I talked to Katie today and she said my dad is now able to get in and out of his wheel chair all by himself - it's been just over a month since my last visit and he wasn't even close to being able to do this at the end of July. Wow. She also said he looks forward to going for walks every day now - sometimes on his own, sometimes with the walker, and sometimes he likes to take an easy ride in the chair.
I'm just awed by the progress he has made - man, those doctors really never know do they? If you only knew the prognosis they gave us after the stroke - it was grim. My dad has always been a very determined person and a hard worker and I guess those are good traits for recovery.
I will be visiting again soon - October 2nd and 3rd. Can't wait. It's hard to be away. Dad's getting new visitors as well as old - I heard Jimmy Alberts was there, haven't seen him in years!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Some information on identifying a stroke
It is important to recognize stroke symptoms and act quickly.
Common stroke symptoms seen in both men and women:
- Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg -- especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
Women may report unique stroke symptoms:
- sudden face and limb pain
- sudden hiccups
- sudden nausea
- sudden general weakness
- sudden chest pain
- sudden shortness of breath
- audden palpitations
Stroke is an Emergency: F.A.S.T. Action Saves Lives
A new National Stroke Association study shows most Americans do not treat stroke as an emergency. When a stroke -- or brain attack -- first hits, many people don't even recognize the symptoms and do not immediately call 9-1-1. In fact, a recent National Stroke Association survey reports 1 in 3 Americans cannot name a single symptom a person might experience while having a stroke.
Every minute counts for stroke patients and acting F.A.S.T. can lead patients to the stroke treatments they desperately need. The most effective stroke treatments are only available if the stroke is recognized and diagnosed within the first three hours of the first symptoms. Actually, many Americans are not aware that stroke patients may not be eligible for stroke treatments if they arrive at the hospital after the three-hour window.
Use the following tool to help you recognize stroke symptoms and act F.A.S.T.:
FACE
- Ask the person to smile.Does one side of the face droop?
ARMS
- Ask the person to raise both arms.Does one arm drift downward?
SPEECH
- Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence.Are the words slurred? Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly?
TIME
- If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. Call 911 or get to the hospital fast. Brain cells are dying.
“Understanding the warning signs is important because there are treatments we can give for stroke. If you understand the warning signs and get to the hospital quickly we can even possibly reverse the stroke itself,” says Dr. Dawn Kleindorfer, assistant professor of neurology at University of Cincinnati School of Medicine.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Very Encouraging...
As if the news from my Aunt Marilyn weren't encouraging enough, I talked to Katie last night and she told me a couple of things.
First, when Katie and Maura visited yesterday Dad was just coming back from physical therapy and the therapist said, Dave, let's show them what you were working on today. My Dad was able to walk a short while WITHOUT the walker! When I talked to the physical therapist in early July he said he originally never expected my Dad to walk at all and at that point he was using a walker. Now he's starting to be able to walk without it. Wow.
Secondly, my Dad typically doesn't remember who visited him when we ask but yesterday he gave Katie a name. When she checked the guest book, sure enough, that person had visited earlier in the day!
We all know Dave can do anything he puts his mind to, so happy to see him working so hard and proving all those doctors wrong.
First, when Katie and Maura visited yesterday Dad was just coming back from physical therapy and the therapist said, Dave, let's show them what you were working on today. My Dad was able to walk a short while WITHOUT the walker! When I talked to the physical therapist in early July he said he originally never expected my Dad to walk at all and at that point he was using a walker. Now he's starting to be able to walk without it. Wow.
Secondly, my Dad typically doesn't remember who visited him when we ask but yesterday he gave Katie a name. When she checked the guest book, sure enough, that person had visited earlier in the day!
We all know Dave can do anything he puts his mind to, so happy to see him working so hard and proving all those doctors wrong.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Aunt Marilyn & Uncle Milan Visit
I got an email from my Aunt Marilyn this week that I wanted to share about her and my Uncle Milan's visit (Dad's sister and brother):
Milan has visited David several times now and I have seen him twice. I was there with Jack and grandkids Justin & Mackenzie today and Milan came in while we were there. Mackenzie (she's 6) made a get well card for Uncle David on the computer yesterday and gave it to him today.
Milan saw David walk all the way from the exercise room to his room. He could slide his right foot on the floor. The therapist said he could grip the parallel bars with his right hand and hadn't been able to before.
