I'm pretty tired of COVID-19 and stressing about work so I thought I would spend some time sharing a personal story of what has been happening with my mom the past 3 weeks before I turn in for the night.
Like a lot of Michiganders, my parents retired to Florida in 1994 and lived outside of Lakeland in a golf community with a lot of friends from Michigan. My dad died in 2003 and my mom was very active and had no desire to leave so she stayed.
My sister and brother in law live in Denver. About a year after my dad died a little house right next door to theirs came up for sale. They bought it to use as a rental with the idea that if mom ever wanted to move there it would be available.
My mom stayed in Florida until she was 80 and then said she had had enough of the heat and her friends were either dying or not as active as she was. So, she sold her house there and moved right next door to my sister and brother in law. It has been a great arrangement for everyone. My mom loves living next to my sister, she has a huge garden and she helps out at my sister's. I travel to Denver about 4 times a year as it is a quick flight from San Diego so its easy to see everyone and my mom travels back to Michigan about 3 times a year to see my brother and his kids.
I was in Denver President's Day weekend for my mom's 84th birthday and we all had a great time. We all spent some time planning a trip this fall to Washington DC this fall and were planning out some of the things we wanted to do. We were there 3 years ago and had a great time. For a woman in her 80's, my mom has a lot of energy and likes to get out and do things.
In early February this year mom had a stress test because she felt some pressure around her heart. No pain but it did not feel normal some of the time. I asked her when I was there if she had the results back yet and she said they were still waiting.
I came back to San Diego on February 17th. The following Monday, mom went to my sister's like she usually does every morning, read the paper and helped clean up the kitchen like she does everyday to help out my sister. She went home about 11:00 and they were going to have dinner together that night, like they usually do.
After mom went back to her house, my sister decided to set up an online account at my mom's doctor's office so she could see if the stress test results came back. She set up the account and the report had come in that past Friday. Everything was normal, except it noted there was an aneurism on her aorta close to the heart. My sister did not know how long the aneurism had been there or if my mom even knew about. Something to ask her at dinner.
A bit about my sister before I continue the story. She graduated from Eastern with a RN degree and worked in Florida for several years in cardio vascular intensive care. She moved to Denver about 20 years ago and worked in the same type of unit at University Hospital in Denver and eventually became the hospital's director of education. She left that position about 5 years ago to grow a couple of health education companies she started. Through her work she knows a lot of the cardiologists in Denver.
Getting back to the story. About 3:00 pm on the afternoon of the 24th my mom called my sister and said she was really sick and that she needed to come over. My sister asked what was wrong and mom said her back hurt so bad she could not get out of bed and it felt like she was swallowing glass. My sister knew right away what was happening -- the aneurism was "dissecting" or was starting to peel away and it was only a matter of time before it burst.
She ran over, calling 911 on the way. An ambulance was there in 5 minutes and they got mom to a small hospital about 5 minutes away. My sister told them what was happening, not to stop in the ER, but take her right away for a CAT scan to confirm what she thought. They did what my sister said and confirmed the worst -- the aneurism was dissecting and she needed immediate open heart surgery.
A cardio-thoracic surgeon that my sister knew then came out of one of the 2 OR's at the hospital and said both were being used for open heart surgeries and they could not take her. So, they took mom up on the roof to a waiting helicopter and they flew her to University. This was about 5:00 pm, with rush hour so my sister and brother in law were stuck in traffic while mom was flown to University and taken to pre-op while they assembled a team and got a room ready.
My sister got there right before they took her in to surgery. They got mom in, put her under, had her intubated, and were pumping fluids into her carotid artery. Then, the aneurism burst before they had even started cutting her chest. Blood pressure went to zero with only a faint heartbeat which was pumping all the blood into her chest cavity through the ruptured aorta. So they had to cut her sternum, spread her ribs, get her on by-pass all while she was bleeding out into her chest cavity.
By this time I was on the phone with my sister. (She did not know about the rupture until after the surgery.) I asked her what the chances were and she said 50-50 based on her age. So, it was a long night. I remember there was an update when they had the repair done and were "putting the heart back in and were about to shock it to get it started again." That was a pretty sobering thought, to think that my mom's heart had been stopped for about 5 hours while they made the repair.
My sister called back about 1:00 in the morning. Mom had made it through and her heart was beating.
