Craving Chinese Food

I am visiting Julia this afternoon and she is craving Chinese Food. Is she in the Olympic spirit or what? She is still dizzy and tired, but doing very well. She slept 5 hours last night with the help of a sleeping pill. She is trying not to rest during the day, so she can sleep through the night (with the help another of a sleeping pill).

We were visited by a representative from the Herrick Rehab center. They are hoping to move Julia to the Herrick Campus on Friday afternoon. From what was described, Julia will be very busy with Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy for 4-6 hours a day. Herrick has 4 Neuro-therapists on staff, described as psychotherapists with a speciality in brain injury. Julia is excited about having access to the Berkeley Y for swimming during PT. Alissa and I will need to go to Horton street and pack her a suitcase for her time at Herrick. We won't forget the bathing suit.

Julia is ready to be "well", which means like she was before. Because, you know, she's only 63.

xx Angella

No Tubes

My mom has been moved from the ICU which is great news. We left her with a dinner from Whole Foods and CNN! The physical therapists are getting her up out of bed and are working with her to improve her mobility on her right side. She is less dizzy which is a good sign, though she still struggles with finding the words she wants to use Mom is pleased to be free of her IV's and the constant monitoring. We assume/hope, that she will be out of Alta Bates in the next 2-4 days and will most likely be moved to a rehab center. We are hoping to have more information about her timeline and recovery process in the next day or two. Angella and I are hopeful she will get a good night sleep tonight. xo alissa

Hump Day

Mom was up in a chair today and they are trying to find her a bed outside of the ICU. It looks like she will move this afternoon. She is still dizzy and struggles with her balance -- all caused from the location of her blood clot. Her words are not coming to her as quickly as she would like and she continues to be tired. Both the physical therapist and the speech therapist have been in. Today, mom could only recall 8 animals in a minute that is down from 15 the other day. The physical therapist was pleased with her walking and is hoping to take her for a spin around the floor tomorrow.

We know there are lots of folks who want to come and visit. Mom wants to be out of ICU and feeling stronger before she visits with folks. Give us a few more days and we will try and open up the gates. She does enjoy hearing your good wishes, rest assured we are reading them to her all the time. xo -alissa

The answers are still a mystery.

Well both the Angiogram and the MRI came back negative. Meaning the bleed was NOT caused by a weakened blood vessel or artery and that she has no tumors that can be seen. They think perhaps it is related to high blood pressure or hyper tension. Mom is having a tough time waking up from the surgery. She is groggy and in a good amount of pain. This is the most uncomfortable I have seen her since this whole ordeal started. At this moment she is sleeping. Each time she wakes up she does ask me if she can walk out of here and I have to keep telling her no. I will stay until she is feeling better.

In another month or so they will do another MRI to see if they can see anything but at this point Dr. Tang does not feel it is a neurological issue. Keep sending your good thoughts and well wishes, mom does appreciate them. xo -alissa

Exploring the Why!?!

Mom did not sleep very well last night and the nurses are having trouble with her IV's in her left arm. They are exploring other solutions. The MRI did not give the doctors any information. Dr. Tang has ordered an Angiogram with the hopes that the results will give us some information as to why!?! They are looking for an Aneurysm. (abnormal bulge in the wall of an artery.) Mom will need to be sedated for this procedure and it is scheduled for early this afternoon. The procedure will take place at Alta Bates so there will be no ambulance ride for her today. The whole Angiogram process will take most of the afternoon. The earliest we will have any information will be this evening and it maybe tomorrow morning.

Field Trip #2

I arrived at Alta Bates just as they were moving mom from one ICU unit to another. She is now on the west side. (Mom is fine they are trying to consolidate beds or something.) She is in a quieter room in the corner. This corner room is small but has a fantastic view of the bay. Mom would like it if the window was clean. Though she did say beggars can't be choosers. She is already tired of the hospital food and sent us to Whole Foods for her dinner. Between the two field trips and a bit of physical therapy mom is exhausted. She enjoys hearing the posts on the blogs so keep them coming. More tomorrow when we hear from the Dr. about the MRI.
-alissa & angella

Field Trip -- 2 miles round trip

What a field trip...I don't think mom or I realized how much was involved in our jaunt outdoors. Mom is an expert about ambulance set up now that she as been a passenger in the ambulance twice. On the ride down to the MRI site she was commenting on the differences in this ambulance than the one that picked her up on Thursday morning.

For anyone who has had an MRI -- you know first hand how loud the process is. Mom was not sedated the doctors did want her any sleepier than she needs to be. Not only was it loud but it took all of her energy not to move. Mom was doing the math each time the technician told her how long each picture would last. She did great and the process according to mom lasted about 36 minutes. Mom was happy to be back at Alta Bates and we left her with her lunch of fried chicken and a side of chicken noodle soup. She is listening to her Sue Grafton book and taking a rest.

We should have information about the MRI tomorrow. -alissa

Good News Travels Slow

Dr. Tang came by for his visit this morning and he continues to be pleased with mom's progress. He said we are moving into phase two --- the slow process of answering the why!?! Mom will most likely come back to the ICU after her MRI today and based on the MRI results may move tomorrow. The plan for her is to leave around 10:30 for her MRI appointment. Chances are pretty slim that we will hear any results from the MRI today. He did caution us that the MRI could come back with little or inconclusive information.

