Still at home... still improving.

Hello everyone,

My apologies for not being as active as I should be on this...

Mom is still at home and she's doing quite well. She's had multiple sessions with various therapists and psychologists, and everyone always says that she's making great progress. Actually, the only person she's meeting with now is her Neuro psychologist and no longer needs to meet with any of the therapists.

On July 1st, Mom had her followup appointment with the surgeon (I couldn't make it, but was on the phone the whole time). He said everything looks fine, but the short term memory loss she's suffering from could last anywhere between 6 months to a year, and we're only a few days shy of the two month anniversary.

Having said that, she's having some trouble remembering the passwords to her email accounts and various other online resources. So, if you've typically been in contact with her there, please be aware that your messages are being delivered, she just hasn't been able to get in to answer.

As always, you can each contact me directly and I'll pass along any information, or get you in contact with her.

cheers!

Here we go!

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent emails, comments, and well wishes. Mom continues to make improvements, but there is still a long road of recovery ahead.

The meeting on Wednesday with the doctors went well. They appear to be optimistic with her recovery, but realize that additional help might be needed for her to fully heal.

Today is planned day that she is to head home. There will still be a significant amount of restrictions (and followup) that we'll have to follow, but being in her own element should help with a lot of the recovery.

I'll update more over the weekend once she's back!

Week 3... I think.

Hello guys,

Sorry for the delay. Not intentional at all, but it's been an emotional rollercoaster for me and it's hard to try and find the appropriate words to put on here to best describe the situation.

Mom's physical health is doing great. They have been taking really good care of her at the Rehab facility here in Fresno. The staples (I counted today, and lost count after 30) are still there, but should be removed in the next few days. Dad & I have a meeting with the doctor this Wednesday to figure out the next steps. I should have more information then... we've been in a constant (and annoying) holding pattern right now.

As it stands right now... She has an organic brain syndrome, which is most likely caused from the trauma to the brain. She is still having problems with her short term memory, and is feeling quite down every once in a while (because she can't recall the people sending her well wishes, the visitors, the cards, etc). It's hard to give encouraging words to someone who won't remember.

Feel free to post something on here that I can print for her, or email me direct (mark.hammons [at] gmail.com) and I'll give them to her on Wednesday morning, or sooner, before I leave town for work!

Thanks everyone for your encouraging thoughts! Keep 'em coming!

The Next Stage

Sorry for the delay in updating everyone.

On Thursday afternoon, Mom was released from UCSF and was transferred to the San Joaquin Valley Rehab Center in Fresno. The plan is for her to be there for about a week and recoup from everything. She was released to this facility from her surgeon as a place for her to recover from some untypical symptoms/side effects from the surgery.

I talked with the Surgeon's primary nurse on Thursday, and here's a breakdown of what she said.

- The aphasia has cleared up. She is able to associated the correct words with objects and things around the room.

- She is suffering from short term memory loss. This is common after these types of surgeries. This is mainly due to the swelling in the brain around the area where they went in.

- She is suffering from a mild case of delirium. This is not common, and it's really hard to say how quickly this can resolve itself. It could take 1-2 weeks for this all to clear up, and the best thing for recovery is rest and sleep.

So that's where we stand. She's still as feisty and funny as ever, but is really having issue with remembering things (conversations) that are happening. Still worried about Putt. She does remember the grand kids, but can't remember what happened on her birthday. Goofy stuff.

The current plan is for to stay there for a 7 days, and then she'll be re-evaluated to determine if a longer stay is necessary.

Keep the good thoughts coming.

The progress continues

I talked with Mom today and she sounded great. She was asking me about work, talking about being in the hospital, and all sorts of good things. Having brain surgery, there's obviously some adjustment that has to occur after the fact. She's making coherent sentences, but just coming up with some crazy things (making connections a few years removed). She also talked to her brother in Texas today, which I'm sure was good for both of them! :)

The physical therapy doctor and occupational therapist came by today, and it appears that all these things are progressing as well as they should. Assuming things are on track, she could be released tomorrow.

I might update this later today when I get an updated report from Dad.

as the story goes...

Yesterday was a rough day. They say that a craniotomy can slow a person down, but they obviously haven't met Peggie! Countless times yesterday, she was able to get out of bed to eat, visit the restroom, and was extremely adamant about taking a shower (which she can't do quite yet). She's still a bit disoriented.... she knows everyone's name, but still is not sure why she's in San Francisco and can't remember the date. The aphasia that she is suffering from they say is very common (and temporary), but it's a freaky thing to encounter from someone you're so used to seeing. She's talking fine, but she can't say the correct words for items, but thinks that she is! It's a very weird thing to encounter. The swelling in her eye went down considerably the past day, and she's making some good strides on eating.

The first night (Saturday) in the hospital room, she was trying to get up out of bed A LOT so they had to put a bed alarm on so that they could hear her when she tried to get up and use the restroom. So our adventure yesterday while we were in there was making sure someone was there to guide her to the proper place, or convince her to stay in bed. We were there from 8:00am to about 9:00pm last night. Leona was very gracious and was on Peggie duty last night, as we all felt that she would try to get up in the middle of the night and do something again. Leona reported that she's doing better when she gets out of bed. Leona was able to wash mom a bit.

I dropped Scott off at the airport and headed back to Fresno today. Dad (and Leona) are still there with mom. At about 11am, Mom went in for the angiogram, and as of right now, she hasn't come out yet. When I hear from Dad, I'll report!

The Day After (Part Duex)

Mom was moved out of the ICU this afternoon, to her own room. She's made some progress with her recovery. She was able to get up out of bed, make it to the restroom, and then back to bed for some more sleep.

If there is anything you'd like for me to pass along to her, please let me know.