I was on last year.. I asked why she was being transferred to a surgical ward and they said the second brain scan had revealed a second bleed and they thought she may need surgery.
I went the next day to the Neuro Centre and it was strange going there as a relative as the last time I was on the ward I was the patient. She was much better, able to swallow almost normally with much improved speech and her memory was fine, cognitively fine, but still parilysed completely down the left side. I was amazed at how well she was considering the fact she had had a second bleed. I spoke with the staff who said she was there for observation only. I asked why she was on this surgical ward and they said that she was there in case she needed urgent surgery and there was a high risk of that, but she was just being observed for the time being. She has since been seen my neurosurgeons, neurologists etc and there has been some slight improvement. The neurosurgeons confirm she has had two bleeds but say that surgery is not necessary? Today I got a phone call to say that she was being transferred back to the local hospital she came from as she no longer needs to be on a surgical ward (she was on it about ten days) as the threat of the need for imminent surgery no longer exists!. They say that surgery is unnecessary (I dont understand this) and even if she had surgery it would not bring back the feeling to the paralised areas and trying to recover some feeling in those areas that is the most important thing now. The local hospital has confirmed all this and they say that physiotherapists will work with her and bring her to her maximum potential after which she will be discharged once care has been arranged, they say she may be able to have carers at home, but nursing home care may need to be arranged.
I still dont know what has caused this bleeding from a blood vessel as they put it, I thought that the only cause of bleeding from a blood vessel was an annie but they wont confirm she had an annie, does anyone know if a blood vessel can just bleed say through a tiny weakness that isnt an annie? or if a stroke can be something else rather than a blood clot as I thought it was - the hospital have never said she has had a blood clot, they have always maintained that she has had two bleeds from a blood vessell, and the way they say it makes it sound quite a frequent occurance but it isnt something I have heard of. Also I always thought surgery was automatic after these type of incidents, has anyone had this experience when surgery hasnt been performed?
The whole thing has been a bit traumatic for me, it is only a year since she was visiting me in the same ward she was on. When I looked at her I realised how lucky I had been to find out about my annies and get them treated, but I also felt anxious because I still have another two annies they are just monitoring and I thought well I could also be looking at my future.
Thanks for your help
pam