In Dr. Tang's words "good news travels slow and bad news travels fast."

xo -alissa

This one comes from Houston, TX

All,
I have returned to Texas, but was excited to talk with Mom last night. She sounded the best yet - spunky. I personally think it was the chocolate pudding. My task is to meet up with some of our friends at The Methodist Hospital Neurological Institute to get a sense of what Mom's rehab will be like and get booked on a return flight later this week. Now, I am as much of a consumer of this blog as the rest of you, and I felt my own spirits lifted at reading everyone's posts. How wonderful to be surrounded by such a strong circle of support. Thanks to everyone.

Solid Food

Just before 2pm, Julia's first meal was turkey, applesauce, chocolate pudding, graham crackers, cranberries juice, and tea. Solid food means the doctors aren't worried she will need surgery. Tomorrow sounds like a big day including a visit from Dr. Tang, an MRI, standing exercises with the occupational therapist, and possible relocation. We purchased Julia an iPod to help with the boredom. We are looking forward to posting more good news. - angella

Sleepy Sunday

Angella and I have arrived at the hospital and mom is sleepy today. Not much is going to happen today. Monday will be a day of decisions. Dr. Tang will be in to see mom on Monday and he will decide the next course of action. Most likely that will involve an MRI and then from there decisions about her drips and the action plan for getting mom out of the ICU. Lots will depend on the MRI. Hang tight! Continue to send your good wishes mom does enjoy hearing what her friends and family have to say. xo alissa

Good night and Sweet Dreams

Gaylen and I have just said goodnight to mom. Her spirits are good and she seems to be out of the initial woods. The plan is for her to rest tomorrow (Sunday) and then the neurologist will have a better sense of her plan for the next week. Mom is ready to get out of the ICU and get rid of the numerous IV's and cords.

Save some Rose for me.....

We have just read the most recent set of posts to Mom. She is very thankful and wishing she were at John and Brian's place in Geyserville!

Our challenge now is that she has some increased dizziness and some continued reliance on medicine to control her blood pressure. We may do another CAT Scan, but that will be up to the doctor.

This is the last really iffy day - her brain should reach the maximum level of swelling, so if we can get through this day, we believe that surgery will be completely ruled out. Keep those good thoughts coming our way.

False alarm

Things to have settled down for mom. While Jess and I wait for the dr, mom is sleeping. We believe that her chest pains and rise in blood pressure where caused by the change in medicine. They were trying to wean her off her drips.....I guess she's not quite ready for that. She likes her shot of morphine and is FINALLY having a good rest. xo -alissa

how it can change

Mom did sit up last night and even got out of bed for a half a second! She had a restless night sleep but she did say she did manage to get a few hours of sleep last night. Her blood pressure is stable. She is thirsty mostly because of the sodium drip they are giving her to keep the swelling down. Mom keeps a close eye on the clock so she doesn't miss an hour of chips and sips. Her potassium and magnesium are low and the nurses are working on getting those levels back up. We need to continue to watch her today and hope there is still no change.

As I type this mom is complaining of heart pain and a headache. They are monitoring her very closely. They are giving her and EKG as I type....more to come. keep sending your good thoughts.

Chips and Sips

Wood Chips? No ice chips. Mom finally got the wonderful taste of water - though it has to be carefully spaced out hourly so as not to counteract the effects of the medicine taking the water away from her brain.

How many animals can you name in one minute? If you're Julia, the answer today is 15.

She is doing remarkably well. (To give you a clue, she wanted to edit our blog post before we sent it out...) The nurse left a few minutes ago and was praising mom's progress, all positive signs for the moment. But as she said, if Mom were out of the woods completely, she would not still be in ICU. She has been put on beta blockers, but I'll rely on Jess to fill in what that all means. She is uncomfortable, tired and very thirsty, but at the moment, is sleeping soundly.

All of us appreciate the love and support you are giving Mom. She wants to have more strength than she knows she has right now, and your kind loving words bring her comfort. We read her your posts as they come.

Thanks too for your kind words for us. There is power in three, and we're sticking together and making it through with the magnificent support of our spouses and all of our friends. Thank you

CT scan update

The CT scan is unchanged this morning, which is excellent news. As long as the swelling doesn't worsen over the 24-48 hours she should be out of the woods in terms of needing surgery. She is much more alert today and thrilled to be able to have some ice chips. She will continue to be monitored very closely for any changes.

She is happy to hear your good wishes and will hopefully be ready for visitors sometime next week.

Day 2

Alissa and Gaylen arrived early this morning. Julia had a restless night, but saw some improvement in her vision. She is still relatively alert, talking, making lists of things she still needs to do, and is making a joke or too.

She is scheduled to have another CT Scan this morning to see if the clot is shrinking.

If the clot is not shrinking or her level of alertness dimishes in any way, she faces brain surgery to remove the clot.

That is all we know for now. More later!