We’re in Santa Clara, California

6/7/15                                                                                                                                          Chuck’s report

Ok, another one down and looking good!  Stuff keeps happening fast but we are able to cope and keep up with all the activity and medical issues we are facing. 

Susy saw a orthopedic surgeon on Monday about problems she’s been having.  She has had cortisone injections into her neck over the past couple of years, that helps for awhile but doesn’t cure anything.  She’s been experiencing pain on some days, her fingers are going numb and she’s lost some of her mobility and strength in her arms and hands. 

She had a couple of MRIs to check things out and it confirmed what she already knew, she has problems with her spine.  She had some large bone spurs that were contacting her spinal cord, two bulging disks and loss of the natural curve of her neck. 

The surgeon said it was something that needed to be repaired, probably sooner rather than later.  The next opening the hospital and doctor had was probably in August.  She told us she would schedule it and would come by our place later.  When we saw her that afternoon, she said they were able to schedule her in two weeks, on June 17th, wow, much quicker than expected.    

Tuesday she went to a different doctor and had another cortisone shot in her neck.  Once again, this was supposed to help cut back the pain for awhile but wasn’t a cure/fix.  We were with her as she isn’t supposed to drive after this procedure.  We spend the afternoon with her at her house to make sure she didn’t develop any problems but every thing seemed good all day. 

Thursday afternoon about 2:30 Susy called to let us know her doctor had an unexpected opening and could do her surgery the next day, quick change of plans.  She would have very limited action for a couple of weeks afterwards, probably not be able to drive a car for six weeks and be off work most, if not all, of that time too.  Of course, she had some things that had to be handled first and was busy for most of the evening and night.  We did, however, go out for a good meal as she wouldn’t be able to eat/drink anything after midnight.

His surgery was scheduled for 10:30 and she needed to be at the hospital by 8:15.  We left our place and headed down to her house, picked her up and made it to there in plenty of time.  Shortly thereafter, they took her down to pre-op and said one of us could be with her after they had her prepped for surgery.  They led Lorraine down first, she was there for 45 minutes or so then it was my turn.  While I was there, her surgeon came by to see her and I got to ask a couple of questions and told him to take care of my daughter.  He promised he would do his best.  I then traded places with Lorraine again and she stayed with Susy until they wheeled her off to surgery.  We were told to wait in the waiting room and they would take us to the surgery consultation room when the doctor was done and could give us an update. 

A couple of hours later, they directed us to the consultation room and shortly afterwards the doctor came by to see us.  He said the surgery went very well, “couldn’t have gone any better” were his exact words.  Boy that was good to hear.  She was still in the operating room yet and they said it would be about an hour before we could see her in the recovery room, still only one of us at a time. 

I went down first and found her hooked up to lots of machines and IVs with a neck brace on.  She was pretty pale and very sleepy, of course, but did wake up enough to know I was there.  I only spent a few minutes with her then changed places with Lorraine so she could be with her.  I went down one more time but was only able to be with her for about 10 minutes as they were going to move her to a regular hospital room. 

Susy was in her bed by the time we made it up to her room, still sleeping most of the time but she said the pain was under control and bearable.  I was amazed on how good her movement was, except for turning her neck and of course, looking down with the neck brace on, she was doing well. 

Her nurses were very attentive and kept checking on her, especially for the first few hours.  She was still hooked to lots of machines and had IVs going in both arms.  She did have a self-medicated machine that she used to control her pain, she could push the button and get some injected into the IV every 12 minutes.  This was a pretty strong pain medicine and kept her out most of the time. 

Lorraine and I headed downstairs to the cafeteria  then came back to sit with Susy for awhile.  Lorraine posted an update of Facebook, in fact, Susy even added a note during one of her more lucid moments too.  Once again, thanks to everyone who was praying and sending good thoughts, very much appreciated! 

Susy was scheduled to spend at least one overnight in the hospital so Lorraine and I headed back to our place before 8 that evening.  It was a long day but we were sure glad to see that Susy was doing so well and now in the recovery mode. 

Saturday morning we got to the hospital a bit after 9 and the doctor had already made his rounds.  We went to Susy’s room and it was empty, Huh.  But she was only out for an X-ray and pretty soon we saw here coming down the hallway in a wheelchair.  The doctor told her the incision was weeping a bit more than he would like so he wanted her to stay for at least one more night. 

Susy was much more alert, able to hold conversations and even talked on the phone.  She was able to walk to the restroom and the physical therapist took her for a walk down the hallway.  Susy told us she had gone on a walking trip with one of the nurses before we got there, wow, less than 18 hours after surgery and walking already. 

Later Katie and her dad came by, they had been at the Girl Scouts Pinewood Derby contest most of the morning where Katie had her car entered.  She was excited to see her mom and tell us about her car race.  She even crawled into bed with mommy and cuddled for awhile. 

Shortly after they left, Susy’s friend Chichi and husband Adrian came by for a visit.  Susy was really glad to see them and they had a good visit.  But once again, Susy was getting pretty tired so as soon as they left, she took a good nap.  Lorraine and I headed out to find a café place for a late brunch, found a place with good breakfast and lunch menu too. 

Later that evening, we once again headed out for home.  Susy had been itching all over from the medication she was getting so the nurse called the doctor to see if they could give her some Benadryl to help.  The nurse was heading in to give it to Susy as we left, she said she was pretty sure it would help Susy fall asleep too.

