Can't believe

Can't believe as of yesterday it has been 4 months since he's been gone. I woke up this morning and just like other days think he's going to be stomping in the bedroom to tell me he's going to the Cain place.
Some people think because I am going out with friends I have moved on. There's no moving on when you have lost your life partner there is just a person acting as they are moving on. Because what those people don't know is he is with me in my thoughts, prayers, and heart every minute of every day. Life for me is at a stand still but I'm trying really hard to keep pushing on because when I'm by myself it's the hardest because I KNOW he's not coming in that door and once again I will be waking up to empty arms.

Times a tickin... Need your stories...

Times a tickin.... 15 more days left to put your memories in Mick's book.... Please submit for memories of a lifetime.... "Laugh of the Day" THANK YOU..

sfdill@iland.net

The ball is rolling..............

My wonderful brother led me to a website that I can do my little published "laughs" for Mick for a really good price.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....
I'LL I NEED IS YOU AND YOUR FOND MEMORIES...Please submit by August 31st....
Repeat of request.....

Yes............I'm doing way too much thinking but Fr. Phil made me think too much yesterday. He made a statement about memories and sometimes we do forget and it's all about age and a normal process to forget. We all know this but I DO NOT ever want to have to think about that. I can't imagine forgetting anything about him. We have 3 girls and in time they will get married and then have kids..(long time from now..;0)
BUT, I don't want to to think that they would or I would forget anything about their father/spouse. However, we do not know what the future holds so I am going to be pro-active.

SO, I need your help. Anyone who has any fond memories of Mick please e-mail it to me. It can be anything that you want to share. I will be compiling "Laughter of a Lifetime" of all Micks moments they he has touched, bugged, or just was stinking honorey to people.

Thanks in advance,
Shannon Dill

If you know someone that doesn't have facebook and would like to tell a story they can go to micks blogspot or mail it to me.

Shannon Dill
P.O. Box 184
Pilot Grove, MO. 65276

Project in the planning.......

Yes............I'm doing way too much thinking but Fr. Phil made me think too much yesterday. He made a statement about memories and sometimes we do forget and it's all about age and a normal process to forget. We all know this but I DO NOT ever want to have to think about that. I can't imagine forgetting anything about him. We have 3 girls and in time they will get married and then have kids..(long time from now..;0)
BUT, I don't want to to think that they would or I would forget anything about their father/spouse. However, we do not know what the future holds so I am going to be pro-active.

SO, I need your help. Anyone who has any fond memories of Mick please e-mail it to me. It can be anything that you want to share. I will be compiling "Laughter of a Lifetime" of all Micks moments they he has touched, bugged, or just was stinking honorey to people.

Thanks in advance,
Shannon Dill

If you know someone that doesn't have facebook and would like to tell a story they can go to micks blogspot or mail it to me.

Shannon Dill
P.O. Box 184
Pilot Grove, MO. 65276

Project in the planning.......

Yes............I'm doing way too much thinking but Fr. Phil made me think too much yesterday. He made a statement about memories and sometimes we do forget and it's all about age and a normal process to forget. We all know this but I DO NOT ever want to have to think about that. I can't imagine forgetting anything about him. We have 3 girls and in time they will get married and then have kids..(long time from now..;0)
BUT, I don't want to to think that they would or I would forget anything about their father/spouse. However, we do not know what the future holds so I am going to be pro-active.

SO, I need your help. Anyone who has any fond memories of Mick please e-mail it to me. It can be anything that you want to share. I will be compiling "Laughter of a Lifetime" of all Micks moments they he has touched, bugged, or just was stinking honorey to people.

Thanks in advance,
Shannon Dill

If you know someone that doesn't have facebook and would like to tell a story they can go to micks blogspot or mail it to me.

Shannon Dill
P.O. Box 184
Pilot Grove, MO. 65276

Thank you ............

I (We) would like to say thank you to everyone who has followed the blog and facebook through this difficult chapter of our lives. We appreciate all your love, support and understanding.

Our lives will change forever and the memories that he left us will be treasured. If you continue to pray for this family I ask that the prayers are to give peace to our girls. I have lived and loved and I pray they continue to learn those traits that their father also had. It will be a difficult road for all of us but they have lost the greatest man they ever knew.

