Mom update

I wanted to post yesterday but of course our internet was out when I got home from the weekend- I did a random trip to Orcas Island with my friend Melanie for an evening. It was great to get away from all the anxiety I was having. We stayed in a cute little cabin off the beach and spent the time exploring the island culture. I went crabbing for the first time and caught 20 crabs! I felt retarded because I wasn't catching any for the first 30min and Melanie had so many! That's what I get for growing up in Illinois. I remember telling my dad later that I knew nothing about water life and his response was: well you know a lot about corn! Well dad, who cares?!!! It's not like there are millions of activities to do in a corn field except get lost...

Anyways, I was still getting updates about my mom and it was like a roller coaster ride because of how things changed from one minute to the next. I'll try to report the best I can for her friends/my family that's reading this, but obviously I'm not there so this is all by word of mouth. My mom needs her own blog... Especially since I definitely get a different picture of her condition from what my dad says versus my sister. Can't wait to see what she has to say when she can read this

She got an MRI which revealed that she had a hemorrhagic stroke (meaning that it was caused by bleeding/broken vessels vs. a dislodged clot from elsewhere in her body) on both sides of her brain- a moderate-sized one in the Wernicke area (language-processing center) and a cluster of bleeding on the other side that was affecting her right side/hand. I'm not sure who initially said it was hemorrhagic, but I suppose it was the neurologist who has been MIA for the past few days. I would attribute the bleeding to the heparin- it's an unfortunate consequence from trying to find the perfect dose- it's prescribed to prevent clots and embolytic strokes but can end up leading to uncontrolled bleeding... Anyways this news freaked me out and I've been pretty anxious ever since. My sister and dad both said that she seems confused a lot. When they showed her the picture collage I made, she couldn't seem to be able to read the "Get Well" words and seemed confused and unable to identify our pictures. I guess she is talking a bit, and mainly keeps saying how bored she is. Don't blame her one bit considering she's been in the ICU for over two weeks! Apparently she was not swallowing well but everyone was unsure of the cause- it could either be from the vent tube or a neurological defect. They are now considering doing a G-tube that feeds her through a tube implanted directly into her stomach. She did pass her dysphagia/swallowing test so they may wait off on that for the next few days. My dad also said that now she can move her right side pretty well and is trying to get out of bed.

My dad thinks that my mom is really depressed because she hasn't taken her meds since admission and is probably going through withdrawal- thus why she is so spacey and out of it all the time. I don't know what to think way over here in Seattle. I just have to wait because all the signs of neuro defects could be caused by depression, drug withdrawal, fatigue, or the fact that she has hasn't eaten properly in awhile. And not being able to speak well makes it even harder to assess. My dad first said that the nurses hadn't noticed any cognitive dysfunction. Now the doctor thinks she has expressive aphasia, because she seems to have difficulty forming words (really this form of aphasia is a motor deficit caused by damage to Broca's area rather than Wernicke). Either way, I wish I could get good news that stayed good.... I'm still mad at my dad because the other day his cell died and he called me from my mom's phone. That was a BIG letdown ;(

Well, that's all that's been going on - nothing about me is even an issue anymore. That's why I'm saving my discussion about my chemo today for the next post....