Bad News

[Guest]

Last week I had a phone call from the daughter of one of my original patients. The Mom had fallen and hit her head. I told the daughter that it was a very difficult call as to what to do. She could rush to the ER and possibly no problem would be found. But this could give a false sense of security because she could be bleeding very slowly into the head and she could have a problem several days later. My prophesy turned out to be all too true. She is in ICU today with a bleed into her head. I talked to her neurosurgeon and he said that she would not survive surgery. She is 88 years old. She and her husband were 17 when they got married so they have been married 71 years!! He is undergoing cancer radiation and told me that he cannot imagine life without his wife. I sat at their table for lunch today and they only comfort that I could offer them was that without the warfarin, she would have probably had a stroke 5 to 7 years ago, so they had their wife and mother in relatively good health for all this time. So I have had my ups and downs both today.

 

[geebee]

Al,

I am sorry to hear about your patient. I will pray that things improve (if there is a chance of that) or, at the very least, her family finds peace. It sounds like they have a great life to remember. Many of us should be so lucky.

 

[Guest]

They are not angry, just stunned. Mama has always been the Queen of the household.

The neurosurgeon was surprised because she had stabilized, but then the bleed started again. There is little hope for improvement.

 

[Christina L]

So very sorry to hear about your

So very sorry to hear about your

patient, Al. It is never easy to lose a loved one to death. However, as Gina said, it sounds like she had a wonderful life - 88 years - wow, but just a drop in the bucket compared to eternity and eternity in the presence of God, to boot!

May God peacefully lead her over to eternal rest with Him.

Christina L

 

[BDMc]

Thoughts and prayers with you and them

Thoughts and prayers with you and them

Al, I don't know that it is any help, but in '97 my then 81 year old father had a stroke due to a clot. They gave him heparin. That evening he was quite lucid, and I was quite hopeful. During the night he hemorrhaged. His neurologist said he would be a vegetable if he survived. Some days later he regained consciousness, and was able to move his left side. He also began to answer simlpe questions much to the doctors amazment. The family's hopes grew. He couldn't swallow, and the doctors wanted to put in a feeding tube. He made it clear he didn't want it. He had been a neurologist himself at the start of his carreer. I firmly believe that he understood what was going on. My older brother presented him with the facts as we knew them from the doctors, and we tried to pursuade him to get the feeding tube and stick around. He made it clear he didn't want to stick around. One of his closest cousins, who is also a physician came up to see him. He told us what to expect. My mother and brother took him home with hospice care. He died in relative peace, surrounded by those that loved him. It wasn't easy or painless, though we tried to limit the pain with morphine. I think it was wise and courageous. And it shows that even when the docs think we're done for, there can be reason for hope. He chose not to indulge our hopes for his own reasons. Death is not always the worst thing that can happen...

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the kind words.

My Dad died when a doctor stopped his warfarin to scope his bladder. He had a PE and lived long enough to say to my Mom, "I don't feel good." He then crashed to the floor and was gone. Many years before Dad had been in a severe car accident. The emergency people thought that he was dead and worked on the other guy first. Dad said that he did die and he had seen the other side and it was beautiful and so he was never afraid of death again. He had no idea why he "came back to life".

 

[Granbonny]

I.m so sorry to hear about this wonderful lady..So, she was on coumadin? Just another reminder to all..on coumadin..Be careful....of falling..it can happen so quickly.Grandson is going home tonight to his Mom's in N.C. and when I called to tell him Bye..Said, his Mom had called and she had fallen today and broke her foot. Hubby decided today he was going to wash and buff kitchen floor for Holidays. I told him, NO wax. ........I was always this past year..afraid of Daddy's living alone...at age 90.. cooking bacon on stove, ect...as it turned out..He died peacefully in his sleep....Oct. 28th....Thank goodness, it was not from a fall, pain, ect.....Bonnie

 

[Nancy]

Al-

What a shame. I know how much you care for each one of your patients, and this is difficult for you. I'm so very sorry.

 

[Guest]

Bonny, I know his loss saddens you but you can give thanks for a long, wonderful life.

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

 

[Herb M]

Last year I fell and cut my head above the eye. The bleeding would not stop so I went to the Emergency Room to have it have the would sewed. I felt Ok for a few days then started having headaches. I again went to the Emergency Room and they took a cat scan and found that there was internal bleeding near the brain. I was hospitalized for several days and had several cat scans and an angiogram of the skull. There was concern that there was bleeding into the brain. Eventually the bleeding subsided subsided and there was no damage.


I have learned that injuries to those on coumadin could be serious. This was the second time that I had internal bleeding from an injury.

 

[Guest]

The entire family has been praying almost constantly for her recovery. Guess what, she is out of ICU and they are talking about rehab.

 

[Ross]

It's been known to happen, I'm still here!

 

[Guest]

Me too. There were probably some prayers that I wouldn't be!!!

 

[BDMc]

Prayers Answered

Prayers Answered

Al, I am so glad our prayers have been answered and she's recovering! I guess she has some more work to do before she moves on. Tell them you had your on-line cmmunity praying for her Brian

 

[Glenda]

Al, prayers are answered and I sincerely believe in the power of prayer. Like several others on this forum I am a living example!

Your caring attitude is fantastic. Bless you from the bottom of my heart.

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi al,
i had read your initial post on this thread a few days ago, but haven't had time to respond or check in here.... i was so happy to hear that she is out of icu and doing better now.

you are always caring for and helping others, so when i read your post it upset me to hear how sad you were.
please let us know how she is doing. she remains in our thoughts and prayers.
be well,
sylvia

 

[Guest]

That person is making a great recovery.

However one of my patients who was scheduled to come in today died in her sleep yesterday afternoon. She started at the clinic back in 1997 when I first started doing this. She was an old a Coumadin even back then because she had a Bjork-Shiley valve.

 

[Guest]

The person that I originally started this thread about has improved enough that she was transferred from the hospital to acute rehab today. I told the family about your prayers. The lady asked me, "Was I really dying?" All that I could think of to say was, "If you were, then you fooled them." She gave me a big grin.

 

[Karlynn]

Wonderful news!

 

[Guest]

The amazing thing is that I didn't even violate patient confidentiality by giving out her name!!!