I get this question from time to time. So, for those of you who have wanted to ask and never did... here goes...
No. We did not know prenatally. I am glad we did not know. Before we had the prenatal testing we discussed what we would do if the tests determined there was a problem. We both agreed we would do nothing and we would continue with the pregnancy and love the baby regardless. I am sure that is what most people say before they go in for prenatal testing. Before they are faced with facts and statistics. Before they are asked by presumptions doctors "when should we schedule the termination?". Before they are painted worst case scenario pictures as the norm. The truth is... I don't know if we would have continued the pregnancy. I like to think that I had enough love and maturity in me but I honestly don't know.
I am sure this is not the "popular" thing for anyone to say but this is my blog with my thoughts, if you don't like it, you are free to click that little x in the upper right corner of your browser
I was a totally different person before I had Zachary.
Chris and I were a totally different couple. That extra chromosome changed me to my core. I don't know if the person I was before would have accepted this. Before I had this little pink person staring up at me. This person that needed nothing but love from me. This person that had shared my body for 40 weeks and I had grown to love so deeply. At 18 weeks when I had that screening done, I hadn't yet felt his first little flutter. I didn't know that he was a he. I didn't know what his name would be. I had no idea what it would feel like to stare at your child and feel that overwhelming love the moment they come out of your body.
I was busy making wedding plans and adjusting to quitting smoking and drinking wine and coffee. While Chris and I were very much in love and planning to get married, I got pregnant quicker than we expected so we pushed the wedding up a little bit. I don't know that we would have felt secure enough in our relationship, or in ourselves in general, to accept something like this. I am ashamed to say that I was that annoying teenager that made jokes about the short bus. That didn't know people with disabilities. Like really know who they are. Sure I may have been cordial in passing but I didn't take the time to really know who they were. At my school the special ed class was grossly removed from the rest of the students and I rarely saw any of them let alone know their names.
I don't know if that person would have accepted this.
In looking back on our AFP test results I think there should have been some red flags raised. My OB during my pregnancy was in a group of 6 doctors. I saw a few of them throughout my pregnancy due to my doctor being out often dealing with some family emergencies. At the routine appointment following the screening I was told that the results were "normal" and it was never discussed again. At our "big" ultrasound I was around 20 weeks into my pregnancy and all of his limbs measured slightly short - around 18 weeks. I have learned with pregnancy there is about a 2 week 'give-or-take' cushion so his limbs measuring 2 weeks behind was not cause for alarm. At my postpartum follow up I met with the doctor who delivered Zach. The one who after Zach was born said there was no way he had Down syndrome. I told him that the tests confirmed that he did in fact sport the extra chromosome and he pulled out my AFP results and said they were around 1 in 350. How that wasn't an elevated result is beyond me? Based off my age (25 at the time of the test, 26 when he was born) "normal" should be around 1 in 800.
Begin rant
Personally, I think the AFP screening is a huge waste of blood (and I told my OB that when I was pregnant with Hannah). I strongly urge everyone I know to not waste their time on that test. I have heard of so many people getting elevated risk factors, stressing out for nothing, all for their baby to have the correct number of chromosomes. I have never heard anything good come of this screening.
End rant
Anyhow, my theory is that with everything going on with my doctor, something slipped through the cracks with my results. Or maybe some higher being knew how much I needed Zach and knew that our plan was to not know until birth.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Down Syndrome Awareness Month!!
In honor of Down syndrome Awareness Month I am going to try and blog everyday. Blog about DS. Zach. How it has effected our lives. I may have a guest blogger or two. I may post about short little conversations between Zach and I. I may just post a picture. But my goal is to share as much as possible with people about Down syndrome and the joy it has brought my family. And maybe learn something I didn't know along the way...
Stay tuned...
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
A hell of a year....
Chris turned 38 yesterday! We celebrated on Sunday (since we both worked yesterday) with my first attempt at lasagna and ridiculously chocolaty chocolate cake. Surely he would not have asked for items that needed to be baked had he known we would be having a crazy heat wave and he even said several times that we could have something else for his birthday dinner but I wanted to give him what he asked for so... lasagna and cake it was! It was 106 at our house on Sunday. Yesterday there was record breaking heat and was 113 where we work!
