My mom has always been an amazing person...but after spending the afternoon and evening with her yesterday (Saturday) and talking to her on the phone today, well, amazing doesn't even begin to describe my momma!
First off, mom is doing great! Mom was released from ICU on Friday afternoon (12/9/11), and put into a private room! That is a huge step!!! While the staff at the 4A ICU unit was amazing, it was a tough atmosphere to be in, so we were thrilled by the move! It allows for easier visitation and more privacy than the huge open ICU unit! Mom now has a phone, a tv, a window with a view, and her own bathroom! She was able to move from a clear liquid diet to a regular diet within 24-hours!
In hopes of allowing mom to get some rest, my family and I split shifts with her so we all aren't staring at her all the time. The doctors suggested someone be with her at all times so she doesn't become confused as to where she is! So I got to spend Saturday afternoon and evening with her! It was great!
The current major obstacles are her blood pressure, her potassium levels, pain management, and her short-term memory. Thankfully, a lot of these can be managed through medications. We also need to pray that she doesn't get pneumonia. She does breathing exercises and gets up and moves around a lot! So we are hoping that pneumonia stays away :0)
Mom is displaying some short term memory loss. This memory loss could be due to several things.
According to the ICU nurse at Wake Forest, this is most likely from brain injury she suffered from coding. The lack of oxygen to the brain for such a long period of time can do a variety of things to an individual, and no two cases are the same (when she coded, it took 15 minutes to resuscitate her). The day after mom coded, the doctors were able to determine she has full use of her legs and arms and she verbally responded correctly to questions (well, most of the time). So we were so grateful for that. The nurse explained that time would tell if it were a brain injury (which is different from brain damage!).
This short term memory issue could be due to the high level of medication mom is on. Because of the surgery and broken ribs that she has, she has been on very strong pain killers! She has already came off of some pain killers, and her memory is improving significantly!!!
And some of the short term memory loss could be to post-traumatic stress. Mom cannot recall anything, at all, about the surgery or anything even leading up to the surgery...including her gallbladder attack from October or the visits she had with Dr. Cannon prior to the surgeries. Mom does remember that we came to Winston-Salem to visit Chris, that we went to the mall, that she bought Samuel a ticket to ride the carousel at the mall, but she doesn't recall going to meet with Dr Cannon a few hours later. However, she can recall having dinner with me and Samuel later that same exact evening, including what we ordered!!!! We aren't worried, there isn't much she really needs to remember about the surgery! And if you are going to block anything out, it might as well be this!!!
Or, the memory loss could be a combination of everything! Whatever the case is, we have strong faith that God will get mom through everything! So many prayers have been answered! So we are holding steadfast to the plan he is laying out for mom....we know it's a good one!
Thankfully, over the past few days we have seen a significant improvement in her memory! At one point the last thing she could remember was in October 2011. Mom would repeat questions (where am I? what happened to me? what is the name of my nurse?), forget who she had seen just twenty minutes ago, and couldn't correctly identify me (I cut my hair in November 2011, so she had a hard time recognizing me at first...don't worry, it only happened once! She is sharp!!!!).
I spent yesterday afternoon with her, she had to go through a physical therapy session to see if she would need the aid of a walker, cane, wheelchair, etc. She passed it with flying colors!!!! Graduated out of physical therapy after just one session :0) That's my mom! Unfortunately, when I spoke to mom this afternoon, she wasn't able to recall any of the physical therapy....but even with that, mom's memory has improved significantly! When I spoke with her on the phone again this evening she was able to tell me who all had visited her that day (including the morning!) and what she had to eat for lunch! Small step, but huge relief!!!
Yesterday, the nursing staff had set a goal for mom to get out of bed and sit in a chair. The sooner she can do these things, the sooner she can get out of the hospital. When she heard that, mom not only got out of the chair, she walked to the bathroom, completed her physical therapy, and completed 20 breathing exercises in one hour (she only had to do 10)...can you tell mom wants out of the hospital??? The nursing staff also suggested "quizzing" mom on things like date, day of the week, and people.
While she was sitting up, mom and I spent the time laughing about old times, talking about summer vacation ideas, and her favorite topic: Samuel :0) She was able to recall friends names who had sent me e-mails, where they were from, and how she was associated with them!
Mom had a few visitors as well! My grandparents traveled down from Bastian with my Uncle John! Mom enjoyed her visit and talked about it all afternoon!
Mom also was finally able to enjoy how her room is getting to be quite festive!
A big Thanks to my dear childhood friend, Sarah, James and Abagail for the beautiful flower arrangement! Mom just loves it and it right by her bedside! We made the flower arrangement one of her quizzes, and about every 10 or 15 minutes I would ask her who sent the flowers! She actually told me 13 times who sent it (and I only asked her 13 times!!)
Vee Quick, the snowman hat looks great hanging in front of her bed! She loves it!
Cindy Holloway, mom has her Believe star hanging so she can see it at all times!
For everyone who has sent cards (I couldn't even begin to name each one of you!) She loves them all, and they are all displayed on her windowsill!!!
My dear friend Cassie D...thank you for everything! Not just your gesture, but for your kind words and good thoughts!!!! They have helped me get through some tough moments! (and all my other friends! Sara, Sarah, Jen, Chrissy, everyone really!)
To the staff at the Redeemer School in Winston-Salem, for picking up extra classes so Chris can be with mom!
And to everyone for the continued prayers, love, support, phone calls, text messages, facebook messages, and positive thoughts! I couldn't even begin to a put a dent in it...but the outpouring has been amazing! Thank you so much!
Over the next few days I will try to back track to catch everyone up on details from the surgery! But, we hope to share more good news as well! Mom is getting stronger by the day, and we hope she will be released from the hospital soon!!! I'll keep everyone posted!
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