Marilyn
Milan has visited David several times now and I have seen him twice. I was there with Jack and grandkids Justin & Mackenzie today and Milan came in while we were there. Mackenzie (she's 6) made a get well card for Uncle David on the computer yesterday and gave it to him today.
Milan saw David walk all the way from the exercise room to his room. He could slide his right foot on the floor. The therapist said he could grip the parallel bars with his right hand and hadn't been able to before.
Marilyn
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Bernie & I Visit from Colorado
Hi everyone! Well, we made it back to Colorado safe and sound – never fun to return to work after a vacation especially after such a long day of travel. Bernie (my husband) and I got to visit with my dad daily Wednesday thru Friday and then again on our way to the airport on Monday afternoon. In between visits we went to Bernie’s brother’s wedding up in Alden which is near the famous Batchelder Rd. in Bellaire, MI so we chatted with Dad a bit about that (although we didn’t make the pilgrimage to the sign this time).
I was happy to see that the guest book that I left earlier in July was a big success and in addition to daily visits from Katie (wife) and frequent visits from Maura (daughter), Scott (son) and Lori (daughter) my dad has also received multiple visits from lots of friends and family:
Bill Delange; Danny Akers; Richard & Dick Batchelder; Patsy, Mike & Annie; BJ Franzen; Gwen & George Neumann; Dennis Wiese; Nick & Ed; Lem Harsen; Barb & Tom Korneffel; all of Katie’s family (which is a lot!); and a few others I’m sure who didn’t sign in or visited before the guest book was there.
It was great to see what everyone had to say and heart warming to see that he has been getting visits from friends at least every other day. Please keep up the visits as it breaks my heart to think of my dad in that room all day by himself – although I must say – he seems more content than I could have imagined. He is happy to have visitors and lights up when people he knows come in. During my visit we looked through some magazines and tried to name the items in the pictures; watched a little TV; went for a stroll in the beautiful court yard downstairs (he’ll instruct you exactly how to get there); named some colors and tried to tell time – little things to help the language center come back. It is a slow process for sure but I do see some progress. Some things he has trouble communicating, but then others it is surprising – we told him we bought a new house and he asked who our mortgage lender was – clear as day.
I also brought him a smoothie (a healthy one) and he really enjoyed it. If you are going to visit around lunch or dinner please bring a meal for yourself as it is nice when he doesn’t have to eat alone. Or you can bring him a healthy meal too as some of the food could be better, typical hospital fare.
Dave’s aware that his right side isn’t working but every day he gets better at over coming that challenge. I only wish it hadn’t been raining so much so we could go outside more – nice to get out of that room and get some fresh air. While we were there we also saw Katie, Maura, and Scott. I heard from Dad’s sister Marilyn that she will be visiting in August along with her husband and Dad’s brother Milan.
Hope to visit soon....keri
I was happy to see that the guest book that I left earlier in July was a big success and in addition to daily visits from Katie (wife) and frequent visits from Maura (daughter), Scott (son) and Lori (daughter) my dad has also received multiple visits from lots of friends and family:
Bill Delange; Danny Akers; Richard & Dick Batchelder; Patsy, Mike & Annie; BJ Franzen; Gwen & George Neumann; Dennis Wiese; Nick & Ed; Lem Harsen; Barb & Tom Korneffel; all of Katie’s family (which is a lot!); and a few others I’m sure who didn’t sign in or visited before the guest book was there.
It was great to see what everyone had to say and heart warming to see that he has been getting visits from friends at least every other day. Please keep up the visits as it breaks my heart to think of my dad in that room all day by himself – although I must say – he seems more content than I could have imagined. He is happy to have visitors and lights up when people he knows come in. During my visit we looked through some magazines and tried to name the items in the pictures; watched a little TV; went for a stroll in the beautiful court yard downstairs (he’ll instruct you exactly how to get there); named some colors and tried to tell time – little things to help the language center come back. It is a slow process for sure but I do see some progress. Some things he has trouble communicating, but then others it is surprising – we told him we bought a new house and he asked who our mortgage lender was – clear as day.
I also brought him a smoothie (a healthy one) and he really enjoyed it. If you are going to visit around lunch or dinner please bring a meal for yourself as it is nice when he doesn’t have to eat alone. Or you can bring him a healthy meal too as some of the food could be better, typical hospital fare.