Right around his birthday last year is when the bumps in the road of our lives started. I don't think I even had the time or energy to blog about it all but here is a quick recap...
Chris had some issues arise at work that resulted in him almost losing his job which caused a huge amount of stress and tension.
While vacationing at Disneyland, had to take Zachary to the ER with breathing problems, told he has asthma.
My grandmother went through months of health problems and weeks in the hospital and almost died. Twice.
Chris appendix almost burst and had emergency appendectomy
Papa Don passed away
Zach had a seizure
Chris had a stroke. Learn of Chris' heart condition and in the near future will be exploring the options on how to treat going forward.
Can I please get off of this roller coaster?!?!
Right around his birthday last year is when the bumps in the road of our lives started. I don't think I even had the time or energy to blog about it all but here is a quick recap...
Chris had some issues arise at work that resulted in him almost losing his job which caused a huge amount of stress and tension.
While vacationing at Disneyland, had to take Zachary to the ER with breathing problems, told he has asthma.
My grandmother went through months of health problems and weeks in the hospital and almost died. Twice.
Chris appendix almost burst and had emergency appendectomy
Papa Don passed away
Zach had a seizure
Chris had a stroke. Learn of Chris' heart condition and in the near future will be exploring the options on how to treat going forward.
Can I please get off of this roller coaster?!?!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Sleepover!
This weekend we had Max and Molly spend the night. Their parents have saved us a few times by keeping our kids and we wanted to repay the favor. The kids had a blast. Zach and Max have been friends for a really long time. It is cute to see how they have grown.
The gang (I love the way Hannah and Zach are looking at each other. And the fact that they chose to set up camp next to each other)
The boys
The girls
Siblings
The gang (I love the way Hannah and Zach are looking at each other. And the fact that they chose to set up camp next to each other)
The boys
The girls
Siblings
Friday, September 17, 2010
Proud Mom Moment
Last night we went to a picnic at Zach's school. It was nice to have time to sit and chat with his teacher and one of his aides. It warms my heart to see the relationship they have with him and experience the love they obviously feel for my boy. They are such a huge part of Zach's life and I was glad to be able to talk with them in a relaxed setting. Since I don't get to do the drop offs and pick up's because of work I rarely get a chance to talk with them face to face. Emails and notes back and forth in his backpack can only do so much.
Anyway... on to the proud moment...
His aide says to Chris and I "He is the smartest kid with Down syndrome that I have ever met. And I have worked with a lot".
Can I get an "Awwww"....Or how about a "Hell Yes!"
I could tell she was completely sincere. Like she was saying "this kid is going to do big things, no doubt about it". (For the record... that was not a direct quote from her.. that was just what her facial expressions would have said had they been able to talk)
I have always known my kid was brilliant but I also have limited experience with individuals with Down syndrome so it is hard to know where he falls in comparison. Not that you should ever compare kids but... you know what I mean?
Here is a picture of him from last night working really hard at the hula hoop.
Anyway... on to the proud moment...
His aide says to Chris and I "He is the smartest kid with Down syndrome that I have ever met. And I have worked with a lot".
Can I get an "Awwww"....Or how about a "Hell Yes!"
I could tell she was completely sincere. Like she was saying "this kid is going to do big things, no doubt about it". (For the record... that was not a direct quote from her.. that was just what her facial expressions would have said had they been able to talk)
I have always known my kid was brilliant but I also have limited experience with individuals with Down syndrome so it is hard to know where he falls in comparison. Not that you should ever compare kids but... you know what I mean?
Here is a picture of him from last night working really hard at the hula hoop.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Happy 3rd Birthday Hannah Rose!!
