A Difficult Week

Last week on Friday, July 1st, Mom had a TMI (mini-stroke) as we were getting back to her house after lunch. I took her to a nearby emergency clinic, and they sent her in an ambulance to the hospital. They confirmed the TMI, and after lots of tests, scans, etc. they determined that she had a severe blockage in her left carotid artery.

Thursday morning (July 7) she had surgery to clear out the blockage in her artery. She did very well, and was able to come home this afternoon. We are relieved to have that part over with.

The second part is that they discovered that Mom was very anemic. She was given 3 units of blood over the two days that she was in the hospital, and we are to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist soon. They did find evidence of blood in her stool this morning, and suspect that she has a "slow leak" somewhere. Once the wound from the surgery has healed, she will begin tests to discover what is causing the bleeding.

My sister Sandi and her daughter came on Sunday, and have been wonderful. They got me back on an even keel when I seemed to lose my common sense, helping with everything from cleaning Mom's apartment from top to bottom over the holiday weekend, to getting in touch with her primary care doctor who was on vacation to schedule an assessment on Tuesday.

My niece had to get home to her family, and Sandi had to work on Wednesday. I took Mom to the hospital to get her registered and have her lab work done in preparation for the surgery. Sandi was back at midnight Wednesday night to go to the hospital with us at 6 AM Thursday. One or both of us was with Mom during her hospital stay. Sandi is still here, and is with Mom at home tonight.

That's the bare bones description of what has happened over the past week since I posted last. It's been a complicated and trying experience, but we are sure now that Mom won't have a stroke. Her artery was 80 to 90% blocked.

Please pray for our mom as we go through the process of discovering what else is wrong and what can be done about it. She's always been amazingly strong and healthy physically, and this is very difficult for her (and for all of us). Thank you for your prayers!