Sunday morning, today, we headed back to see Susy, once again getting there shortly after 9.  And once again, we missed seeing her doctor as he had been there and gone.  He did change the bandage and removed the drainage tube and said everything was looking good and he would put in the order to let her go home, yea.  We got there just in time for Lorraine to help Susy with her sponge bath. 

It takes a few hours for the procedure to happen but around 11:30 or so, the nurse gave me paperwork to take down to the pharmacy to get Susy’s prescriptions and move the car over to the entrance where they would bring Susy down in a wheelchair.  Shortly after I got there, here comes Susy in a wheelchair and Lorraine following closely.  We got her loaded up and headed for our place where she will be staying with us for a few days until she mends a bit. 

Susy is able to walk and move well, she is in a neck brace to keep her from moving her head too much.  She said the pain is manageable but wants to reduce the amount she is taking.  She has a bunch of physical restrictions like no bending, don’t lift her arms above her head, can’t lift more than 5 pounds and the like. 

We haven’t seen the incision yet as it’s covered with a bandage and her neck brace.  Like I said, I’m really pleased to see how well she is moving about, from my layman’s eyes, she is doing really well.  She has a follow-up with her surgeon in two weeks, bet she will be recovered much more by then. 

Lorraine has been going to her speech therapy a twice week too.  Every time we see her, the therapist says she is seeing good improvement and gives Lorraine some more advanced homework.  This is stuff Lorraine would have not had any problem doing before her stroke but she sometimes struggles with now.  The therapist says she needed to build new pathways in her brain for these thoughts to travel.  So Lorraine does the therapy and homework and I think it is helping too.  Beyond that, she is doing just great and feels good although she is disappointed she isn’t 100% recovered by now.  Most people who talk to her said they can’t even tell she has some speech issues. 

Lorraine has her last aneurysm repair procedure scheduled for later this month.  We are looking forward to her finishing up and not having this stuff hanging over her head.  I asked her doctor if he could say for certain what caused Lorraine’s strokes and his best guess is the blood flows into the aneurysms, slows down and clots a bit, then the clot drops back into the main vein and plugs off the blood flow/oxygen to that portion of her brain.  He can’t say for certain but that is his best guess and said after he repairs this one, she should be good to go.  She will probably remain on the blood thinner medicines she is taking  and have many follow-ups but that’s a small price to pay for her to not have any more strokes!

Katie had fun building her Pinewood Derby car this week.  She came up with a design and I cut it out on our scroll saw, she sanded and painted it.  Mark put the wheels and weights on it before they turned it in on Friday evening.  She has been having some sore tummy issues and missed a couple of days of school this week and spent one of them with us as both her parents had to work.  But she is doing better now, the doctor thinks she picked up a virus somewhere and time will be the best healer for that. 

We did get some bad news this week, our brother-in-law back in Washington has been diagnosed with terminal, stage 3 lung cancer.  We are keeping him and the family in our prayers and thoughts and ask if you would do the same.  We are hoping for one of those God given miracles to help him!

The weather has been nice again this week, even seen a few days in the high 70s.  The forecast is for a bit warmer weather for the next few days, glad we have air conditioning for these kind of days.  Our coach has some dark exterior colors and it gets hot inside in the afternoon, especially since our front windshield is facing the afternoon sun. 

The Elks Lodge here has once again given us permission to stay here without having to move out for at least three days.  We certainly appreciate that.  But I think Lorraine is starting to get itchy feet and wants to move on as soon as we can.  But like I tell her, her medical care is foremost for us right now and we will stay here as long as necessary.  I’m sure glad we are in an area where she is getting such excellent medical care. 

We have once again listed our house up in Washington with a realtor and have two contractors working to fix it up, one repairing damage from the fire we had back in April and the other replacing the decks and doing other work.  Sure will be nice to have it sold and not have to worry about it.  Anyone want to buy a nice house on the salt water in Washington state? 

I know Lorraine has taken a few pictures with her phone camera this week but I won’t try to download them and add any here.  So guess that’s it for now. 

Thanks  Chuck

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We’re in Santa Clara, California

 

5/29/15                                                                                                                                        Chuck’s report

Where to start?  First off, Lorraine is getting better and recovering from her brain aneurysm repair on the 12th of this month.  She is back to a much more normal life, no restrictions at this time. 

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for their phone call and emails checking on her and offering their best wishes and prayers.  She is almost to the end of this round of major medical issues (we hope and pray) and will be in the recovery and watch mode for the next couple of years.  But please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she isn’t finished with everything just yet. 

She still is going to the speech therapist twice a week and getting homework on the off days.  She is still having some issues but to talk with her it might be tough to notice anything out of the ordinary.  But she is showing progress everyday so we are still hoping for much more recovery in the coming months. 

Things could have been much worse, of course.  She only had some physical issues for a couple of days after her stroke back in March and her vision issues are getting better too.  All in all, she is in pretty good shape for having had two significant strokes in the past few years plus all the other medical issues she has overcome in her life.  I don’t know many folks who have overcome breast cancer, a liver shutdown, gall bladder removal, thyroid removal, two strokes and two brain aneurysms repaired, all over the past 15 years, like Lorraine has done.  Pretty strong lady if you ask me!!  And on top of all these issues, she has had to put up and take care of me, maybe the hardest thing she’s had to do.   