Dear Hannah,
It is hard to believe that 3 years has passed already yet I cant believe it has only been 3 years. You fit so perfectly into our family. You bring such an energy to our lives and you and your brother are the best of friends. You understand what he is saying better than we do. You can out talk and out smart most kids your age and ask quite often if you can go to school. However, you don't want to just go to any school, "Princess School" is what you ask for. You have a way of melting my heart with your smile and the sweet things you say. You love to give us kisses when you know we need them most.
You also have a way of making me want to run screaming from the house. You have an attitude. A big one. You also have a shriek that makes us cringe. If you don't get your way, it generally results in a long drawn out crying fit that does not end until we can come to some sort of compromise. You run us. And you know it. But I know this just means you are going to be a strong minded young woman and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love you more than you will ever imagine my sweet girl.
Love,
Mommy
You wanted a party this year and you asked for a princess party so that is what you got!
It is hard to believe that 3 years has passed already yet I cant believe it has only been 3 years. You fit so perfectly into our family. You bring such an energy to our lives and you and your brother are the best of friends. You understand what he is saying better than we do. You can out talk and out smart most kids your age and ask quite often if you can go to school. However, you don't want to just go to any school, "Princess School" is what you ask for. You have a way of melting my heart with your smile and the sweet things you say. You love to give us kisses when you know we need them most.
You also have a way of making me want to run screaming from the house. You have an attitude. A big one. You also have a shriek that makes us cringe. If you don't get your way, it generally results in a long drawn out crying fit that does not end until we can come to some sort of compromise. You run us. And you know it. But I know this just means you are going to be a strong minded young woman and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love you more than you will ever imagine my sweet girl.
Love,
Mommy
You wanted a party this year and you asked for a princess party so that is what you got!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Project Surf Camp
I have been behind lately on blogs but did not want to forget to post about this. Zachary had the opportunity to participate in an amazing program this summer called Project Surf Camp. This is an awesome non profit organization that takes individuals with special needs surfing. They operate on donations from participants that are only a fraction of the operating cost but they will never turn a camper down if they are unable to pay. They recently received a grant from Pepsi in the amount of $50,000. Pepsi, instead of buying outrageously priced Super Bowl Commercials, donated $300,000 (that I am aware of, it could be more) to several non-profit organizations across our country. If we were a soda drinking household they would definitely have our business!
Zach was pretty hesitant about the whole thing to begin with. We had to force him into the wetsuit. I knew that once he got out there he would love it. He did great and had a wonderful time. He didn't get up on his feet this year but... he is only 6! We look forward to him participating next year.
Here are some pictures:
"But I no want to wear this!"
Pre-surf pep talk with my Daddy
Warmups
Learning the moves
Headed out to the waves
Riding one in
A picture is worth a thousand words...
Hi Fives for his teachers
"This is so fun!"
Zach was pretty hesitant about the whole thing to begin with. We had to force him into the wetsuit. I knew that once he got out there he would love it. He did great and had a wonderful time. He didn't get up on his feet this year but... he is only 6! We look forward to him participating next year.
Here are some pictures:
"But I no want to wear this!"
Pre-surf pep talk with my Daddy
Warmups
Learning the moves
Headed out to the waves
Riding one in
A picture is worth a thousand words...
Hi Fives for his teachers
"This is so fun!"
Friday, September 10, 2010
The latest on Chris
2 weeks ago Chris and I headed up to the hospital for Chris' Cardioversion procedure. They took him back to the waiting area for outpatient procedures and got his IV started, took blood and got the heart monitors on him before calling me back to sit with him. We were there chatting with the nurse for about an hour before the cardiologist got there. His doctor asked me if I wanted to stay to watch it. Sure. I like medical stuff and I have watched my fair share. I watched my moms laser eye surgery on a close up TV screen while she was having it done. I thought it was really cool when they cut the eye ball and pulled the lens back to access the cornea. This would be no biggie.