Pray for their peace and understanding of this horrible situation.

Thank you ,
Shannon Dill

Arrangements

Visitation will be Tuesday, August 4th at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Pilot Grove at 5:00 with prayer service at 7:00. Funeral will be on Wednesday, August 5th at 10:00 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Pilot Grove.

A new day but the same sorrow

As you all know by now; my love of my life has gone to a better place. A place where he can walk, talk, dance and hunt morel mushrooms or deer ,whichever he chooses. None of it has made since to me from the very beginning but I have continued to believe that God has a plan for him and us. At one time I thought "well we could clone mick" ;o) Then I remembered that when God made him they broke the mold because THERE WILL NEVER be a more sincere, helpful, outgoing, sometimes a little coo coo, dedicated, stubborn, hard working and anything else a person could be...made again.... God needed him more than us and maybe Mick being all of those things will make us think twice about the love of friends, family, strangers and labor.
There are so many thoughts that have gone through my head that I can't think straight but I did want to let everyone know that I SO GREATLY APPRECIATED all the love, support and prayers for Mick and our family.

At peace

2:45 today; Dad is in peace with God

Long night...

Mick is still hanging on as everyone has prob. gathered from prev. posts. Things are progessing slowly but things are changing. The nurse this morning said she would be surprised if he lasted rest of the day. His oxygen level continues to slowly decrease. Pray harder for him to let go and go to a place where he will no longer feel suffering. I have to give you all a laugh for the day since we have not had any for weeks...Our dear sweet Rae Ann (I think 6 yrs. maybe 7 now..she's growing up too fast ...(friends little girl) was told about Mick going to heaven to be with God... her reply to her mother was "Did Shannon say it was o.k. for him to go?" Out of the mouths of babes....During my tearful moments reading that made me laugh and thought "only little ones would think such a thing" and how true it is... BUT, it is just like Mick to do as he wanted... he would ask and then do it anyhow if he really wanted to do it.... "SOUNDS like a few other people I know."...;0)

Annoyance

2 hrs. sleep. Laying next to Mick as if not worrying about Mick isn't enough; Aggrivation with this floor. He's suppose to get ck'd on 1x hr. it's been averaging 2-3; even when I press the button for them to come. They take their good sweet time. Maybe I need to be like the mom from Terms of Endearment"and run through the halls yelling so everyone knows it's time for his shot . NO, I really won't do it but if a time comes and I have to everyone will know that he requires attention. I am going to be speaking to Dr. this morning. They told me Mick would not gasp for breath because I was told they would keep him "morphined" enough... Well....they lied. I'm not happy to have to chase them down.

Praying for Peace...

As I sit here next to Mick wishing God would fullfill his plan I think of Amanda's question. She asked why hasn't God taken him yet; only answer I had was "maybe God was still making room for him" as stupid as it sounds it makes since to me. After all why would he make him continue to suffer. Mick was taken off of life support at 11:47 today. Although he has trouble breathing; he is breathing on his own. His blood pressure & oxygen has been all over the place for most of the day but at this time seems to be stable. We all new he was a fighter unfort. at this time he just needs to know that he can go in peace. The Dr. ruled this morning of taking him off of life support and we agreed. We were told that Mick's life would be no more than what it is now. Never waking up and laying in bed for the rest of his life. We were also told that he did have another stroke at some point within the last 2 weeks. Dr. A ...said hopefully he should go within 2 days..we are praying for that. Today has been the hardest thing we have had to do; say goodbye to someone that only God knows when we will see again. Our hearts break but we know it is the best thing for him. For now I will enjoy laying next to him on the cot; listening to his snoring for the last time. Pray for his peace.

Tomorrow.....

No words can describe the many feelings and emotions that all of us our going through right now. What seems like such a long 5 months has also went by so quickly. Tomorrow we will take dad off of life support. We are fulfilling dad's wishes by not keeping him this way. Dad also wanted to be an organ donor so a lucky recipient will possibly get a new heart and many other body parts within the next few days from my dad. They even said someome in the St. Louis area could receive something within a day. Which would make dad proud. Just pray for dad to be at peace and pray for my family to have strength as we all will need it.