We made an appointment at the neurology department at Stanford Medical Center for a second opinion but couldn’t get in until after her procedure was done at a different place.  We still wanted to see someone there so kept that appointment anyway.  We dropped off a copy of all of her records, reports and results for them to review before we got there.  Once we got there, the doctor showed up, told us she had reviewed all the records and said she thought we were doing the right thing and getting good care.  She knew the doctor doing the procedures and said she heard he was good.  She did review Lorraine’s medicine list and changed one prescription.  She also had them attach a heart monitor for Lorraine to wear for two weeks just to check it out.  Apparently a good portion of strokes are caused by A-Fib and this monitor will show if she is having any issues or not. 

They attached the monitor, about the size of a ping-pong ball cut in half, by sandpapering her skin in the area, washing it with alcohol and then attached it using the sticky, band aide type, adhesive bandage.  The monitor doesn’t have any exterior wires, everything is self contained.   Lorraine really had trouble with it itching over the two weeks, she broke out in a red rash too, very uncomfortable.  We removed it yesterday and send it back to the lab and should get the results in a week or so, here’s hoping for good results! 

While her visit to Stanford didn’t indicate anything new, it was really nice to confirm the treatment she is getting is the same as they would have done to her.  The doctor did say Stanford is conservative about repairing aneurysm but she didn’t have the latest angiogram pictures showing the location and size of the two Lorraine had so couldn’t say whether or not they would have recommended the procedures for Lorraine.  But seeing as how Lorraine had already undergone the procedure with little or no problems, she said it was probably a good thing.  She also said she would recommend Lorraine continue with the next repair seeing as it had already been prepped.  And once both had been repaired, she will not have them rupturing at some later date and causing really bad problems. 

Yesterday we saw Lorraine’s surgeon for a follow-up visit after her procedure.  He was pleased with her condition and progress, said she was doing really well.  He said he has to wait for at least 6 weeks to repair the aneurysm that was prepped, the stent had to be firmly in place so he doesn’t disturb it.  That means we will have to be around here for at least two more months or more. 

We were hoping to be able to leave for awhile and head up North for July – Sept. but that won’t be happening.  There is still a possibility we can get up there for a short visit but it’s still up in the air yet.   Lorraine wants to be there for her sister’s 50th anniversary in August if possible but her medical care comes first. 

Susy is still having problems with her neck, shoulder, arms and hands.  She had another nerve conduction test done to check for problems and will be seeing her surgeon next Monday.  Sure hope they can help her as she has some restrictions on what she is able to do sometimes and is in pain often too. 

Last weekend Susy’s friend Mike was graduating with a Master’s Degree in Physics from San Jose State.  We were invited to the ceremony and to his folk’s place for a gathering later.  I think I heard there were over 7,000 grads getting either BA or advanced degrees.  We were in the stands close to where the Science department grads were sitting and not too far from the podium where all the dignitaries and speakers were.  Too bad I didn’t have any rotten eggs with me as we were close enough that I could have thrown them.  Nance Pelosi, California Representative and former Speaker of the House, was the keynote speaker, not one of my favorite politicians for sure.  But she only got into politics twice, the rest of the time was mostly about her and her life (boring).  But the rest of the day was really nice. 

We had a good time at the ceremony and later at his folk’s place.  Congrats to Mike and his brother, Mark, who will be graduating with his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in two weeks.  That means everyone in the family will have their Master’s, WOW. 

We had a BBQ on Sunday and Monday at Susy’s place over the weekend.  Of course, there were enough leftovers that we could have fed twice as many folks but we’ve been working on them since. 

Katie continues with school for a couple more weeks yet.  Her dad is still teaching computers at her school so we don’t pick her up as often.  She has completed some big projects this school year and currently has a Pinewood Derby car to get ready for Girl Scouts.  She keeps busy but still likes to play with her Littlest Pet Shop and My Little Pony toys.  And she has a couple of U-tube sites she keeps track of daily too.  She did have a bad sprain on her foot but is now doing well without the crutches, yea!

It is nice to be here with Susy and Katie although I’m sure they would be just fine with us leaving for awhile to get their lives back to normal.  We usually see them everyday after school and work and sometimes that means Katie doesn’t have a lot of time to do her homework but we try to make that a priority for her. 

The weather has been nice lately although we do get morning clouds almost everyday.  But the clouds lift usually around noon and its been warming up to the low to mid 70s most days.  We’ve even had a couple more days of light rain, something this area is really needs.  Too bad some of the rain that’s in Texas and Oklahoma couldn’t have fallen in California instead, this draught has lasted way too long. 

I’ve sent in another request to the Elks Lodge to see if we can continue to stay here without having to follow the 14 days in – at least three days out- rule.  So far they have agreed to let us stay and we really appreciate that.  We see one of the specialist next week and will as him if it would be ok for us to leave the area for a week or so just so Lorraine can get away from doctors and therapist for awhile, I think it would do her good.  But if not, we’ll just stay here and continue on as we are doing. 

Here are a few pictures, we don’t take many except for special occasions which we haven’t had too many of lately.   

Susy and Katie on Mother’s day at her house. 

  

Katie making a sign for Mike’s Graduation.

 

Mike just before graduation.  Mike’s family and us at the stadium before the activities started. 

  

That’s Mike in the next to last row.  The stadium is pretty full except for the upper section.  Lots of graduates on the field. 

  

We were behind and to the left of the podium.  Mike with his sign after graduation. 

  

Mike’s father, Paul, mother, Toni, Mike, and brother, Mark.  Friend Brice, Mike and Mark on the right. 

  

 

Katie’s colorful shoes.  A colorful cloud on the right. 