They put the pads on him. One on his chest and one on his back. They administered the sedatives through his IV to put him to sleep. They charge up the machine. The machine has a warning saying that his pads are not reading properly. They cant figure out why. The machine was reading his EKG information so they knew it was working. He charged it up again and said "Clear!" and pushed the button and nothing happened. Then they realized the wires were not connected to the pads that do the actual shock. I said "You guys are not making feel very good about this!". They get him plugged in and the doctor charges the machine back up and says "Clear!" and just like you see in the movies, Chris' whole upper body lifts up from the gurney. He opens his eyes and looks around. The doctor tells me that it didn't work. He would have to shock him a second time. Chris was still looking around so they gave him another small dose of drugs. I told them I had to leave. I could not watch that again.
I went out to the waiting room and started to worry when a lot of time passed. The doctor finally came out and said that the second shock did work but now he was concerned because his heart rate was in the 30s at rest. 40s when he asked him to get up and move around a little bit. He felt there was some sort of congenital problem and that the top and bottom chambers were not "talking to each other" properly. He still felt ok with Chris going home that day. Said there was nothing urgent that was of concern but that we would talk about him at the followup appointment the following week. He said he expected that Chris would get dizzy easily and that he would not be surprised if he passed out. It was a Friday so he gave me his cell phone number to contact him if we had any problems or questions over the weekend.
I went back to see Chris. I didn't tell him too much at the time because I did not want to give him more to worry about. We were able to leave fairly soon after. We came home and he took a nice long nap. He felt pretty good the next day other than some soreness in his chest. I could hear the difference in his heart beat when I put my ear to his chest. I have become a novice in distinguishing the different states of his heart beats. The following Monday he had to go in to have his blood levels checked and they checked his pulse and said he was irregular again. Not what we expected, or wanted, to hear! I listened to his heart that night and it did sound a little irregular, but not the same as it did post stroke when he was in Atrial Fibrillation. We had a followup appointment with the cardiologist on Wednesday and he said that Chris was back in A Fib. Atrial Flutter to be exact. He said he uses the terms interchangeably but that the A Flutter was a much more organized rhythm than it had before. Last Thursday at work Chris felt his heart beat pretty hard and he got slightly dizzy. When we got home I listened to it and low and behold, it had converted itself back into a regular rhythm. Today, it converted back. It is a very nerve racking state of unknown right now.
At the last appointment with the cardiologist we talked about options from this point on and when we have more information on how he is going to proceed, we will discuss them with everyone.
Thank you to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers!
They put the pads on him. One on his chest and one on his back. They administered the sedatives through his IV to put him to sleep. They charge up the machine. The machine has a warning saying that his pads are not reading properly. They cant figure out why. The machine was reading his EKG information so they knew it was working. He charged it up again and said "Clear!" and pushed the button and nothing happened. Then they realized the wires were not connected to the pads that do the actual shock. I said "You guys are not making feel very good about this!". They get him plugged in and the doctor charges the machine back up and says "Clear!" and just like you see in the movies, Chris' whole upper body lifts up from the gurney. He opens his eyes and looks around. The doctor tells me that it didn't work. He would have to shock him a second time. Chris was still looking around so they gave him another small dose of drugs. I told them I had to leave. I could not watch that again.
I went out to the waiting room and started to worry when a lot of time passed. The doctor finally came out and said that the second shock did work but now he was concerned because his heart rate was in the 30s at rest. 40s when he asked him to get up and move around a little bit. He felt there was some sort of congenital problem and that the top and bottom chambers were not "talking to each other" properly. He still felt ok with Chris going home that day. Said there was nothing urgent that was of concern but that we would talk about him at the followup appointment the following week. He said he expected that Chris would get dizzy easily and that he would not be surprised if he passed out. It was a Friday so he gave me his cell phone number to contact him if we had any problems or questions over the weekend.