Love,

Jess

Life's Disappointments

Mick's blood pressure and tempature fluctuated all day. Left the hospital a few minutes ago and it was 85/? can't even remember now but it was low with a average of 72 for systolic. Dr. A. came into today for a minute to tell us he still needs to do exam on Mick and write up a report. I made a statement about we have been holding out for hope and he said we all have. He agrees there is no change, and no positive signs. After 2 weeks the risk of damage becomes much higher...He knows where we are with Mick's wishes and Wed. is the 2 week "protocol" for the hospital and he said tomorrow or Wed. he will get with us and discuss things so the "burden" will be off our shoulders. No matter what he says the guilt will always be there. The only thing that is going to get us through is knowing Mick will no longer be in pain and he will be at peace with loved ones that have gone before him. Pray for his peace with no suffering.

Roller Coaster

Mick has been on a roller coaster ride since last night. As you all know he spiked a fever last night and had trouble controlling all night. His blood pressure and his tempature has been going crazy since last night. If his temp. is not 102 it drops below 94.... Today they did an EEG to see if he has been having seizures because of some off the wall vitals. He had an episode right after they hooked him up. They said it is not seizures but they can not tell us what it is. His prem. bloodwork came back saying no growth for infection but they said the "true" results can take up to 5 days and they do not know why his tempature keeps rising and then falling. No answers just guessing games and at this point they are just telling us it is possible that it's just his brain not regulating vitals like it should be doing. Every time I see him in an episode it looks like he's in pain but again they just shake their heads at me and tell me "it's just reflexing"...I'm having a hard time believing these answers anymore. Tomorrow should be the day that is sched. for CT scan. It did not get done today so I'm assuming it will be tomorrow.It's becoming harder for me to accept these answers because I feel like I'm letting him down. His request not to go through all this junk is me not keep my promise because the Dr. keeps saying "a little more time". What I have learned is everyone wants a little more time. Me, well I want a lot more time but then I would not be fulfilling his wishes. I have done a lot of things in my life that I really did not want to do BUT this is the most difficult and most heart wrenching that I have to do. Thinking about it takes my breath away; thinking about living without him tears me up. So much fear of having to think about starting over without him, how our girls will deal with it and loneliness that I have never felt before. The next few days will be dealing with all of these feelings including the guilt that has overcome me. Guilt because things are not what we wanted, guilt for thinking I'm letting him down and guilt thinking "I should have known" and stepped in when things just were not like Mick.If we only had a looking glass into the future would things have been done differently or would we do things differently now.Just pray for peace for him. My fear is him being in pain and us making the best decision for him. How will we know that this is the right decision. I'm praying for a sign; unfort. I think I have been getting it but my heart doesn't want me to believe it.

Another Update

Found out last night dad spiked a fever of 102 around 6pm, which most likely means there's an infection. The nurses took blood and will send it to get cultured to determine where and what it is. Nurses put cooling blanket on dad to help lower his temperature, it was a struggle. They finally got it down this morning. Now they are having problems keeping his temperature up. It has been around 94 and below. His blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, etc. (vitals) were going crazy all through the night. When mom checked in this morning they said he is finally stable. Keep praying.

Love,
Jess

Update

Every night before mom tries to get some sleep she always calls the hospital to check on dad. Last night the news was not good. Dad's blood pressure has been dropping to the systolic at 80. They gave him iv's last night to help. As soon as mom woke up this morning she called over again. His blood pressure ended up dropping three more times throughout the night. When your blood pressure drops down so low it begins to cause your organs to shut down. We have decided not to treat it with medicine because after discussing it with the doctor it is just another strike against dad. We have decided we are going to put the situation in God's hands since the situation is getting worse and not better. These last few weeks have been some of the hardest on us and we just want dad to be comfortable and happy with his life. We will keep you updated, as always, as things progress.

Love,
Jess

Needing a Miracle...