 

Thanks   Chuck

We’re in Santa Clara, California

 

5/13/15                                                                                                                                        Chuck’s report

Figured I should send out a report on Lorraine’s latest procedure and how she is fairing.  First, we would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and calls, much appreciated. 

Short version of this note is: Lorraine came through this with flying colors.  She doesn’t show any signs of bleeding at the aneurysms and didn’t have any disorientation except when she woke up this morning after getting about 1 1/2 hours of sleep.  She has had a headache almost continually since her last procedure about 15 days ago but she didn’t have one yesterday and just a mild one today.  She said she isn’t in any pain except for the incision site and where they took blood and had the IV inserted in her arm.   

She is on “limited duty” for a few days, not lifting anything over 10#, no exercise except for walking, that kind of stuff.  Nothing new there, after all of her surgeries over the years, we’ve gone though this many times before. 

The longer version is Lorraine had to be at the hospital by 6:15 AM and the procedure was scheduled to start at 8:00.  We got there about 6:10 and walked in with the nurse who was just getting to work, she was the pre-op nurse so of course things got started a bit later than planned.  But no problem, the paperwork was completed, Lorraine prepped with the IV started and ready to go by 7:45.  They wheeled her out just before 8:00 and told me she would be going to the recovery room in about 2 hours. 

I walked around the hospital to get my bearings, trying to figure out where things were located when I saw the doctor walking towards the operating room about 8:20.  I has a short conversation with him and told him to take good care of Lorraine.  He said he was reviewing her records and was ready to go. 

I was in the waiting room around 9:30 when the pre-op nurse stopped by to say she was told they were almost done and if I waited in the hallway I could see Lorraine as she left the operating room headed for the recovery room.  So that’s what I did. 

About 15 minutes later Lorraine was wheeled by and they stopped so I could see her.  She was pretty much out of it but she was able to say HI and looked good.  She then spent the next hour in recovery, I couldn’t go in there but I did find out she was going to be admitted to the ICU room in a newer section of the hospital. 

The doctor came out about 10 minutes later and stopped to give me an update, finally something official.  He said the operation went extremely well, no problems at all.  He was able to completely fill one aneurysm and prepped the other one, just like planned.  He said Lorraine didn’t have any issues and he didn’t expect any problems but she would be staying at least overnight in the ICU, again as planned. 

Shortly after noon, I was able to see Lorraine in her room, she was mostly awake, knew where she was and what was happening.  The nurse had a list of questions that Lorraine had to answer, I guess to get a baseline of her awareness and to see if she was having any symptoms or problems as time progressed.  She wasn’t disorientated at all except she couldn’t keep awake and would still fall asleep, sometimes in the middle of a sentence.  I was surprised to see she was in a private room, I’m used to seeing ICU rooms being really open with not much privacy, nothing like these.  

The ICU nurse was great, stopped by and checked Lorraine often throughout the first 3 or 4 hours.  Of course she was hooked up to all kinds of machines and they were beeping and had lights flashing.  Every time one would sound  an alarm the nurse would stop by to check and make sure everything was fine. 

Lorraine was hungry and thirsty after not having had anything to eat/drink since the night before.  They started out slowly, letting her have very small sips of water first.  Throughout the afternoon she progressed to where she able to eat crackers and drink a soda.  But she still had to keep her leg still, wasn’t supposed to move it for 6 hours after the procedure. 

Lorraine did get to order dinner and that showed up about 5:30, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and a dessert.  She pretty much cleaned the plate, like I said, she was hungry. 

Susy and Katie came by to see Lorraine and I went down to the cafeteria with them for our dinner.  They had to leave not too long afterwards as Katie had homework to do and needed to get to bed. 

I think it was about 8:30 when I left her and headed back to our coach.  Our dog was at Susy’s r the day and that night so I didn’t have to run out to take care of her, that was a good thing and sure helped.  So once I got back, I checked email and such then called it a day, a long day. 

I got to the hospital about 7:05 this morning and found they had the ICU area closed to visitors during the nurse’s turnover and I couldn’t get in.  About 7:30 someone opened the doors with their employee badge and I walked in but was stopped by a nurse and told I had to leave and couldn’t come back until after 8.  But Lorraine’s nurse came by and said she was ok with me being there and I could stay. 

Lorraine told me she had a bad night.  She couldn’t sleep and they couldn’t/wouldn’t give her anything to help because they didn’t want to “mask” any issues she may experience.  She said it was about 4 AM when she was just starting to nod off when of course someone came in to check on her and draw blood.  Guess she had problems, tried three different places before she finally got enough. 

When I got there she was eating her breakfast and she said it was good, pancakes and scrambled eggs.  The nurse stopped by to explain what had happened over the night and said she thought Lorraine would probably be moved to a regular hospital room later.  I was surprised especially seeing as how Lorraine hadn’t shown any signs of problems yesterday or during the night. 

I asked her to check into that seeing as how we thought it would only be an overnight stay.  She checked with the doctor on duty and came back to say Lorraine would be released soon, not moved to another room, yea. 

About 11:30 we had all the paperwork signed, all the machines unhooked, the IV removed and Lorraine changed back to street clothes vs those beautiful hospital gowns.  They put her in a wheel chair and headed downstairs where had the car waiting. 

We stopped by Susy’s place and picked up our dog, guess she is getting old and doesn’t like being away from home as she didn’t eat much while she was there.  But once we got back, she headed for her food and water dish just like normal. 

