my morther just had a stroke...

[Lilith]

a few new things have come up.. not anything really hopeful, but something that at least fills me with unbridled rage.

she had been having some problems with her shoulders, and wrists, over the past year. she went to a specialist who said that the problem was related to a lot of thing, but gave her medication for hish blood pressure, and something for the pain.

problem is the medication he gave her for the pain causes strokes in people with HIGH BLOODPRESSURE!

note, i didn't say CAN cause strokes. all the information i've seen only says "causes strokes" no maybe about it.

so we're going to sue him, and then i'm going to rip out his throat with my teeth.

things are changing around here, and fast.

my mother was the major earner in the house, and that'll end with this last paycheck that we'll be getting friday. so, i've called a number of friends, and they've found me somewhere i can work to help ends meet. it's not going to be anywhere near the 1,700 she brought home, but it's a start. a friend of mine has been staying here for a while, because he was nearly homeless, and we take anyone in who needs help. he's agreed to pay rent, not much, but a help.

my mother (who has always planned ahead) has a number of interesting insurance polocies. she's insured so that if she's ever disabled to the point where she isn't able to work, she'll start reciving 2/3 of her normal monthly earnings from the company untill she dies. she's also got a few things i've just never heard of... the same company will start paying off our credit cards, the money we still owe on the cars, and there maybe be something in there to pay off the house..... she always plans ahead.

so, we're going to make it, all be it through some hard times. and it looks like i'll be starting work in the next week or so... but that's gotta happen.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your mom is one smart cookie take lessons from her. When my mom was ill with cancer on several ocaasions these type of insurances helped keep us aflaot and she was the only bread winner.

I know everything seems grim right now and the worst is not over, make use of the hospital chappel and the prayer book, It helped me allot just to sit in a quiet sureal place and sort out my thoughts it is not like church but it is, i dont know it is spiritual and it helped.

My daughter had her first stroke 6 years ago, with in two days of the first (which was not that bad just casued a weekness) she had another that casued her to loose all abilities, then a procedure the check out damage that may have caused another stroke but who knows, I had a 3 year old infant so to speak. After Many Blood thinners, physical therapy, allot of love and wonderful heart lightening moments, she has a slight speach problem, a bum left hand, and struggles with learning. She is happy healthy and yes i am going to use the word Normal casue she is, she has the biggest heart and IMHO the prettiest little girl i ever seen but humble and down to earth. A stroke is not the end of someones exsistance it just changes it a bit, bring things to the surface one may have over looked befor.

Your family and friends are pulling together, lean on them for support and just love the hell out of mom she is special in every way, take this time to learn those small point you might have missed befor

my thoughts and prayers r with you

[Rivers the Cleric]

oh, there's a lot of prayer going on.

i'm a minister, so is my mother, so are a large number of our friends.

i'm nto worried about what life is going to be like with her afterwards, because she's my mom, i love her, and that's all that matters. family pulls together when time gets rough, because that's what it's there for. when one person falls, the rest are there to help them back up.

[Head Wreck]

ACK!

bad doctors can cause allsorts of shit (friends schitzophrenia got to the point of violent delusions thanks to wrong medication, and a few relatives have lost thier jobs or abbility to do the job they did due to unmonitored conditions such as epilepsy and angina)

i cannot fathom how much ill this fuckhead caused. but dont do anything too rash. sue for his personal cash, even in our health service health consultants drive about aston martins etc, its taking the piss if it comes from his medical insurance. also see about getting him struck off medical registers.

theres one light at the end of this is the insurances your mother took up will help a lot, but not all with coping with this. and with some strokes theres allways a chance of partial recovery.

i hope all the treatments she recieve go well.

[Blackmail]

thanks. i may not be very religous, but it will mean a lot to my mother.

good notes, as we've learned so far.

she's resting now, but was able to respon to questions that she was asked with a thumbs up or down. so she wasn't so badly affected that she couldn't understand people, she just can't talk.

she's aware of her serroundings, and when she wanted my father by her side was able to think clearly enough to point to her wedding ring, then the door to the waiting room.

they did a cat scan, and say that it wasn't caused by any internal bleeding, so she won't need a major operation.

that's all we know for sure, so far.

again, i want to thank you all for your support.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thank god or allah or whoever.

my dad had a stroke a few years back and he can only say about 10 words and he can barely walk. It really sucks because he is only in his early 50's and he is a shell of his former self.

I am so happy that your mother seems to be in better health and can respond to questions.

good luck.