Nothing has changed with Mick. Same vitals that fluctuate and same reflexes but unresponsive to any tests that they do. Dr. A. will be out of town until Sunday afternoon. Dr. Ryan called today and said Dr. A had called him and he agrees that 2 week time is more than enough time for a positive result which we have not had. He also said that waiting past that is going to put Mick in a state where he did not want to be. Talked to another one of the Neurosurgeons before we left the hospital and she said they always have hopes for their patients but sometimes reality doesn't follow through. With all this information given unless a Miracle happens by Wed. we have to decide what the next steps are; which is to take him off life support. My heart is very heavy once again. Like everyone else who would feel this loss I am having a hard time with this because I just don't want to let go. Mick and I have been together since May 16th, 1985 our Senior year in high school. I can't imagine life without him and having to think of the end is not what I want to do. I keep waiting for him to wake up and tell me to "get off his back" because he went farming, drinking, or whatever it might have been. Funny how things change because in our "adult" life recent words of "Where have you been" or "What took you so long" is what I have heard from him. Now missing and wishing I could have all the laughter and tears back; and I would take everything back and he could hunt,fish, and whatever he wants to if he comes back to us. Miracle is what we need...lots of prayers for a miracle...for him to come back to us to walk and talk and do his stupid dance at the community building that is so embarrassing to anyone around. But, how we will all miss that if a miracle does not take place. Unanswered prayers is def. not what we want but I know God has a plan!

Thursday

8 days and counting. Mick is the same as days before. Only change is the way people are looking at the outcome that is inevitable. The Critical Dr. came in and talked to me for about 45 minutes. Very pleasant person. She informed me that everyone believed that Mick would not make it off the table and if he did that he would wake up right away. Now they are shocked that it's been this long and he still is not awake.I haven't given up hope and still believing whatever God's will is THAT is what will take place. Just praying that it is the same plan that Mick wanted so much. Life or Death and not be left as a vegetable. So, I'll I can say is continue to pray for his peace of what is meant to be.

Wed.'s news...

It HAS BEEN 7 days since surgery. There is no change. Only thing to mention is Mick's face turned red as a beet after he was given a bath. They said he does that normally , I just haven't been around during that time but they did it earlier and I got to witness the color change. OTHER than this his right arm was double the size as it was this afternoon. So swollen now that his arm bands are digging in. They said they have to have the Dr. to take a look; they think it might be the blood clot.

Todays information...

Mick's blood pressure and breathes per minute were once again low. They increased his oxygen a little bit again. They said that sometimes it's needed so he doesn't tire out when it gets low like that. His blood sugar was high so they gave insulin. Only other thing that has happened is his body temp. continues to stay low most of the time. The Dr. showed up about 7pm with another patient and popped his head in to ask how I was doing. We talked for a few moments which he said once again he would like a little more time; which I have no problems in doing...anyhow I asked him the question of why he wants more time because I learned today he is a very conservative doctor. I asked did he want more time just to see what's going to happen or "hope" something was going to happen. His reply was " The odds are stacked up against Mick"....
So, that's where we are keep praying ... and when I say that pray fbut or Mick's best interest and what he would want.

Monday & Tuesday's Updates...

Monday:Hello to all... I understand it gets confusing trying to text and talk in between but I think it's important that everyone has the information that is needed.Mick has no consciousness...He has yet shown any signs of him waking up. His pupils are still unresponsive.His movement per Dr. Abdulrauf and nurses are REFLEXES ONLY.His blood clot is not as serious as his leg but is serious enough but they are not able to do anything other than warm compresses.Lastly: MICK IS NOT OFF BLOOD PRESSURE MEDS.... that was a 1x thing because his blood pressure was staying too low. I confirmed this with the nurse 5 minutes ago. He is on 4 different blood pressure meds. And will continue until Dr. says otherwise. He is on several other medications along with the blood pres. meds.I understand that reading into things is holding onto hope but Dr. Abdulrauf continues to tell us not to hold on to false hope. He continues to say until he wakes up and follows commands he's deep into the woods. Today in conversation HE told us that NOW would be the time we would need to do a DNR. If something was to happen at this time it would be catastrophic and there would be no hope at all.I want all of you to know that we are not going to do anything that is not in Mick's best interest. We know what his wishes are and we will do JUST that when we think and the Dr. thinks it is time. It's not about us it's all about what Mick would want. I keep telling myself that he is just exhausted and just needs a little more time. I'm holding onto that hope but I still have to realistic because of what we have been told all along. It's hard enough now and I don't want anyone blindsided. I KNOW God has a plan for him and whatever it is will show itself when he wants it to.All I can ask is that you pray for Mick; pray not just that he wakes up BUT he is Mick because the LAST THING he DID NOT WANT is to be a vegetable and there are high chances of that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday:Just talked to Nurse and Mick is the same; no changes of any sort.