I went back to see Chris. I didn't tell him too much at the time because I did not want to give him more to worry about. We were able to leave fairly soon after. We came home and he took a nice long nap. He felt pretty good the next day other than some soreness in his chest. I could hear the difference in his heart beat when I put my ear to his chest. I have become a novice in distinguishing the different states of his heart beats. The following Monday he had to go in to have his blood levels checked and they checked his pulse and said he was irregular again. Not what we expected, or wanted, to hear! I listened to his heart that night and it did sound a little irregular, but not the same as it did post stroke when he was in Atrial Fibrillation. We had a followup appointment with the cardiologist on Wednesday and he said that Chris was back in A Fib. Atrial Flutter to be exact. He said he uses the terms interchangeably but that the A Flutter was a much more organized rhythm than it had before. Last Thursday at work Chris felt his heart beat pretty hard and he got slightly dizzy. When we got home I listened to it and low and behold, it had converted itself back into a regular rhythm. Today, it converted back. It is a very nerve racking state of unknown right now.
At the last appointment with the cardiologist we talked about options from this point on and when we have more information on how he is going to proceed, we will discuss them with everyone.
Thank you to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
As heard...
Hannah: "Mooooom"
Me: "Yes Hannah"
Hannah: "I want a kitty and a doggy and a baby brother"
Zachary: "No baby brother! I not a baby! I'm a big boy!"
Me: "Yes Hannah"
Hannah: "I want a kitty and a doggy and a baby brother"
Zachary: "No baby brother! I not a baby! I'm a big boy!"
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Stroke... Part 2
If you have not read Part 1, start here.
I woke up the next morning hoping it was all a nightmare. Hoping I would roll over and Chris would be next laying there next to me. But of course the other side of the bed was as empty as it was just a few hours earlier when I laid down. I jumped out of bed and called the ICU nurse who said he was awake already and put me through to him. I could hear in his voice how different he was. It was as if his soul had been missing and overnight had returned to his body. His speech was off, but the gibberish was gone. I took a shower and waited for my mom who went to the hospital with me. When we got there the ultrasound technician was doing ultrasounds of his legs and carotid artery checking for clots. She also came back later in the day and did a very long echo cardiogram of his heart. She told us, unofficially of course, that all looked well but she did notice some fluttering in his heart. Chris was starving. He hadn't eaten anything since 2pm Monday when he had a snack at work. They would not let him eat or drink anything until he met with a speech therapist to evaluate him and ensure that he would not choke or aspirate.
We still did not have a lot of answers as to why this happened. Chris is 37 years old. Has never been a smoker, heavy drinker, or drug user. He plays soccer 2-3 times a week and has always been healthy. When talking to the doctors the night before in the ER about his medical history, diet and eating habits I did mention that he drank energy drinks. Generally 2-3 a day. They seemed very interested in this and felt that could have been a factor in causing his stroke.
We met with the cardiologist who explained that the stroke was caused by Atrial Fibrillation. The irregular heart beat will cause a clot and paired with the amount of caffeine in the energy drinks, it was a formula for disaster. Most people who have A Fib have a heart rate that averages in the 130-150 range. Chris' averages around 60-70 so he had no idea that he was experiencing this. When he was in the hospital in February, they did not ever mention that he was in A Fib so it was a relatively new thing.
There was a lot going on throughout the day. Nurses in and out. A visit from Chris' bosses. Chris had an MRI where they officially confirmed he had a stroke. The neurologist said there was some scarring in his brain. Finally around 3pm or so the speech therapist came in and did some tongue exercises with Chris and watched him eat a milkshake. She cleared him to eat and showed us some exercises that he needed to do to strengthen his tongue to help his speech return to normal. He scarfed down a turkey sandwich (the first of many) and was happy to finally get to eat.
Around 4 that afternoon he was able to get up and try to walk. He felt pretty good but he did feel like he was tilting to one side while he walked. In his mind, he thought it should be obvious that he was tilting, but knew that it wasn't. Our fantastic daycare provider dropped the kids off at the hospital so they could visit with Daddy. After a short visit we went home so I could try to maintain some normalcy for the kids. We had dinner and did our nighttime routine. Chris had a good night. Watched TV. Ate dinner. Walked a little bit more with one of the nurses.
