Hi Everyone - a long delayed update on Sue's condition.
First, everyone is now home, so I have some help taking care of Sue. Thanks to Pastor Norm for being taxi service to Alison to and from SSI this week, while I was getting Lauren to and from Grace Adventures camp - a 2 1/2 hour drive from here. And thanks to my Dad for driving up there yesterday - it helped a lot.
Sue's back pain has gotten worse over the last couple of days - to the point where she is now back on vicodin just to endure it. Why does it seem like every health problem we ever have happens on a weekend when nobody is available to help us through it, so we have to endure both pain and uncertainty until everyone opens back up again on Monday?
I was picking up Sue's prescriptions from her ER visit on Thursday, and was sitting in the cafe that is in the MSU Clinical Center, waiting for the pharmacy to complete their work. I happened to look up from my iTouch and saw our family doctor in line for something or other, and he noticed me sitting there and came over to talk to me a moment about Sue. He told me he had put in the referral for the MRI the ER doc wanted, but was unsure what the insurance company was going to say. We feel that this low back MRI is critical for us to understand what is going on inside Sue's back. After 5 CT scans of her head which show a positive progression from the bleed, and one pelvic xray which shows no fractures or other orthopedic issues, and the continuing back pain that has no real explanation, it seems clear that an MRI is in order. But we'll have to wait and see, because it takes at least 48 hours for the insurance company to issue an approval for the referral.
In the meantime, we hope, we pray, and we wait. After two weeks, that is all we can do.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Home Again
I just got Sue home and into bed, so here is the update on our latest trip to the ER:
The last 3 days have been marked by increasing lower back pain for Sue, to the point where she can hardly stand or sit for any length of time, and even lying down can be uncomfortable. Sometimes her left leg especially will give out when she is walking and she will fall. Fortunately, she has been able to grab something every time and hasn't hurt herself, but the rapid decline of her walking since she got home Sunday has been worrisome. We were told that there would be some discomfort as her body got rid of the blood in her spinal fluid, but nobody told us to expect this level of pain. She described it as feeling like she needed to deliver a baby, but there was no baby there to push. If she was sitting, it was like sitting on a pointed fence post. (BTW Dad - the walker really helped today - thanks for bringing it over!)
In light of all this pain we decided to go see our family doctor again. We could only see the PA today, but the doctor was in for consultation if necessary. We told the PA our story and she did in fact consult with the doctor, and he said he wanted us to go to the ER, since she was recovering from a serious neurological issue. He didn't want to take any chances and MSU Clinical Center is not equipped for evaluating these kind of things. So off to the ER we went.
During the course of the ER visit she got another CT scan of her brain which showed no additional issues there, and in fact there was no sign of the original bleed, so all that blood has at the very least been processed out from the bleed site and into the cerebral/spinal fluid for disposal. She also got another battery of blood tests (all normal), and a lumbar x-ray, to see if there were any structural issues there (there weren't). She also got more of the muscle relaxers and valium, and a shot of morphine to get her through the night.
So what it all amounts to is that she is having some serious muscle spasms in her lower back. If you have ever had these you know how debilitating they are, and how painful. But no further neurological issues were detected. For that, I am grateful. We also have a couple more prescriptions, which I am also grateful for, for Sue's sake. So it may be a groggy couple of days until these spasms stop, but the drugs will allow her to rest, which will help her more than anything.
On an unrelated note - a solicitation for prayers. My sister's father-in-law was taken to the same hospital today with a heart attack. I stopped up to see them briefly while Sue was sleeping and being taken for the CT scan, and my brother-in-law told me it was pretty massive, and the prognosis wasn't good. His name is Rex. Please ask God to sustain them all - there are 3 siblings, plus grandkids and in-laws. Thanks.
The last 3 days have been marked by increasing lower back pain for Sue, to the point where she can hardly stand or sit for any length of time, and even lying down can be uncomfortable. Sometimes her left leg especially will give out when she is walking and she will fall. Fortunately, she has been able to grab something every time and hasn't hurt herself, but the rapid decline of her walking since she got home Sunday has been worrisome. We were told that there would be some discomfort as her body got rid of the blood in her spinal fluid, but nobody told us to expect this level of pain. She described it as feeling like she needed to deliver a baby, but there was no baby there to push. If she was sitting, it was like sitting on a pointed fence post. (BTW Dad - the walker really helped today - thanks for bringing it over!)
In light of all this pain we decided to go see our family doctor again. We could only see the PA today, but the doctor was in for consultation if necessary. We told the PA our story and she did in fact consult with the doctor, and he said he wanted us to go to the ER, since she was recovering from a serious neurological issue. He didn't want to take any chances and MSU Clinical Center is not equipped for evaluating these kind of things. So off to the ER we went.
