Well, it was quite a week, but it ended on a terrific note.  We had a lovely visit from Julie Halston, and David is ready to see folks, so plan your visits! He didn’t have a full schedule of therapies, but saw the Physical Therapist and the Occupational Therapist for 1/2 hour each, and each time he sat up for an hour afterwards.  He also was getting a little more movement in his leg and is getting into the wheelchair with a little less help.  He has a few exercises to do while alone, but I also needs some reminding.

When I arrived, he had written two pages that looked like lists of things to do or ask the Doctors and Nurses, but they didn’t make any sense.  There were some words that were there, but nothing that was coherent.  I find it baffling that his understanding is perfect, but he just can’t make his body do what he wants – speak, write.  I bought an electric razor, which he used to shave himself, but we had trouble getting him to understand how to turn it on.  It was a switch, and he was pushing it like a button, but not sliding it, and couldn’t differentiate between the two.

Tomorrow he starts with three hours a day of therapy, and I have told him, and he understands that it will be hard.  He was exhausted after the two half hour sessions he had today.

One of the highlights of the day was his delight when his nurse came and and told me how handsome he was.  I think it made up for the “your father” comments!!

Let me begin by thanking everyone for their emails and best wishes.  I think that David is ready to have visitors, and it will help him keep engaged.   People have also been asking about where to send cards, etc.  You can use our NY address – 325 Fifth Ave, 35E, New York, NY 10016 or the Hospital for Joint Diseases, 301 E 17th Street, New York, NY 10003.  If you are visiting, make sure you call to make sure what his therapy schedule is, so you aren’t having to wait around for him to come back from the gym.  He is at the Hospital for Joint Diseases.

Today he worked with the Physical Therapist and sat in a wheel chair for a little over an hour.  He also talked to the Recreational Therapist, but was dozing when the yoga class was starting.  I think he may have been faking, but I didn’t have the heart to tell the RT.  The staff at HJD are great and that is probably why it is rated as the #1 rehab center in NY and #8 in the country.  The weekends are a little lighter on work, but they still do some.  Starting on Monday he will have at least 3 hours per day, if not more.  I will participate as much as they will let me and makes sense.

I will end by telling a story that I am sure when David is able, will turn me into the “big beefy son” (some of you have heard that story already – I know it by heart) but I am telling it for another reason.  Yesterday, for some strange reason – maybe I looked particularly good, who knows – a number of folks referred to David as my Dad, and I had to correct them.  When we were still in Albany, a team of four Doctors came in, Dr. Bernardini, his attending Physician, and three other Doctors.  The three were relatively young, and one of them had been in earlier, and we spoke briefly about his transfer to NY.  I hate to stereotype, but for simplicity sake, lets say I was pretty sure that Dr. Mary had a wife at home named Ruth.  Dr. Bernardini started by saying they were doing everything they could to get “your Dad” transferred as soon as possible, and I said, well, he’s not my Dad, and he just said, OK, and continued.  As they left, Dr Mary leaned over to me and said “I am so sorry”, and I really thought, that’s OK, it was an honest mistake, and I didn’t feel any slight.  I think that if you have to explain the point of your story, you haven’t told it well, and when David is able to, he will take this story and turn it into a gem (or at least point out its weaknesses), but there are two points – I have to say that being able to say to the hospital staff that David is my husband, makes all the difference in the world and second, I have not had one person miss a beat when I have said it.

Well, I made some well corrections to the last post.  Typos, nothing substantial.  But I found that I left out the real kicker.  The ambulance folks had been trying to call me when things started to go wrong – their delay and the problems at Rusk, but the information they had listed was our address on W 20th Street – before we moved to Washington some thirteen years ago, my phone number as our old Vermont phone number, and David’s contact person as my Mother, who died in 2007.  All this was information that I corrected when he was admitted to the hospital.  David was even able to tell the attendant that the information was wrong, but couldn’t give them the right information.