Wednesday morning I dropped the kids off at daycare and went back up to see him. There was talks of moving him to the unit that was just a step down from ICU but they were full so they moved him down to the "Med Surg" floor. It was good and bad. Good because that meant he was one step closer to going home. Bad because it was a cramped room where he would possibly have a roommate. When he was moved around noon, he had a roommate who was in his 80's and hard of hearing. So, you can imagine the volume of his TV. The roommate left around 3 and Chris was lucky enough to be alone in his room until Friday morning. Wednesday was more of the same. The speech therapist came and worked with him again, along with an occupational therapist and a physical therapist.
The cardiologist met with us again. We talked with him about treatment going forward. They put him on blood thinners to avoid the possibility of another clot forming. Because of the tPA that he was given upon arrival they had to start slow with new medications. They started giving him shots of Lovenox in his stomach on Wednesday. This is a faster delivered blood thinner until the Warfarin could get to the appropriate levels in his system.
Chris was able to get up and walk a little bit in the halls. Didn't do too much Wednesday but by Thursday he did a few laps up and down the halls. Thursday was about the same as Wednesday. Meeting with the ST, PT, OT and cardiologist. I think the floor doctor also came in to check on him, but we didn't get much out of him in terms of information. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know from the nurse or the cardio.
Friday morning Chris was itching to go home and we were doing a lot of walking up and down the hallway. The floor doctor came in to check on him and said he would be there until at least Monday. Since he was getting the shots he had to stay there and they wanted his blood at a certain level before he could leave. We met with the cardiologist around 10am who said that if the insurance approved it and I felt ok giving him the shots we could go home. Chris was so ecstatic! We got all the prescriptions, follow up appointments, and instructions and we were out of there! Chris was so excited to be out of bed and out of the hospital that we actually stopped on the way home and had sushi for lunch before picking up all his drugs.
Understandably, it still took some time for him to regain his energy and get back to doing his day to day activities. Even now, a 6 weeks later, he still tires easily. The cardiologist said that after his Cardioversion this coming Friday, he should notice a huge difference in his stamina and energy level. The cardiologist and neurologist have talked and neither of them are in a rush to get him off of the blood thinners so he will stay on those for awhile. He was back to work part time the following week and on the soccer field 3 1/2 weeks post stroke. He has had lots of follow up appointments and has to have his blood levels checked weekly. We also had to pay some guy $300 to come evaluate Chris and watch him drive so that he could fill out the reports for the Neuro and the DMV to clear him to drive. He wasn't able to drive for a couple weeks and I was hating being the sole driver. He is also not the best passenger so he was anxious to get back in the drivers seat.
It has been a hell of an experience that I do not wish on anyone but I am so thankful for how quickly he has recovered.
I woke up the next morning hoping it was all a nightmare. Hoping I would roll over and Chris would be next laying there next to me. But of course the other side of the bed was as empty as it was just a few hours earlier when I laid down. I jumped out of bed and called the ICU nurse who said he was awake already and put me through to him. I could hear in his voice how different he was. It was as if his soul had been missing and overnight had returned to his body. His speech was off, but the gibberish was gone. I took a shower and waited for my mom who went to the hospital with me. When we got there the ultrasound technician was doing ultrasounds of his legs and carotid artery checking for clots. She also came back later in the day and did a very long echo cardiogram of his heart. She told us, unofficially of course, that all looked well but she did notice some fluttering in his heart. Chris was starving. He hadn't eaten anything since 2pm Monday when he had a snack at work. They would not let him eat or drink anything until he met with a speech therapist to evaluate him and ensure that he would not choke or aspirate.
We still did not have a lot of answers as to why this happened. Chris is 37 years old. Has never been a smoker, heavy drinker, or drug user. He plays soccer 2-3 times a week and has always been healthy. When talking to the doctors the night before in the ER about his medical history, diet and eating habits I did mention that he drank energy drinks. Generally 2-3 a day. They seemed very interested in this and felt that could have been a factor in causing his stroke.