[Rivers the Cleric]

i'm very sorry for you, and all of the pains that life has brought to the others on this board. but as much as it can hurt to see this happen, i can't see doing anything else than what we're all doing or have done. standing by the ones we love.

so... we went to see my mother today.

she's made a few leaps and bounds. she can speak a LOT better, and was able to clearly get out an "i love you" to us. she's able to move her leg, but her arm is still giving her some trouble. they did the same things tests did at good sam, they didn't see the blood clotts that are supposed to be there. so there may be no need for the surgery.

we were pretty happy...

or at leas that was before her bloodpressure dropped like a rock, she blacked out, and they had to move her to the critical care unit. they had to put her on oxygen, and are going to have to install some sort of tube that goes directly in to her corroted artery, so that they can give medication and take blood easier.

we got to see her after that for a few minutes, told her we had to leave, and that we loved her. the doctors at the hospital she was move from last night said there really wasn't a point to anything like that, because she wouldn't know who we are, or what we're saying. the doctors at johns hopkins (3 miles from my house, best hospital in the united states.... why didn't she get taken there first?) told us that she's completely aware of her serroundings, and when my father walked in to the room she instantly held out her hand for his..

[Blackmail]

Rivers did they say anything about her prognosis or how soon it will take to recover, or are they just unsure about everything right now?

[Rivers the Cleric]

honestly, they say even an estimate is a long way down the road. but today made things look hopeful.

i'll post about that later, when i can.

[Rivers the Cleric]

we went to visit my mother again, but in the critical care unit visiting hours end at 2pm. they start back up at 5pm, so my dad is going to go back while me and my brother take care of things around the house.

anyway, back to the good stuff.

first thing my mother did was push herself up, as soon as she saw us. she waved really hard and said "hi", really clearly. she was bright eyed, and through pantomime managed to convay to my father that he needs to brush his teeth, because his breath stinks. she can say fairly clearly that she loves us, and is getting better at describing what she needs by using her hands. she's also getting back her ability to curse, something that is of the gravest importance to my mother.

the doctors said that they really wern't expecting to see anything like this, after yesterday. they think that there aren't any clotts in her arteries, but they want to do a test for "plaque" in them. but they aren't willing to do so untill she can swallow a good bit easier. her nurse seems sweet, but i'm afraid it's nutrasweet. basically seems the same, but only barly resembles the real thing.

the doctors are still really astonished how well she's doing, and that's great to hear. she hasn't really gotten any better, but she also hasn't gotten any worse. and that's good.

they also gave her a nicotine patch, which i think is the most important step for THEM. because my mother would have used her good arm to strangle someone, if they hadn't.

now to the lovely bad part, which thankfually has nothing to do with my mother.

so i went to Denny's last night. things are looking up, and i wanted to be around people, and be happy.

it was fun at the start, then these two guys started major brawl in the middle of the resteraunt. a bunch of people were trying to pull them apart, mostly small people who looked like they could have been hurt, so i stepped in.

i don't really think i did a lot, the person who started the fight had the other guy in a head lock, so i just grabbed his arm and put it in a bar and twisted untill he let go of the other guy. i didn't really want to hurt anyone, but they were both bleeding so it had to stop.

10 seconds later they're fighting again, and this time it involved one guy trying to beat another guy with a metal chair. so i took off my jacket to make sure that i had full range of motion, got inbetween them as soon as i could, and held the person who started the fight while the other guy took off.

i let go of him after the other guy had enough of a head start, and to avoid starting a conflict between him and me. but i followed him outside while he tried to track down the guy he was going after. the person he started the fight with was in his car pulling away, and the guy who started the fight threw a trash can at his car. i saw the cops were coming so i decided my part in this was over.

come back inside, someone took my leather jacket.

all that was in it was my house key, but there's more of a problem than that.

that jacket is the only winter coat i have, and i can't afford to get a new one, and likely wont be able to for a long time.

i gotta admit, i broke down at that point. just too much stuff over the last couple of days, and i've had to keep a straight face to try and keep my brother and father together.

i'm still prettymuch about ready to cry any minute, but i've got to keep myself under controle, because my father and brother are a wreck most of the time.

[Msterbeau]

If you need a coat for a bit. I have one I can loan you.

[Rivers the Cleric]

thanks for the thought, but i actually live on the east coast.

i'll scrounge something up, i always do.

[Msterbeau]

thanks for the thought, but i actually live on the east coast.

i'll scrounge something up, i always do.

HAhaha.. Oops. :whistling

Good thing they didn't take your boots.