During the course of the ER visit she got another CT scan of her brain which showed no additional issues there, and in fact there was no sign of the original bleed, so all that blood has at the very least been processed out from the bleed site and into the cerebral/spinal fluid for disposal. She also got another battery of blood tests (all normal), and a lumbar x-ray, to see if there were any structural issues there (there weren't). She also got more of the muscle relaxers and valium, and a shot of morphine to get her through the night.
So what it all amounts to is that she is having some serious muscle spasms in her lower back. If you have ever had these you know how debilitating they are, and how painful. But no further neurological issues were detected. For that, I am grateful. We also have a couple more prescriptions, which I am also grateful for, for Sue's sake. So it may be a groggy couple of days until these spasms stop, but the drugs will allow her to rest, which will help her more than anything.
On an unrelated note - a solicitation for prayers. My sister's father-in-law was taken to the same hospital today with a heart attack. I stopped up to see them briefly while Sue was sleeping and being taken for the CT scan, and my brother-in-law told me it was pretty massive, and the prognosis wasn't good. His name is Rex. Please ask God to sustain them all - there are 3 siblings, plus grandkids and in-laws. Thanks.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Details
Out of the waiting room and in a room waiting for a Dr. Just to reiterate, we are here for her back not her head. May be related, don't know, but she has been in a lot of paid for a couple of days without improvement so we took her to the family doc, who sent us here.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Recovery
Now that we're home our routine has changed a little bit. Sue turned her sister into slave labor and had her do spring cleaning in the kids room and their school room. All I can say is wow! After that, she was fanning Sue and feeding her grapes. :) She left this evening, however, so I probably will have grape and fanning duty for the rest of the week, until the kids get home!
We went to see our family doctor for our first followup visit yesterday. He seemed to be quite amazed at our story, but he told us we did everything right, which was encouraging. We are also going to follow up with the Neurologist and with the Hematologist over the next couple of weeks. There are some blood tests that had to be sent to the Mayo Clinic, so those will take some time to come back - perhaps by the end of this week.
Sue's main issue right now is sciatic pain - the headaches are under control with medication. However, it is sometimes it is hard for her to find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down, and if she is walking she will get a spasm that will literally bring her to her knees at times. We are working with our Chiropractor, and we have an appointment with the Osteopathic Manipulation Clinic at MSU, where Sue has gone before with her TMJ issues, to help us get beyond this problem.
So mainly what she has to do is rest. That is a hard thing for an active person like her to do! Hopefully when her sciatica eases off she will be able to sit up comfortably and do the bookwork she needs to do for the upcoming school year - that's just the thing to keep her off her feet.
We have lifted the restrictions on visitors, so if you would like to come by we would love to have you here. Just call ahead so we can coordinate your visit with our doctor schedules and kid pick-ups and such. Daytime and evening appointments are available! <grin>
We went to see our family doctor for our first followup visit yesterday. He seemed to be quite amazed at our story, but he told us we did everything right, which was encouraging. We are also going to follow up with the Neurologist and with the Hematologist over the next couple of weeks. There are some blood tests that had to be sent to the Mayo Clinic, so those will take some time to come back - perhaps by the end of this week.
Sue's main issue right now is sciatic pain - the headaches are under control with medication. However, it is sometimes it is hard for her to find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down, and if she is walking she will get a spasm that will literally bring her to her knees at times. We are working with our Chiropractor, and we have an appointment with the Osteopathic Manipulation Clinic at MSU, where Sue has gone before with her TMJ issues, to help us get beyond this problem.
So mainly what she has to do is rest. That is a hard thing for an active person like her to do! Hopefully when her sciatica eases off she will be able to sit up comfortably and do the bookwork she needs to do for the upcoming school year - that's just the thing to keep her off her feet.
We have lifted the restrictions on visitors, so if you would like to come by we would love to have you here. Just call ahead so we can coordinate your visit with our doctor schedules and kid pick-ups and such. Daytime and evening appointments are available! <grin>
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Home!!!
At 4:00 this afternoon Sue walked in the door at home! One week and 30 minutes after she left, as Alison put it.
There are still several doctors appointments to come, but when I got home tonight she was cleaning up the kitchen with Lee, so she is really acting normally! The doctors instructions are for her to lay low for a couple of weeks. I think visitors will be OK if you want to stop by, but call ahead first to make sure we're here.
There are still several doctors appointments to come, but when I got home tonight she was cleaning up the kitchen with Lee, so she is really acting normally! The doctors instructions are for her to lay low for a couple of weeks. I think visitors will be OK if you want to stop by, but call ahead first to make sure we're here.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Imaging
Sue sent word just a little while ago that the dye study we are expecting is scheduled for tomorrow morning. They are also indicating that she will be discharged tomorrow barring any further complications. I'll put up word on that when I can - I'm driving Lauren to camp after church tomorrow.
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