Just another example of how a day can go so wrong.  But, it is a brand new day, and he will be getting to work on physical, speech and occupational therapy today.  The nurse last night said that it would mostly be assessment, but it is the beginning.

Well, the move from Albany was a fiasco.  I can hear David telling me to streamline the story, but not sure if that is possible.  The day started off great with news that they had a bed for him at the Rusk Institute, and they were arranging for an ambulance for 2:30. Rusk was not our first choice, the Hospital for Joint Diseases was, but we thought getting him to rehab and NY was paramount.  Alex headed off for the airport a bit after noon, and we waited for the ambulance.  David was very anxious – as he always is when we travel.  Joy had come up and we packed up the car with the stuff we had in Vermont, and we were going to drive to NY, drop off things at the apartment and I would meet David at Rusk on 34th Street, and Joy would head home.

Well, traffic was bad – an hour at the Lincoln Tunnel, but we thought, the ambulance was probably heading down the east side and with David’s beloved Yankees playing at home, we might actually beat him to the hospital – even with a later start, traffic and the stop a the apartment.  I went into Rusk, and they had no record of him.  I went to the emergency room to see if he was there, and no record.  Went back to the front to wait for the ambulance, and still, no record.  I called Albany Medical Center, and they told me to give them a call back in half an hour.  I called Joy in a panic, because I felt bad that I hadn’t written down my cell phone for the ambulance folks, but kept telling myself, they had my number at the hospital, so that would travel with him, and if there were a problem, they would call.

Went back to emergency, and the ladies there took pity on me, and started calling, paging and otherwise trying to track him down – this was between admitting folks who were coming into the emergency room.  It was now half an hour, and I called the desk at Albany Medical Center, and his nurse said that they had just spoken to the admitting nurse at the facility.  I asked, “What facility?” and he said “The one in NY.”  “Which one in NY?” said I, and he said “The one on 19th Street”.  “Well,” said I “that’s interesting, because that is the one that you said he couldn’t get into.”

Not wanting to waste any time, and thinking, well this is a happy accident, I thanked the folks at the ER, we had a good laugh, and I hopped a cab to 19th Street.  Needless to say, the Hospital for Joint Diseases is not on 19th Street, but on 17th Street, but I finally found the entrance, and was relieved to see the ambulance on the corner. Hallelujah!! . . . . not sooooo fast
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I went to the front desk, and asked if I could find out where David Shapiro is, and he could’t find a record.  I said he must be here, the ambulance is outside and it looks empty, so he must be here.  He recommended I check with emergency admitting (or some office behind him) to see if he was there.  A very unhelpful woman told me he wasn’t there, and not until I ran back out, double checked to make sure the ambulance was indeed empty, began screaming and finally crying something like Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment did she get up and find someone to help me.

It turns out that Albany had completely screwed up.  He didn’t have a bed at Rusk or at HJD, but they were working to get him admitted to HDJ. The ambulance driver suggested that I get a lawyer, immediately and call Albany Medical tomorrow.

That was my side of the ordeal, and I couldn’t really tell you David’s, except the look of exhaustion, anger and desparation on David’s face was frightening. The idea of driving back to Albany was impossible to even consider, and going to another emergency room would have killed the both of us.  Thanks to the generosity, work and kindness of the folks at HJD, he did get admitted, and I am home and writing this at 1:10AM and David is well cared for.

It has been confirmed! David will hopefully be in an ambulance heading for the Rusk Institute in NY at 2:30 this afternoon. I packed up the house in Vermont, and Joy and I stopped by my Dad’s to say good- bye, and about an hour after,we got to Albany, they told us they had a bed. It is not exactly where we wanted him to be, but we will work on that once we get to NY. He is very anxious to get back to NY.
I will confirm our arrival later tonight when I am home.