Lorraine got set up and rested on the couch.  But she wasn’t able to stay down very long, she felt she just had to do this or that.  Finally I had her sit down and I headed out to pick up Katie from school.  Katie and Lorraine were sure happy to see one another when we got back, lots of hugs. 

Susy brought in BBQ dinner for all and then they had to make a trip back to Katie’s school for an open house.  Lorraine is trying to get caught up on email and facebook. 

Ok, I just wanted to give an update, not write a regular blog.  Susy has sent out a couple of notes on facebook but I’m sure some folks who read this don’t follow on Lorraine’s facebook and maybe wanted to hear how everything went. 

Also want to give all our good thoughts and prayers to our BIL John.  He had surgery today in Seattle and last time Lorraine talked to her sister, they were heading home after a LONG surgery for him.  Wishing you all the best John, hope this solves all your problems and you get back to normal soon. 

Thanks   Chuck 

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We’re in Santa Clara, California

 

5/10/15                                                                                                                                    Chuck’s Report

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothers out there.  We spent the day at Susy and had a good BBQ dinner with us, Susy, Katie and Mark.  Lorraine, Susy and Katie had their annual Mother’s Day pictures taken last week and I’ve downloaded them on my computer so will probably add some pictures from that sitting at the end of this. 

I had intended to get this written this morning but just didn’t find the time to sit down and write it before we left for Susy so here it is evening already and I’m just getting started.  Oh well, like I said, we had a good day today and it doesn’t hurt to write this in the evening vs the morning.   

Only a couple of good things about being here this long, we really enjoy being around Susy and Katie but realize we are effecting their normal lives too.  The weather is pretty good.  And we feel Lorraine is getting the best medical care for her recovery.  We did change her primary doctor after interviewing three others.  Her new one was suggested by the neurologist Lorraine saw so that give her some weight before we even started the interview process. 

Our research shows there are only about 60 certified comprehensive stoke hospitals throughout the states, hospitals and doctors that have to meet very high standards of stroke care to receive this certification.  There are four here in the Bay area and all of the doctors Lorraine has been seeing are part of one of these groups.  There is only one of these centers in Oregon and one in Washington for comparison.  And we have given all her records and paperwork to Stanford Medical Center for review and a second opinion, they are one of the four certified hospitals in the area too. 

Lorraine has been going to the speech therapist twice a week still and is still showing improvement every visit.  She is also able to play the dice and card games with us much better too.  Last night we played 10,000 and she was able to total the dice and keep up with the scores too, yea.  She is still having trouble coming up with an answer to a direct question but that’s getting better too.  All in all, she is progressing nicely, its been seven weeks since her stroke. 

We have resumed doing her daily walks too,  we stopped for a couple of days after her procedure because we didn’t want to pull anything loose.  But she is healing well from that except for some itching as the incision heals and walking doesn’t seem to bother it. 

As mentioned last week, Lorraine had the angiogram performed on May 23 and they found she has two aneurysm in the veins in her brain.  She was put on the surgeon’s schedule to have one repaired and the other prepped, and a month or so later have the second one repaired. 

We got a call from them and she is now scheduled to have the first procedure done this Tuesday morning, 5/12.  This procedure will be done in the hospital and she will be under a general anesthesia, not just mildly sedated like last time.  And she will stay in the ICU at least for one night afterwards so they can better monitor her.  There are some risks associated with this of course but with all the prayers and good thoughts sent her way, we hope she doesn’t experience any issues.  She is scheduled for 8:00 AM Pacific daylight savings time on Tuesday and it should last maybe two hours. 

And of course, we ask for and hope everyone continues with their prayers and good thoughts for her this time too.  We both believe this helps, at the very least, it doesn’t hurt!

The weather this week has been cooler than the prior two weeks, we even got some rain one morning.  We normally don’t get the “San Francisco fog” down this far South but even had that a couple mornings too.  But still, can’t complain too bad about the highs only getting to the upper 60s/low 70s with lots of afternoon sun shine. 

Still don’t have any travel plans yet but know we won’t be traveling far or fast this year as we need to pretty much be around here for the doctors.  Lorraine really wants us to make a trip back to Washington in July and August and we’ve made arrangements and have a site rented for us but even that is a maybe depending on doctor visits and her recovery. 

Ok, now for some pictures. 

  

  

   

  

There are about 20 more I could add but this give a good review of them. 

 

Thanks   Chuck

 

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We’re in Santa Clara, California

Lorraine doesn’t feel up to writing anything this week.  She still has trouble writing her thoughts down on paper or her computer and doesn’t want to force herself again, its pretty hard for her.  But she does want to thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes for her recovery.  She does try to read her facebook account and keep up with what’s happening but it overwhelms her some days. 

5/3/15                                                                                                                                        Chuck’s report

I mentioned to Lorraine today that it just doesn’t seem right, we haven’t seen Katie as much this week for one reason or another.  Her dad is teaching an afterschool class at her school most days this week so we haven’t picked her up like usual when we are here.  And then she was feeling poorly on Wednesday so she stayed from school on Thursday and Friday.  They took her to the doctor and found she has picked up a virus, she has even given it to Susy.  We’ll probably get back to normal with Katie this week. 

We asked for and was given an extension to stay here at the Elks for longer than the posted two week maximum due to Lorraine having therapy.  But the extension runs out this week so we have to move out for three days then we can move back for another two weeks.  Guess it’s to insure folks don’t make this their permanent home like some of the folks we see in campgrounds.  Even at that, we see some of the same folks almost every time we are here so it’s almost like they’re permanent.  They leave for a few days then return back for two weeks and have been doing that for a couple of years.  The bad economy we’ve had over the past few years has sure effected lots of folks in a negative way.  Some of these folks have lost their houses and their rig is the only home they have left now. 

