Andrea and Chica 2

Andrea and Chica

a few more shots of my first hospital stay

I would stare at that sign and was so comforted by those words "Special Care". I felt like those nurses really cared about me. I would watch my blood pressure as it would squeeze on my arm automatically every 20 minutes. I think it gave me some sense of control to know what my blood pressure was. Amazing how low it would get during the night. I guess it goes down a lot when we sleep.
My brother Marc stayed with me until 3am in the ICU. I tried to give him one of my pillows but he wouldn't take it. I really think the best words I've ever heard where at midnight my first night of dealing with all this. I was in the ER trying to sleep with a washcloth over my eyes to block out all the trauma going on around me. I hear "I'm Marc Stern and I'm here to see my sister". I will never forget that feeling. The ER can be one lonely place, especially at night and especially after learning I had a problem with my brain that day.

Thursday's update

Notes from the day

-she's quite tired
-still feels an ache in the leg, but it's a familiar ache, so she's not worried
-the rash is not really getting worse, maybe 3-5% worse than yesterday, but it itches around her neck
-she is staying in bed for now, doing as she's told

Andrea talked to Jennifer at Dr. Martin's office, who answered some of her questions. She said to stay on the 2000 mg for now. Both Andrea's GP & her friend Rob Ashley recommended the same neurologist, Dr. Bill Buxton, and Dr. Martin says yes, do see another neurologist, especially for the Keppra management. Dr. Martin also wants her to have a "functional" brain MRI, in which she's shown flashcards and asked questions. Date TBD.

Other details from Jennifer:
-1-6" of her hair will be shaved
-she'll be asleep during surgery
-probably won't be able to drive for about 4 weeks after the surgery
-prognosis is very good, other than the normal risks of surgery
-does not expect any loss of memory
-just watch in the leg for anything abnormal
-recent trip to the ER does not bump up her appt--same dates

Today Dr. Pat & I hung out at Andrea's house, brought groceries & dinner, worked on the blog, relaxed with the cats, talked on the phone, watched a bit of baseball. All is calm, all is bright.

xo
Stephanie

Happy smiles with the 'all clear' diagnosis!

Dr. Fine (not his real name) just gave the all-clear on the CT scan, x-rays and blood tests. She's going home!

Cute outfit!

All OK after another trip to the ER

Just wanted to let you all know that Andrea is doing fine, but she's tired.

This morning she felt pain in her leg again, along with fatigue, weakness that was so bad she could hardly stand up, a bit of a rash on her neck and torso, lightheadedness like she was going to faint, and some shortness of breath. After calling around to her doctors and waiting awhile for her calls to be returned, she went to the ER with Andy, Coley & Dr. Pat; Ashleigh & I met her there a bit later. They did a CT scan of her head which showed no bleeding, an x-ray of her lungs which was clear & clean, and blood tests that came back negative/normal. After consulting with Dr. Aaron Cutler there, we still had to wait 2-3 hours for her discharge papers to get her home, but she was in good spirits throughout. She often mentions how fortunate and blessed she is to have caught this early, to have such incredible support from her family and friends, to have good insurance, to have such a great job, and so on.

-Stephanie