I flew to Denver on Tuesday morning and was at the hospital about 2:00. I will tell you it's really tough to see your mom with a breathing tube and all sorts of tubes going all sorts of places. Really tough and I could not have done it without my sister, she knew exactly what was going on and what we could expect in the coming days.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were long days. She was kept heavily sedated but could squeeze our hands if we spoke loudly and she could move her feet. On Tuesday night after we left she had a series of seizures. When we arrived on Wednesday she could squeeze her right hand and move her right foot. Nothing on the left, nothing at all. We feared she had a stroke and might be have no movement on her left side. With my mom being very independent that thought left me in tears more than once.
On Wednesday, mom's heart rate and blood pressure were fluctuating greatly and we had to make a decision on what type of response we wanted if she coded. This was in addition to no movement on the left side.
On Wednesday night about 900 pm they took her for an MRI to see if she had had a stroke. We left because they would not know until the morning.
Good news on Thursday morning when we arrived -- no signs of a stroke. One doctor told us the paralysis might be "Todd's Paralysis" which is a condition that sometimes occurs after a seizure and resolves after 48-72 hours.
On Friday morning we called ICU like we did every morning before we went out and they said they had removed the breathing tube and she was speaking a little and could follow all commands. Incredible news, no stoke!
Mom stayed in ICU for about 10 days and the care was just fantastic. I met so many wonderful health care providers, many that my sister already knew. Mom then was moved to a regular room for about 3 days and then a voc-rehab facility that is part of University. They went on lock down about 5 days ago but we talk to her a couple of times a day. She is up with a walker and they are expecting a full recovery. There does not seem to be any cognitive loss, despite the time it took them to get her on by-pass. We are taking her back to her house on Friday, a few day early because she is strong and they can keep her isolated with minimal contact and risk of COVID-19.
As a final part of the story, in 2009 mom was visiting her older brother in Tucson. He was complaining of back pain and collapsed in front of her. He died of the exact same thing as they could not get him in to surgery fast enough. I don't know if my mom thought the same thing was going to happen to her and I'm not going to ask. I'm just happy my mom is going to make it through this and we are already talking about Washington DC this fall, although she has a lot of strength to gain back. I'm so happy she will be back in her own house by Friday afternoon and I think that will give her a big lift, although she is very upbeat and forward thinking right now.
Kind of a long story, thanks for reading if you made it this far. Just felt like writing it all out.
Have a good night and stay healthy.
Like a lot of Michiganders, my parents retired to Florida in 1994 and lived outside of Lakeland in a golf community with a lot of friends from Michigan. My dad died in 2003 and my mom was very active and had no desire to leave so she stayed.
My sister and brother in law live in Denver. About a year after my dad died a little house right next door to theirs came up for sale. They bought it to use as a rental with the idea that if mom ever wanted to move there it would be available.
My mom stayed in Florida until she was 80 and then said she had had enough of the heat and her friends were either dying or not as active as she was. So, she sold her house there and moved right next door to my sister and brother in law. It has been a great arrangement for everyone. My mom loves living next to my sister, she has a huge garden and she helps out at my sister's. I travel to Denver about 4 times a year as it is a quick flight from San Diego so its easy to see everyone and my mom travels back to Michigan about 3 times a year to see my brother and his kids.
I was in Denver President's Day weekend for my mom's 84th birthday and we all had a great time. We all spent some time planning a trip this fall to Washington DC this fall and were planning out some of the things we wanted to do. We were there 3 years ago and had a great time. For a woman in her 80's, my mom has a lot of energy and likes to get out and do things.
In early February this year mom had a stress test because she felt some pressure around her heart. No pain but it did not feel normal some of the time. I asked her when I was there if she had the results back yet and she said they were still waiting.
I came back to San Diego on February 17th. The following Monday, mom went to my sister's like she usually does every morning, read the paper and helped clean up the kitchen like she does everyday to help out my sister. She went home about 11:00 and they were going to have dinner together that night, like they usually do.
After mom went back to her house, my sister decided to set up an online account at my mom's doctor's office so she could see if the stress test results came back. She set up the account and the report had come in that past Friday. Everything was normal, except it noted there was an aneurism on her aorta close to the heart. My sister did not know how long the aneurism had been there or if my mom even knew about. Something to ask her at dinner.
A bit about my sister before I continue the story. She graduated from Eastern with a RN degree and worked in Florida for several years in cardio vascular intensive care. She moved to Denver about 20 years ago and worked in the same type of unit at University Hospital in Denver and eventually became the hospital's director of education. She left that position about 5 years ago to grow a couple of health education companies she started. Through her work she knows a lot of the cardiologists in Denver.