To add to our worries, we receive a call from the gal who rents our house Monday night.  She was out of town but got a call that there had been a fire in the house.  Luckily the damage was mostly contained to one bedroom and we’ve pretty much had to let the insurance company handle everything as we can’t travel up there until we get further along with Lorraine’s recovery.  Thanks to Lorraine’s sister, Thelma, niece Kerri and Susy’s good friend Mandy for going out to see if they could get us any info that afternoon/evening. 

Lorraine has been going out for speech therapy twice a week now and I can see steady improvement.  She is handling everyday actions pretty well too although once in awhile she will ask for help but quickly gets back on track.  The therapist continues to say she is hoping for complete recovery but it may take awhile.  She does give Lorraine homework to do on the days she doesn’t go to their office.  She has progressed to much more advanced reading and comprehension on her homework. 

Other than that, this had turned out to be a fairly normal week for us until Friday.  This is when Lorraine had her appointment with the specialist to run a camera/catheter from the vein in her leg all the way to her brain.  Like I mentioned last week, this was only for diagnostic information, he didn’t intend to do anything other than gather info in case of any further work she may need.  Her appointment was set for 10:30 but they wanted her there an hour early to get her prepped for the procedure.  

The nurse had some trouble getting the IV started, they needed it to keep her hydrated and for a place to inject the sedative. Finally they brought in a different nurse and he was able to get it going.  Sometimes that can be the worst part of a procedure and this time it was no fun for Lorraine.  And of course the doctor was running behind time and she didn’t get to the exam room until right around noon, an hour and half late. 

I believe this is the 16th time Lorraine has been put under for some sort of surgery or medical procedure but believe me, it doesn’t get easier the more times we go through it.  Its really tough to see her leave and have to wait until I can see her again in the recovery room.  I sure hate to see her go through this kind of stuff but it’s necessary.  

The procedure lasted for just under an hour then she was brought back to the prep/recovery room and they came to get me from the waiting room.  She was told not to move her right leg for at least 1 1/2 hours after the procedure as they wanted to make sure she didn’t disturb the site where the camera/catheter was inserted.  They put some sort of plug in the vein and sewed in a stitch there after they were done.  Her body will absorb the plug and stitch over the next three months or so and she will have a small scar to go along with all the others she has endured. 

She was not asleep for this procedure and was able to tell me most of what happened in the exam room.  She said she really saw explosive white lights when the doctor injected the contrast directly into the veins in her brain.  The doctor told her numerous times to don’t move and hold your breath as they left the room to take an x-ray.   She said she felt pain when they removed the instruments and inserted the plug and took the stitch.  And it was hard to keep her leg perfectly still for 90 minutes. 

After Lorraine had been in the recovery room for about two hours the doctor came by to give us his findings.  He said the procedure when well but he did find two aneurysms or ballooning of two veins in her brain.  He talked about aneurysms and how they form and what can happen if they rupture.  He also discussed different options to handle aneurysms.  Option one was to do nothing but watch it over time, two was to cut a hole in her skull and put clamps on each one, three was to work from inside the vein and fill the aneurysm with a platinum coil. 

We discussed the different options and he suggested the best course of action would be option three.  She would have to admitted to the hospital for these procedures for an overnight stay.  To insert the coil into the aneurysm he would do basically the same thing he did Friday, access the femur artery in her leg and insert a camera, catheter and a tube with the coil.  Once in place, he would place the coil and allow it to fill the aneurysm so the blood flow is altered enough so the slower flow will allow a clot to form (and hopefully stay) inside the aneurysm.  This clotted aneurysm resists the entry of liquid blood and should help minimize the later possibility of a rupture.   

Unfortunately he can not do both of these repairs in one exam so it looks like she will have one repaired in a couple of weeks and the second one maybe a month later.  And he will want to do follow up angiograms in 6 months, one year, three years and five years after.  I’ve been doing some research online and even found a U-tube movie of one being inserted, pretty neat what the doctors can do now.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjOc3Zpv2K8

Of course, as with any medical procedure, there is a chance of problems during and after.  But the doctor told us the numbers, I don’t remember exactly but they are pretty small.  And the research online agrees with him.  In fact, I saw the doctor’s name on one site as being one of the foremost surgeons doing this procedure, that was good.  We both liked the doctor and this sort of reinforced our opinion of him.  He is very forthcoming, upfront and answered all our questions.  Of course, being as we didn’t know much about this ahead of time, I have some questions for him when we go back for the pre-op visit. 

This doctor also said these two aneurysms could have been the cause of both of her previous strokes.  He said her arteries didn’t show hardly any plak buildup, in fact, her carotid arteries looked like what he would see with an 18 year old.  We sure would like to know for sure but are getting different “causes” from different sources.  But whatever, we are sure hoping this will keep her from having any more episodes.  We are also glad she is on the aspirin and Plavix therapy that she should have been on since her earlier episode back in Nov. 2012.  And of course, we are really looking forward to getting to the end of all this medical stuff for awhile. 

After the doctor left Lorraine started getting ready to leave and head back home.  She got dressed, signed the papers and they wheeled her out in a wheel car.  Once we got home I got her something to eat and she pretty much rested the rest of the day.  It will take awhile for this news to sink in and become a reality but we’re getting there.  Lorraine was really tired and ready to go to bed earlier than usual, no surprise there.  She said she slept well that night too, yea. 