We met with the cardiologist who explained that the stroke was caused by Atrial Fibrillation. The irregular heart beat will cause a clot and paired with the amount of caffeine in the energy drinks, it was a formula for disaster. Most people who have A Fib have a heart rate that averages in the 130-150 range. Chris' averages around 60-70 so he had no idea that he was experiencing this. When he was in the hospital in February, they did not ever mention that he was in A Fib so it was a relatively new thing.
There was a lot going on throughout the day. Nurses in and out. A visit from Chris' bosses. Chris had an MRI where they officially confirmed he had a stroke. The neurologist said there was some scarring in his brain. Finally around 3pm or so the speech therapist came in and did some tongue exercises with Chris and watched him eat a milkshake. She cleared him to eat and showed us some exercises that he needed to do to strengthen his tongue to help his speech return to normal. He scarfed down a turkey sandwich (the first of many) and was happy to finally get to eat.
Around 4 that afternoon he was able to get up and try to walk. He felt pretty good but he did feel like he was tilting to one side while he walked. In his mind, he thought it should be obvious that he was tilting, but knew that it wasn't. Our fantastic daycare provider dropped the kids off at the hospital so they could visit with Daddy. After a short visit we went home so I could try to maintain some normalcy for the kids. We had dinner and did our nighttime routine. Chris had a good night. Watched TV. Ate dinner. Walked a little bit more with one of the nurses.
Wednesday morning I dropped the kids off at daycare and went back up to see him. There was talks of moving him to the unit that was just a step down from ICU but they were full so they moved him down to the "Med Surg" floor. It was good and bad. Good because that meant he was one step closer to going home. Bad because it was a cramped room where he would possibly have a roommate. When he was moved around noon, he had a roommate who was in his 80's and hard of hearing. So, you can imagine the volume of his TV. The roommate left around 3 and Chris was lucky enough to be alone in his room until Friday morning. Wednesday was more of the same. The speech therapist came and worked with him again, along with an occupational therapist and a physical therapist.
The cardiologist met with us again. We talked with him about treatment going forward. They put him on blood thinners to avoid the possibility of another clot forming. Because of the tPA that he was given upon arrival they had to start slow with new medications. They started giving him shots of Lovenox in his stomach on Wednesday. This is a faster delivered blood thinner until the Warfarin could get to the appropriate levels in his system.
Chris was able to get up and walk a little bit in the halls. Didn't do too much Wednesday but by Thursday he did a few laps up and down the halls. Thursday was about the same as Wednesday. Meeting with the ST, PT, OT and cardiologist. I think the floor doctor also came in to check on him, but we didn't get much out of him in terms of information. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know from the nurse or the cardio.
Friday morning Chris was itching to go home and we were doing a lot of walking up and down the hallway. The floor doctor came in to check on him and said he would be there until at least Monday. Since he was getting the shots he had to stay there and they wanted his blood at a certain level before he could leave. We met with the cardiologist around 10am who said that if the insurance approved it and I felt ok giving him the shots we could go home. Chris was so ecstatic! We got all the prescriptions, follow up appointments, and instructions and we were out of there! Chris was so excited to be out of bed and out of the hospital that we actually stopped on the way home and had sushi for lunch before picking up all his drugs.
Understandably, it still took some time for him to regain his energy and get back to doing his day to day activities. Even now, a 6 weeks later, he still tires easily. The cardiologist said that after his Cardioversion this coming Friday, he should notice a huge difference in his stamina and energy level. The cardiologist and neurologist have talked and neither of them are in a rush to get him off of the blood thinners so he will stay on those for awhile. He was back to work part time the following week and on the soccer field 3 1/2 weeks post stroke. He has had lots of follow up appointments and has to have his blood levels checked weekly. We also had to pay some guy $300 to come evaluate Chris and watch him drive so that he could fill out the reports for the Neuro and the DMV to clear him to drive. He wasn't able to drive for a couple weeks and I was hating being the sole driver. He is also not the best passenger so he was anxious to get back in the drivers seat.
It has been a hell of an experience that I do not wish on anyone but I am so thankful for how quickly he has recovered.
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