David was moved from the ICU to a room in the neurology floor of the hospital.  He has a very nice private room and he was settling in well when we left.  Joy came up to help with the move back to NY, which we are hoping will happen tomorrow.  Waiting for a male bed to open up. The moment liquor is going sale levitra to be a catch. It is also badly affecting your sexual http://miamistonecrabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Waiver_Florida_Stone_Crabs_Lacrosse_Club_LLC.1.doc.pdf levitra without prescription life. Consumption of one pill in a day tadalafil generic found to be sufficient; it must be taken by the person for treating erectile dysfunction? For a person to proper and firm erections. The capsules are made of amazing ingredients that are all helpful for boosting the sexual stamina lowest priced viagra and performance.  In any case, we are packing up the house in Vermont, and I will stay in Albany with David until we go to NY.  Hopefully, we will be on our way to NY just as Alex heads home to San Francisco!

Today David put together some three word sentences – I can’t remember what they were, I was just impressed.  As I keep saying, little steps and every day we see little bits of progress.

We are waiting for two things today – to be moved from the ICU and to get transferred to NY. They are cleaning the room in the hospital, and getting ready for him, and the rehab facility doesn’t have a male bed available, so we are waiting for one to free up. Hopefully tomorrow.
As usual, David is charming, and his nurse, Nataliya is sad to see him go and wants to know where to send the perogies when he can eat. The staff have been terrific at Albany Medical Center, and we appreciate it immensely. Alex heads back to San Francisco tomorrow, and having him here was great for David and for me.
Thanks to all for the good thoughts and wishes, and if I don’t respond to you emails, I apologize in advance.

I will be making todays update short, because I am exhausted.  David had the “PEG” tube inserted, so he is ready to go to a rehab facility within 24 hours.  The operation was pretty quick – less than 45 minutes from start to finish, but he was in recovery for a little over an hour.  Alex and I left after the got back to the ICU because he was still very groggy.  The ICU Doctor said that he could be transferred as early as tomorrow, but Nataliya, his nurse, said that she thought Friday was more realistic.  We will see who is right!  My bet is on Nataliya.

Amy Shapiro-Rosenbaum, David’s Niece, is working overtime to make sure that he is taken care of once we get to the rehab center in NYC.  Using her connections, he will be in the best hands possible, and begin making his way back to us.

The Occupational Therapist worked with him today on reading and he did some of the work that the Speech Therapist left for him.  I am anxious to get him into a more extensive rehab regimen.  He makes small strides, but still no vocal improvements and no real movement on his right side – some feeling, but he doesn’t move much.  He did have his first moment of tears today when he was frustrated by not being able to speak.  Completely understandable, but it ended quickly and he doesn’t feel sorry for himself.  I give him lots of credit for that – I would be wallowing in self pity.

Little changes – some feeling on his right foot and a little movement.  He is able to copy text, but not write on his own.

Alex arrived this morning and while David couldn’t understand why he came to visit, he added two new words to his vocabulary – I know.  We had a very long visit with him and he wanted desperately to tell us some joke, words failed him – something I never thought I would EVER say about David.  He thought it was funny though!  So, we play a cruel game of charades, where many gestures have nothing to do with the meaning behind them.  It is incredibly frustrating for him, but his spirits are still good, and he is eager to begin working on the rehab.

He had a session with the speech therapist, but still can’t swallow, so they are going to put a “PEG” into his stomach so he can get food.  This is a tube that is surgically inserted into his belly that will be able to be removed one he is able to swallow.  The therapist told me that often it takes some therapy to learn to swallow again after a stroke and she expects that it will become part of his rehabilitation.  Once the “PEG” is done, he will be ready to begin the process of transferring to a rehab center.  It looks like he will be going to one of two in NYC – either the Hospital for Joint Diseases or the Rusk Institute – both part of NYU Medical Center.
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I spoke to the nurse in the ICU, and she said that she doesn’t think that he will have the procedure tonight, but it will be tomorrow morning.  Before we left tonight, they did remover the feeding tube, which he was finding very irritating.