Dave’s aware that his right side isn’t working but every day he gets better at over coming that challenge. I only wish it hadn’t been raining so much so we could go outside more – nice to get out of that room and get some fresh air. While we were there we also saw Katie, Maura, and Scott. I heard from Dad’s sister Marilyn that she will be visiting in August along with her husband and Dad’s brother Milan.
Hope to visit soon....keri
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Upcomming Visit
Hi everyone, my husband and I will be in Michigan next week and we'll be visiting with my Dad on Wed 7/22-Fri 7/24 and then Monday 7/27 on our way to the airport. Inbetween we'll be up north for for my brother-in-law's wedding!
Dennis Wiese told me he'll be visiting this Sunday so we'll be keeping Dave pretty busy.
Dennis Wiese told me he'll be visiting this Sunday so we'll be keeping Dave pretty busy.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
My Recent Visit
Hi everyone. I just got back from Michigan - a very quick visit to see my dad. His face lit up when I came into the room and he was smiling a lot. His spirits were so much better than when I last saw him in the hospital, he's no longer sleepy all the time. He's now eating full time and hopefully they will remove his feeding tube soon since he doesn't seem to need it anymore. We had a really nice visit the first night, had a lot of conversation although we couldn't always understand each other. Katie and Maura also came to visit while I was there. Katie's mom was there earlier in the day and brought my dad a nice plant for his room.
I came for another visit on Friday and was lucky enough to get there at the end of his physical therapy session. I was amazed to see that they have had my dad up and using a walker for three days in a row. He actually has some movement in his right leg, however the therapist had to help move his leg all the way forward so he could take another step. Dad was able to "walk" across the PT room. I never thought I would see that happen. Hopefully he continues to gain strength and mobility. I also saw him move his right arm many times, but all involuntary. It's a bittersweet experience - happy to see him make improvements, sad that he has to go through this and relearn so many basic functions. He's trying hard to communicate but just can't find a lot of the words.
After PT we went back to his room and he was very upset that he couldn't get back in bed right away. It was frustrating for both of us but once we got him back in bed all was well. We ate lunch together and he made some room on his tv table for me to eat my sandwich. Even though I told him earlier in the day that I brought my I was pleased he still remembered an hour later and cleared me a spot before I even got my sandwich out. After lunch I got dad back in his wheel chair and took him outside into the courtyard for a little sunshine. When we came back to the room we were both hot and he directed me how to turn the a/c on, although he called it "rain" he new exactly where and how to turn it on.
I'll be back again at the end of July with my husband Bernie for a slightly longer visit. I am excited to see what progress Dad will make in the next few weeks. I know it is hard for those who see him every day to notice the differences, but because I haven't seen my dad for a month I can definitely see the changes. He's already doing much more than the doctors at the hospital led us to believe was ever possible.
p.s. I left a black leather guest book in dad's room so people can let us know they were there, and how their visit went. Please use it, I look forward to reading it during my next visit!
keri
I came for another visit on Friday and was lucky enough to get there at the end of his physical therapy session. I was amazed to see that they have had my dad up and using a walker for three days in a row. He actually has some movement in his right leg, however the therapist had to help move his leg all the way forward so he could take another step. Dad was able to "walk" across the PT room. I never thought I would see that happen. Hopefully he continues to gain strength and mobility. I also saw him move his right arm many times, but all involuntary. It's a bittersweet experience - happy to see him make improvements, sad that he has to go through this and relearn so many basic functions. He's trying hard to communicate but just can't find a lot of the words.
After PT we went back to his room and he was very upset that he couldn't get back in bed right away. It was frustrating for both of us but once we got him back in bed all was well. We ate lunch together and he made some room on his tv table for me to eat my sandwich. Even though I told him earlier in the day that I brought my I was pleased he still remembered an hour later and cleared me a spot before I even got my sandwich out. After lunch I got dad back in his wheel chair and took him outside into the courtyard for a little sunshine. When we came back to the room we were both hot and he directed me how to turn the a/c on, although he called it "rain" he new exactly where and how to turn it on.
I'll be back again at the end of July with my husband Bernie for a slightly longer visit. I am excited to see what progress Dad will make in the next few weeks. I know it is hard for those who see him every day to notice the differences, but because I haven't seen my dad for a month I can definitely see the changes. He's already doing much more than the doctors at the hospital led us to believe was ever possible.
p.s. I left a black leather guest book in dad's room so people can let us know they were there, and how their visit went. Please use it, I look forward to reading it during my next visit!
keri
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