2001
| January 3, 2001 "My younger son is in critical condition in the PICU - possible stroke. I am going off-line. That was the message I sent to work." He went in to surgery OK. I stayed with him till the last moment - even was in the OR room until they got the meds running. - we assured him no tube. Should not have said that. He came out - I made it into the elevator with everyone - they asked - is he slow to wake up? Well, not that I know. He went into the recovery area - eyes open and no response. They had him bagged. I was in the waiting area. Like normal. One by one I saw nurses and doctors I knew hotfooting it into the recovery area. Then the lead doctors came in. Heads down. No comment. Then they came out and took me into a separate room and said he was critical. They suspected a brain bleed - a stroke - something was wrong. (They did not say he had a tube in - but in my mind's eye I knew.) They would do a CT. I called my older son - "Get here!" He came. We went down to CT - Stat. I got to touch his foot. I waited. I was not losing it. Somehow I was still in one piece. Guess what - CT was negative. No bleeding. So we went up to PICU - again. Once he was stable - and the doctors were doing rounds (you have to leave the PICU when they do that) I took to sorting out his room in 2North. He had a lot of stuff. He's been here three months. He had a shelf of movies, books, a ton of magazines accumulated since Halloween. And food and clothes and my stuff - bathing suit, slippers, nightgown, pillow, blankets, etc. So I spent three hours on and off moving him out of 2North and into the truck. Since I had only the small suitcase I had to load it, take it to the parking lot, dump it into the truck, go back, get another load. Skip the gym. After all that, I had lifted weights. Worked up a sweat too. I would check back on him during doctor breaks when I could while I was doing this - don't need a treadmill either. He played havoc with them by having his blood pressure drop. I knew because: A. I can read the monitors and B. they had a worried team by his bed. Along the way I discovered that he had gone into surgery without the blessed cross - the second one that Pepper had sent him. My older son fetched it and we tied it to the bed he was on. The doctors had been mixing dopamine. The cross had the effect of his blood pressure stabilizing all by itself. No drugs needed. Interesting. They had an older machine doing the breathing tube - we can read those monitors too. He began to show signs of waking up. They kept him out for a bit - but no morphine. I finished his moving. My older son had gone back to work and would return later. My younger son's had the tube out at 6PM. He was awake. He was pissed his throat was sore. I was just glad he was sitting up and drinking. He was talking. He was joking. I was in a coma. The doctors said his ammonia had surged high - was now going down to normal. Oh good. Never again say no problems from anesthesia. January 4, 2001 My older son had gone back to work and came back later to visit. I ate mints - last night I had a cheeseburger and berry pie and real coffee and a salad. I had dinner with my eldest. We sought comfort food. Bad eating habit! And took all day to recover from that little binge! UGH! I called/was called by Social Security while he was in the ICU. Process begun to get him classified as disabled. Since he is going deaf, I had to answer the questions. I have the name of another person for the hospital's finance team. (Will not dignify the bitch who came after me while my son was unconscious - yes, he still has insurance! Because if he is classified as disabled - he would be covered. Of course, someone forgot to answer that question when I asked what I should do earlier - he should have been classified in September - on his birthday. Will do the HR thing tomorrow - Monday - need my boss. Slight liability issue here. Several people goofed. I do understand that this is not unique. Sometime somebody needs to set up a support page for parents. Who to call. What to do. How to protect your kid. Name of a few good lawyers.) I am going to curl up and read a book! My hair is plastered to my head and rolled up in the back - I look like hell. I slept in a parent's room - then took a fast trip home this morning during doctor's rounds (when you have to leave the PICU) after I saw he was fine and took a shower, fed animals, came back. Spare tire straining my tee shirt (wearing a vest over it). Where oh where is my will-power and my diet? I had spent two hours at home moving things from truck to van - and putting things into three BIG suitcases. I spent another two hours moving him back into his room in 2North. Same room. Ho Hum - leaving BIG suitcases in the closet!!!!! Easier next time we have this little exercise. Besides, we want him moved to rehab soon. My goal. And his. I will bring the computer table up later or tomorrow. Whenever. Drove the van today - used a transistor radio for lack of a radio (fuse blown). Someday I will find the time to get the car back to Toyota so they can fix the fuse or rehook up the power line they dropped when they fixed the windshield wipers. I had Medifast this morning. See how long that lasts! And I had another Medifast now and a coffee and a tea and will drink a soda. Trying to get myself recovered from that cheeseburger! Not to mention the other stuff. I think my own ulcer is no longer dormant. Oh well. |
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