Tag Archives: David

August 2 – Half the move done!

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.

August 2 – Moving Day

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.

August 1 – Update

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.

July 31 – Update

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.
The needles http://www.midwayfire.com/board-of-commissioners/ 5mg generic cialis are so fine and when it is inserted into the penis. Well, getting it viagra uk midwayfire.com disclose to anyone can actually make you help in easing the condition. Visit as many online medicine stores as you can to find out for what all causes do the product works cialis 40 mg instantly and you will not need to wait for long to access the results* It is sold online, and you can see why the acai berry is compared to that famous little blue pill. 2. To viagra without prescription online get the best benefit, one should take it at any rate before a hour doing action.
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.

July 30 – Evening

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.
Learning how to let go of the addicted individual is so very viagra no prescription online difficult when the feelings of shame and shame dominate. Hypermenorrhea can be caused by uterus fibrosis led by chronic viagra without buy prescription inflammation, abnormal location of uterus caused by incomplete womb restoration or adhesion etc. Premature ejaculation is a typical and treatable canada viagra prescription issue. Utilizing their thumbs or the heel viagra no prescription australia of the hand, the physio presses down on the spinal procedures or side joints of the cervical spine.
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.

July 30th Update

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.

July 29

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.

July 29 – morning

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.

New word – why

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.

Thursday, July 26 – 12:30AM

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.
The herb helps to reduce viagra soft tablets stress on the body, and Cistanches, a tonic long used in China for lowering blood pressure and treating impotence. Dysmenorrhea Menstrual pain is viagra spain associated with dysmenorrhea and related to the communication with phone number. This non-invasive system has helped ‘n’ number of people improve their health in a drastic way. viagra pills wholesale Tired legs affected the defense and the three-point shooting. side effects of viagra
I will try to keep daily updates coming here, and I know that everyone is sending lots of good thoughts our way.