A recap

Here's a recap of what has happened:Kathy had a moderate stroke --actually several small that added up-- on May 13th. She also had a pretty major blood clot in her right arm.

Chuck was at work so she was home alone but managed to call 911 and even let the paramedics in by herself. She had two surgeries that day--one to remove the clot and explore her veins to look for clots or blockages, and a second to relieve the pressure of the swelling from the blood clot in her arm. She probably had a clot from her heart split and go to both the brain and arm.

The clot in her arm seemed more medically dangerous at the time. Circulation was cut off to her arm for a few hours. It was several days before they could find a strong pulse in her arm again. Her kidney function slowed way down for the first several days in ICU from the muscle damage caused by the clot and swelling. She was in ICU for about a week. She was moved to the LTAC hospital a couple weeks ago.

She had no more blockages but is on blood thinners and will be for several months. There is a weakness in the heart muscle that can be treated with medication. The doctors believe the weakness allowed the clot to form. The neurologist expects she should have a good recovery from the stroke. It's going to be a long recovery and she will need lots of physical therapy. But the doctor does expect her to go home sometime in the future. She has some nerve damage from the swelling so she can't feel or move her right hand and lower arm. We're hoping that will improve with time but we're not sure.

They removed some dead tissue from her arm last week and she has to wear this vacuum pump while it heals. It keeps the wound clear. She will wear the vacuum at least a couple months while the tissue regenerates. If all goes well she will not need a skin graft. She is speaking clearly and swallowing fine. She can move all of her limbs weakly right now. Recovery is slow going right now because of some pre-existing problems. She already had lymphedema (swelling) in her right arm as a result of lymph node removal when she had breast cancer. And she has sciatic nerve pain that makes it hard for her to be comfortable. She is also experiencing shoulder pain which is common in stroke patients from being in bed for so long. She is on quite a bit of pain medicine that keeps her pretty sleepy.

She has good days and bad days. She is still in bed with a catheter. In therapy they sit her up and she can sit unsupported for 16 minutes. That keeps improving steadily. She can not sit up on her own or even reach a glass of water. With her left hand she can scratch her nose unaided and reach the back of her head if we help her. Chuck and I help feed her all her meals. He's there 12-14 hours a day. I have returned to work and visit in the evenings and weekends and try to get him to leave the hospital when I can. Bob visited a couple weeks ago.