I am heading to bed, and I hope that folks who are reading this find it helpful. Also, please make any comments you like – questions, suggestions, or anything you like.  I will try, and you might think of something that I haven’t, or just have forgotten to include here.

I spoke again this afternoon to David’s Neurologist who had the results from his MRI, and he said that it really just confirmed what we already knew, there was damage done to the left side of his brain due to a blockage in the carotid artery.  He also said they believed that the clot that caused the blockage dislodged from near his heart, and his artery is otherwise in good shape.  The procedure was successful in opening up the flow of blood, but time alone will tell if the damage is irreparable.  He said that the damage was significant but there is still hope for some recovery of speech and movement.

On a happier note, David has a little feeling on the sole of his right foot, there is some movement in his hip and shoulder, and just before I left tonight, he moved (very slightly) his right hand.
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Alex is coming in tomorrow morning, and while he still is puzzled why anyone would visit, he is excited to see him.  Let’s hope that he is able to swallow tomorrow so he can get the tube out.  He also should move to another room in the hospital outside the ICU.  Then we will push to get him transported to a rehab facility in NY.

Today they gave David another swallow test, which, unfortunately he didn’t pass. So that is the next hurdle to get over. If he can’t begin to swallow, they will insert a tube so he can begin rehabilitation in real earnest. They have also begun weening him off the BP medication, and if he is doing OK, they will move him into another room. I have met with the social worker and spoken to the insurance company to begin to figure out where, when and how he can be transferred to NY for rehab. They seem to think that that could happen before the end of the week, or early next week at the latest.
he is less verbal today, but he has some sensation in his right foot, which is a good sign. he is also sitting in a chair today for a couple hours, but complains that it is uncomfortable.

Just arrived at the hospital and his condition is the same. He is comfortable, but no new words and still no movement on the right side. They are in the process of moving him to a chair, which is good, because he has been coughing, and sitting up will help keep his lungs clear.
He is sleeping a lot, when the nurses aren’t coming and checking him, but these are all good things, and he doesn’t seem irritated by them.
He tried writing, and he could write his name, and he does know when what he writes doesn’t make sense. It is great to see him sitting up, but he still sleeps. Factors that related to ED include: High incidence diseases: Heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, kidney disease, spinal injury, prostate surgery; Medication treatments cialis 10 mg for erectile dysfunction. Sildenafil Working The amount of time needed for sildenafil citrate to cure erectile buying cialis cheap problems within 30 minutes only. Erectile dysfunction is a major concern among parents buy uk viagra of India. Do not take more than 1 tablet of Cenforce within a day or it may lead to cheapest viagra in australia priapism (prolong and painful erection). Not sure if it is helpful for him to have me here. He asked how many days he has been in the hospital, and I explained what we are trying to do. He is excited by the prospect of going back to NY. I think mostly because that means he will be one step closer to coming home.

It is about 8:30 AM and I am just getting up.  I only got up once in the night and the usual thoughts ran through my head – mostly David’s new word – why?  So, I will be heading across the street to the hospital to spend the day looking at David and making small talk.  I am sure he is liking this as much as he liked talking on the phone, but he still seems happy to see me when I arrive, and it makes me feel better.

First, you will have to forgive me if I start repeating things, I just can’t remember what I have said, wrote or done already.  Yesterday I talked to David’s Niece Amy (Harvey’s Daughter), who is a Neuropsychologist and works in this field.  She gave me all sorts of great information and I have already let the nurse know to give information to the Social Worker on Monday morning to get started on the process of finding him a rehabilitation facility in NY to get started.  It looks like that may be about two weeks away, but will come up quickly.  I am hoping that he will get into The Hospital for Joint Diseases at NYU Medical Center.  It is relatively close the the apartment, and Amy has contacts there, and says that it is one of the best rehab centers.

So, this is where things stand this morning.