Long story short...

Mick still not awake, been running fever, breaths per minute have gone from 21-22 to 10-14, new blood clot in arm. Dr. said a DNR needed to be done because at this point if something major happened it would be catastrophic. Vitals have been unstable.

News from Nurse

I called to check in on Mick before I went to bed. The nurse said Mick's Dr. told them to increase his oxygen again. Mick is working to hard to breath and he doesn't want him to have to work so hard. They confirmed that the Dr. will be talking to us sometime tomorrow.

Sunday's News.............

Nurse said Mick is the same other than the fact they had to put a warming blacket on him. His temp. continues to drop below 95. This is the 3rd time since surgery. Early afternoon the Critical Care doctor came in and they decreased Mick's oxygen level. They said Mick is breathing on his own but needs assistance. Mick has not waken up yet and he would not be able to breath completely on his own so they have to continue the oxygen. Mick continues to have reflex impulses.Hopefully more news tomorrow; Dr. is suppose to catch up with us tomorrow so maybe he will tell us something positive.

Woman in waiting.................

Just wanted to let everyone know of todays update. The girls and I went to see Mick before they left to go back to Pilot Grove. The Dr. wanted to show us films from before and after. Prev. films show how much the large anuerysm was filling again. He then showed us the progress from after the clips were put in. Looked good. Now the bad part.... Mick has had several mini strokes; they have to continue the path they are taking and watch because these can continue. He also stated that they are watching the "critical" vessels that regulate sleeping, talking, etc. They have taken him completely off of sedation to see how he does and if he wakes up. Today they also put in a feeding tube; at this time they are waiting for Xrays to say it is o.k. to start the feeding tube. They due this to make sure it is in the right place. Other than this information he moves areas of his body when being pinched. This is one of their ways to check functions. I will continue the updates if something changes. All I can say in ending is the Dr. said to make sure the family does not get to excited over any of this because he is "deep in the woods". He does not want anyone to have false hope. He said for him the positive moment will be when Mick responds to commands....
Fr. Jim the Priest at the hospital has been a very good listener during these times when when such words are said.
Thanks for the prayers..

Daily Update

Yesterday was definitely a long day for dad, surgeons, and our family. Surgery lasted for over 12 hours but surgeon said it went well. They were able to clip both aneruysms and also found a 3rd one behind the other two, they were able to clip that one as well. They said the the 3rd one found was more dangerous than the large one because of how thin it was and the blood flow. We were also told that Amanda, Steph, and & I would need to be checked out because these type of cluster anuerysms are hereditary. Now comes the waiting period. ... Dad is under heavy sedation to keep him asleep for at least 48 hours. The doctors will check on him regulary but will not be able to assess what physical & mental abilities he still has or lost during the procedure, etc. He is also on a ventilator (breathing machine) and as of this morning he was trying to take 3 breaths a minute on his own. Right now he is getting an angeogram done to check for any bleeding on the brain. We will continue to update as we find our more. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

P.S. They did not have to due any type of bi-pass or trechiotomy. That was a WONDERFUL thing...that was another HUGE BLESSING!

Love,
Jess

Preparing for Surgery now....

Lots of information from last night to today. Learned last night that more than likely Mick will always have a breathing tube. Todays the day of surgery and also learned that feeding tubes and so many other means of survival are very possible of his outcome. The Dr. said that normally he does not take this high risk of a case but Mick's symptoms would increase and death would be a for sure thing. This procedure is to try to relieve pressure but the symptoms and the outcome unless there is a miracle (my words) is not a positive one. The Dr. wants a couple of days after surgery to see how he does and then more plans will taken. They will keep us posted every 2 hrs. and surgery will be 10-12 hrs. estimation.Pray for no suffering. God has a plan and as hard as it is I know that is what we have to accept. We want him to come out of this and be the Mick that we've missed so much but we do not want him to suffer.

Today's News...

Today Mick had his angigram. Was not a normal test. They informed me at 930 that the test was very high risk of a stroke the way they were to perform it. They put a balloon up in an artery close to the anuerysm to block off blood flow to the anuerysm. This process is to see how his brain functions with no blood flow. Said it would take about 2-3 hrs. at least and it took 2.45 min. However, the results was not good. They just started asking him questions (he had to be completely awake) and within 1 minute it was nothing but jibberish. They had to stop the procedure. There hopes was he could handle this type of blockage so they would not have to open his chest and put him on bi-pass. Now they have to go to one of their other plans. The Dr. will come and talk to us at some point during the late afternoon/evening.