Yesterday we just hung around the rig taking it easy.  Susy isn’t feeling well, she’s picked up the bug, so we didn’t see her or Katie.  We did go out for a short walk in the nice weather but didn’t go too far, slowly building up to normal may take a couple of days yet. 

The weather this week has been pretty nice once again, it even got up to the low 90s a couple of days.  Except for it being California with the high prices, taxes and way too many people, this area could be on our short list of places to land when we get off the road.  It would really be nice to be near Susy and Katie as she grows up. 

Like I said, we will be leaving here for three days every two weeks until we are done with this round of medical work for her and will continue with her speech therapy also.  Other than that, our travel plans are really on hold for the future.  But it is good to exercise and drive the rig vs letting it sit too long.  Even though this place has a sewer dump instead of one at each site, our neighbor has enough sewer hose to allow us to dump our black tank without driving over so the rig hasn’t been moved since we got here the last week of March.  Maybe I’m trying to put lipstick on a pig by trying to say that moving every two weeks a good thing, ha. 

No pictures to add this week so will close this down and post it. 

Thanks   Chuck

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We’re in Santa Clara, California

 

Once again I’ve had Lorraine attempt to write her section of our blog.  It’s taken her awhile but I can see improvement over the last time.  Anyway, here is her thoughts. 

April 26, 2015                                                                                                                      Lorraine’s report

So I would like to let you now one more time I will be having another surgery (16 so far)  This one is going to be in my vein (right side) and in my brain.  Who knew it would come to this.  I know this isn’t the end of the world, but it feels like to me.  So I’m asking  for thoughts and prayers for all my friends.

This week have been busy with all therapy.  It is sure hard to go back over lots of the work I did the last time I went through work therapy; since November 13.  And it is still as hard as it was before.  After working on three classes, I’m beat, I have head ache and I need to got to bed. 

It is still hard to write for the blog, but after many tries, I finally make it.  But please keep me in your thoughts and prayers, I will need it.  Thanks for everything.

Hugs,

Lorraine

4/26/15                                                                                                                                 Chuck’s report

We didn’t do enough to warrant writing a blog last week so this one will cover both weeks once again.  And even at that, this one is not going to be filled with exciting things we’ve seen and done as there just aren’t that many of those. 

Two weeks ago was spring break from school for Katie so we planned on having her around with us a bit more than usual, yea.  And it was also a week filled with Katie’s 10th birthday.  Her Dad had gone to China a couple of weeks ago and bought her some presents from there.  Seeing as he had to work that evening, she was able to open them in the afternoon, she was really excited to open them for sure.  She got Star Wars figures and such plus a neat looking keyboard.  That was only the first of many present opening times for her over the next few days.

We later went to dinner at Katie’s favorite “steak place”, Black Angus.  I don’t know if she likes the food as much as she likes the plate sized, hot chocolate chip cookie for desert.  But whatever, she enjoyed herself I think.  Later that evening she opened some presents from her Mom and some from Lorraine.  She got more Littlest Pet Shop and My Little Pony toys plus some clothes and such. 

On Saturday the 18th Katie had her party with her friends at Pump It Up, a place full of trampolines and set up for kids to have their parties there too.  She had her party there last year but was in foot cast due to a broken bone so she couldn’t get on the apparatuses, a bummer time for her.  So of course she was really looking forward to this year’s exciting time.

I think there was a total of 10 kids at her party plus they had at least 5 other kids celebrating their birthdays at the same time plus others just being there.  All this to say it was a busy, very noisy place with lots of happy kids running around and having fun. 

Once again Katie got to open birthday presents, once again lots of My Littlest Pet Shop and Little Pony toys plus other stuff.  I suggested she may have to get rid of some of the things she already has to make room for the new toys.  (Bet you can figure out the answer to that suggestion!)

Anyway, things were going real well until right at the end when Katie was in one of the areas and a bigger kid jumped on the same area where she was and hurt Katie’s foot.  On Monday she went to the doctor for x-rays, no broken bones this year, just an apparent strain.  She didn’t get a cast but does need to use crutches to keep weight off it for awhile.  If she continues to have lots of pain they may put a cast on her in two weeks. 

Afterwards Katie got to open more presents from Mom, Dad and Nana.  She sure got lots of stuff and I even got involved opening the boxes and such.  Boy they sure pack those toys in plastic and tied down, some really take awhile to get opened.  But eventually she got them all unwrapped and with the help from all the adults, got them opened too. 

Katie has been back in school this past week but her Dad is teaching an after school program there so he’s been picking her up most days although we do get together later.  One thing for sure, I need to stay away from the birthday cakes and such and loose some weight. 

Susy had shoulder surgery in February and seems to be healing nicely from that although she does have some residual pain and stiffness.  She did see her doctor about some pain issues but they think it is a ligament, not anything to do with the surgery.  Sure hate to see her suffering though. 

Now on to Lorraine’s recovery.  She has been having in-home therapy from all three disciplines twice a week.  But her case manager is the physical therapist and when he thinks she has recovered enough, they stop the in-home therapy and she has to go to outpatient therapy.  And of course, they all have given us some work to do on the days they aren’t here, homework for Lorraine so to speak. 

On Thursday Lorraine saw her eye doctor again, it’s been two weeks.  He ran some tests and was pleased with the amount of recovery she has, yea.  She is still having double vision issues when she read while doing her homework and still has no peripheral vision on her right eye but even that’s getting better. 