Yesterday David started using a new word-why. I thought it was a very appropriate word. It is still amazing to me how one day can make such a difference in our lives. He just came back from the MRI which the doctor says will give us a better sense of what parts of the brain were affected and give a slightly better sense of what to expect.
Yesterday the surgeon, Dr. Dalfino said that the stroke was a relatively small one, but that the “real estate that was damaged was high end”, meaning that his motor skills and speech were damaged. I have been told that the fact that he has a few words is a very good sign, but there are no solid answers to any of this.
His blood pressure is a bit high, which is unusual- I was always the one with the high BP! He is resting quietly. Still no feeling in the right arm or leg. He still has the cough though, and we want to make sure he gets rid of that.

On Thursday morning at around 12:30 AM, David began to get agitated and uncomfortable in bed, and got up to go to the bathroom. On his way, he listed to the right, and I got up to help him. He said he was OK, but I followed him to the bathroom, and when he tried to sit, he began to fall and I caught him. We then went back to bed, and he seemed groggy, but said he was OK. He then started to toss and turn, and I asked if he was OK, and he was only saying “fine”, but nothing else, so I got up and turned the light on, and while he kept saying he was fine, I could see he wasn’t, so I called 911, told them I thought my husband was having a stroke. Then waited for the emergency squad to arrive. It was about 15 minutes, but felt like days. When they arrived, and after I told them that he couldn’t speak, he started talking to them. Needless to say, I was a bit insulted and puzzled by his sudden alertness.
We got him downstairs and onto the gurney and into the ambulance. By this time it had started to drizzle. I followed the flashing red lights all the way to Bennington. I met them in the ER and they had already put in one IV and were prepping for a second. Almost immediately they said he was having a stroke, but needed to find out if it was Hemorrhagic or Ischemic. He went into get a cat scan to see if there was bleeding, and there wasn’t. They said that it would be good to start with tPA treatment because we were still within the three hour recommended time limit. At the same time, they were arranging to have him transferred to Albany Medical Center. Initially they tried to have him flown by helicopter, but because of the weather disturbances, they weren’t flying. After the tPA started, another ambulance arrived to take us to Albany. It was quite a ride at almost 4:00 AM, and the roads were deserted. We got to Albany and they were waiting for him. Another CAT scan, and if he could speak, lots of Doctors asking what day is it? Where are you? Who’s the president? Lift you arm. Wiggle your toes. He had deteriorated, and couldn’t move his right arm or leg, and could only say yes or no, but he was aware of the questions.
They found that the blockage was in his left carotid artery and the neurosurgeons met to discuss the options. The two options were to do nothing and wait, or to go in and try to remove the blockage. They said that there was a 10% chance of the second option working, but it was worth the risk, and if it didn’t work, we were back where we began. The surgeon said that the procedure would take anywhere from an hour to six, depending on what worked. They would begin by trying to suck it out, then use a sort of corkscrew devise to remove it, and if neither of those worked, they would use a balloon to open up the artery.  The final attempt would be to put a stent in place.  I called our friend Lynn who I thought would help me make sure I asked all the right questions.  So, I talked to David about the options, and he agreed that we should go ahead with the procedure.

After he went into the operating room, I called Joy to come and help me out and keep me company, let Alex know and called my Dad.  He went into the operating room a little before 7am.  By 10am Joy and my niece Brianna were at the hospital to keep me occupied, which was a Godsend!  He was in the operating room for a little more than six hours, which was making me very nervous.  Dr. Dalfino came out and told us that they ended up putting in the stent in his carotid artery, and use the balloon treatment for a vessel in his brain.  He said that he would have liked to have seen more blood flowing, but was glad that it was flowing.  He said that the next 24 hours the main focus was to keep David alive, which was like a knife in my heart.  He also took me, Joy and Brianna to see him in the operating room before they took him to recovery just to say hello, which was great for him and for us.
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I will try to keep daily updates coming here, and I know that everyone is sending lots of good thoughts our way.