Getting back to the story. About 3:00 pm on the afternoon of the 24th my mom called my sister and said she was really sick and that she needed to come over. My sister asked what was wrong and mom said her back hurt so bad she could not get out of bed and it felt like she was swallowing glass. My sister knew right away what was happening -- the aneurism was "dissecting" or was starting to peel away and it was only a matter of time before it burst.
She ran over, calling 911 on the way. An ambulance was there in 5 minutes and they got mom to a small hospital about 5 minutes away. My sister told them what was happening, not to stop in the ER, but take her right away for a CAT scan to confirm what she thought. They did what my sister said and confirmed the worst -- the aneurism was dissecting and she needed immediate open heart surgery.
A cardio-thoracic surgeon that my sister knew then came out of one of the 2 OR's at the hospital and said both were being used for open heart surgeries and they could not take her. So, they took mom up on the roof to a waiting helicopter and they flew her to University. This was about 5:00 pm, with rush hour so my sister and brother in law were stuck in traffic while mom was flown to University and taken to pre-op while they assembled a team and got a room ready.
My sister got there right before they took her in to surgery. They got mom in, put her under, had her intubated, and were pumping fluids into her carotid artery. Then, the aneurism burst before they had even started cutting her chest. Blood pressure went to zero with only a faint heartbeat which was pumping all the blood into her chest cavity through the ruptured aorta. So they had to cut her sternum, spread her ribs, get her on by-pass all while she was bleeding out into her chest cavity.
By this time I was on the phone with my sister. (She did not know about the rupture until after the surgery.) I asked her what the chances were and she said 50-50 based on her age. So, it was a long night. I remember there was an update when they had the repair done and were "putting the heart back in and were about to shock it to get it started again." That was a pretty sobering thought, to think that my mom's heart had been stopped for about 5 hours while they made the repair.
My sister called back about 1:00 in the morning. Mom had made it through and her heart was beating.
I flew to Denver on Tuesday morning and was at the hospital about 2:00. I will tell you it's really tough to see your mom with a breathing tube and all sorts of tubes going all sorts of places. Really tough and I could not have done it without my sister, she knew exactly what was going on and what we could expect in the coming days.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were long days. She was kept heavily sedated but could squeeze our hands if we spoke loudly and she could move her feet. On Tuesday night after we left she had a series of seizures. When we arrived on Wednesday she could squeeze her right hand and move her right foot. Nothing on the left, nothing at all. We feared she had a stroke and might be have no movement on her left side. With my mom being very independent that thought left me in tears more than once.
On Wednesday, mom's heart rate and blood pressure were fluctuating greatly and we had to make a decision on what type of response we wanted if she coded. This was in addition to no movement on the left side.
On Wednesday night about 900 pm they took her for an MRI to see if she had had a stroke. We left because they would not know until the morning.
Good news on Thursday morning when we arrived -- no signs of a stroke. One doctor told us the paralysis might be "Todd's Paralysis" which is a condition that sometimes occurs after a seizure and resolves after 48-72 hours.
On Friday morning we called ICU like we did every morning before we went out and they said they had removed the breathing tube and she was speaking a little and could follow all commands. Incredible news, no stoke!
Mom stayed in ICU for about 10 days and the care was just fantastic. I met so many wonderful health care providers, many that my sister already knew. Mom then was moved to a regular room for about 3 days and then a voc-rehab facility that is part of University. They went on lock down about 5 days ago but we talk to her a couple of times a day. She is up with a walker and they are expecting a full recovery. There does not seem to be any cognitive loss, despite the time it took them to get her on by-pass. We are taking her back to her house on Friday, a few day early because she is strong and they can keep her isolated with minimal contact and risk of COVID-19.
As a final part of the story, in 2009 mom was visiting her older brother in Tucson. He was complaining of back pain and collapsed in front of her. He died of the exact same thing as they could not get him in to surgery fast enough. I don't know if my mom thought the same thing was going to happen to her and I'm not going to ask. I'm just happy my mom is going to make it through this and we are already talking about Washington DC this fall, although she has a lot of strength to gain back. I'm so happy she will be back in her own house by Friday afternoon and I think that will give her a big lift, although she is very upbeat and forward thinking right now.
Kind of a long story, thanks for reading if you made it this far. Just felt like writing it all out.
Have a good night and stay healthy.