Then it was on to her regular doctor for a check-up.  I had a list of questions for him, most important was why didn’t he put Lorraine on baby aspirin and Plavix when we first saw him after her first stroke, what the neurologist told us should have been “stoke therapy 101”.  He sort of hemmed/hawed, said he couldn’t find anything in her records then tried changing the subject.  With that kind of “help” we think that Lorraine needs to find a new doctor in this area so we are going to be interviewing a couple this week. 

He did say he would send a prescription to the place we found for outpatient speech therapy.  He didn’t have a good suggestion for anywhere, just told us to let them know when we found a place.  Lots of help there.

He did give her a new prescription for Plavix, a blog clot preventer that all stoke victims should take and Lorraine has been taking since she was in the hospital.   When we filled the new prescription from Wal-Mart, it came with a few pages of info, which I read.  It said not to take one of the medicines that Lorraine was taking along with Plavix.  I called the doctor’s office and talked with his nurse who said she would pass on my concern to the doctor.  She called  back later and said, yes, she shouldn’t be taking them together and would get a new prescription to replace the original one.  Another strike against this doctor, he didn’t take time to review her medication list before writing a new prescription.  For sure she will be getting a new doctor now!

Friday was the last of the in-home therapy, good news – bad news kind of thing.  Good because she is getting better and can do out patient therapy, bad because it is more of a hassle and she does like the speech therapist she’s been seeing.  None the less, we must move forward.

We checked around and found that if she needed physical therapy, there were lots of places that could help us.  But speech therapy is a different thing, we could only get it at retirement centers or hospitals.  We checked a couple of hospitals and found they didn’t have speech therapy, only physical, shoot.  But finally we did find a place associated with Good Samaritan Hospital.

When we checked them out, they told us to have the doctor fax them them his orders except their fax machine was broken.  Then they sent us to the second floor to check out a supply place and the elevator is out of service too.  When I couldn’t find the supply place, I asked around and they said they had never heard of such an office but it might be on the third floor.  But once again, no one on the third floor had ever heard of the place either.  This place wasn’t giving a good first impression for sure but we did make an appointment to see the therapist anyway. 

This past Thursday Lorraine had an appointment with a Radiology and Endovascular Surgery Specialist.  This guy checked over all the records we have from Lorraine’s stroke and he wants to do a Diagnostic Cerebral Angiogram.  This is where they put a camera in a artery in her leg and send it through to check out her carotid arteries and then into her brain to check the blockage there.  They do not plan on putting in a stent at this time but mostly just want/need this info for any further work on her. 

This procedure is scheduled for this Friday at 10:30, need to get all the prayers and good thought headed her way for this one.  The doctor said this procedure usually doesn’t cause any other problems, less than 1/2%  have issues but still cause for concern.  She will not be asleep as they will need her to answer questions during the procedure but will be heavily sedated.  And once again they will be putting in a dye contrast for x-rays to check out the blood vessels and arteries in her brain.  Sure hate to have Lorraine going through this stuff but have high hopes for a great outcome.  And we both have a good feeling about this doctor, seems really nice and knows his stuff. 

He also said she should have been on the aspirin/Plavix therapy since her first episode, also said it might have prevented this latest stroke but of course can’t say for certain.  He said if she has three episode or problems after being on “this first stoke therapy medicines” they may consider putting a stent in the artery in her brain.  If I read his body language correctly, he was not pleased with the “care” Lorraine was getting from her current GP and when I asked, he gave us the name of someone he would recommend. 

Later Lorraine had her first visit with the new outpatient speech therapist.  They hit it off well and the gal wants to see Lorraine twice a week for awhile.  She told us that she has hope for Lorraine to recover fast, well and should get back to normal based on how fast she has recovered so far, great news.  So we made some appointments and will be seeing her over the next few weeks.  She also said that she has lots of supplies and handouts and that I shouldn’t buy any as Lorraine would “outgrow” them quickly.  And she also didn’t know of any supply office in the building like I had previously been told and sent on a wild goose chase trying to find. 

We have been doing some spring cleaning in the coach over the past week or two.  Lorraine and Susy went through a section of her closet to purge some of her things.  I carried four large garbage bags over to the Goodwill shed nearby and got rid of those items.  We also shampooed all the carpets and throw rugs in the rig.  And we found fleas on Misty so had to treat her and the rig for fleas too. 

We were giving the ok to stay here at the Elks lodge longer than the two week maximum.  But we will be needing to move for three days the first week in May then will do the two weeks in, three day out until we leave the area or until we find a place in the local, private campground.  It’s full now and has a large waiting list but we are on it and will probably move over when our name comes up unless it takes too long. 

The weather has been really nice the past two weeks, even had three days of rain showers too.  The high temperatures have been getting to the mid 70s most days, even into the 80s a couple days.  Night time temps are pretty nice too although we do need the heater to take the chill off. 

I know we have taken lots of pictures this past two weeks, mostly of Katie celebrating her birthday.  I’ll go through them and add some. 

Katie opening some presents from her Dad on her birthday.  Her picked these up when he was in China. 

  

  

More presents later.  The one on the right is probably her favorite Littlest Pet Shop toy. 

  

All dressed up with new clothes, including new shows that have lights on them. 

  

At her birthday party with friends. 

   

  

  

  

Susy and Katie at her house on the right. 

  

Thanks   Chuck

 

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