In case you are wondering Mick is o.k. other than headaches due to this procedure. Well, enough to ask for a milky way when he seen me.

Changes again...

Surgery will now be on WED. & THURS. I expressed my aggrivation and they called the main Dr. who is out of town. He said he is the boss and did not know why the Cardio Dr.'s and the "resident" Dr.'s told us it would take place on Tuesday. He also said that he was in conference with other Neurosurgeons at his conference over Mick's surgery. They were trying to come up with a plan where a Heart/Lung Bi-pass would not have to take place and surgery would only have to take 1 day. I was hopeful until the Cardio Dr. came in and said that it would not take place like that because of the new complication. Mick and his blood clot in his leg complicates them going through the groin so they have to open his chest up; cool down his body and put him on bi-pass. So, the plan is tomorrow he will have the major angigram that they have been talking about; he'll have to lay still for 7hrs. after the procedure. Tuesday they will do another CT scan with contrast and some other type of test that they didn't tell me about. Wed. will begin the surgery; possibly an external shunt will be put in after other shunt taken out; bi-pass from arm to brain might still be done (pulling vein-artery) to do this (still confused over this process)... and then the trechiotomy. Several of these are still waiting to find out results from tomorrows test. Pray for only positive results so there are no more delays or maybe we can cut out some of these procedures.
Laugh of Day:My mom and I were in Mick's room and she was telling me how she sold my brothers chain saw at her garage sale and said she could sell one for $25. Mick was suppose to be asleep... Next thing we heard was Micks threats mind you ...."Mick's eyes were closed" he said "YOU SELL MY CHAINSAW FOR $25 AND YOUR A** IS GRASS!"...My mom laughed so hard. I asked him if he was going to be mad at my mom and he said " NO, YOU".... I always get blamed even if it's not my fault..... lol...that's o.k. I'll just go with the flow.

Laugh of the Day...

Found out today Sister Judy came in to check on Mick. She asked how he is doing... His reply : "I'm so hungry I can eat the a**hole out of a horse....It didn't offend the Nun too much because she came back today.

Mick's info for those who are visiting...

Mick is now in NICU 530 until after surgery.Visiting hrs. 11-830 (even for immediate family)
He can have balloons, stuffed animals.....CAN NOT have live flowers and he CAN NOT have outside food
You have to be beeped in to NICU
2 people in at a time.

Friday's updates

Mick had his venitrical procedure this morning to put a filter to block the blood clot from going to his heart.He has seen the opt. department, dermatologist 2x, cardioligist students 2x (residence too), physical therapist. and of course the procedure that was done. He had a full day.I met with the Dr. that has been caring for Mick since he came in and had a deep conversation including me telling her what I thought about them changing the dates again and all the unknowns that they have been keeping me out of the loop. I told her I understood she is in the middle of the conversation because it's all up to Dr. Abdulrauf and the Cardio but this postponing and not giving me answers is for the birds. I said a few other things and in the end she came back to tell me she relayed the message to Dr. A and Cardio would down to see Mick and have a definite answer. I guess it does pay to be blunt at times!Anyhow it was confirmed by 3 Cardio members that the surgery would in fact take place on Tuesday. Estimation with prep and surgery for both days is about 12 hrs. We shall see if Dr. A says the same thing or something different.---------------NOW..something funny and sad all rolled up in one....Mick had Wheel of Fortune on the t.v.... he was not watching it just staring at the ceiling like normally. However the answer to the puzzle was "Going to the Chapel".... which I started singing and without missing a beat Mick piped in and did the next verse... sad part is it started crying but he continued to sing with me. MOMENTS.... that will make me smile for a long time..Knowing he is still thinking about things like us although things aren't always clear.We will have so many memories when he gets out of the hospital.

Tired...

But not as tired as Mick. He has been put through the ringer today. As stated before lots of tests, MRI,CT Scan, ENT, Speech theparist, bloodwork, Opthamologist, Vesicular (sp) test ran on feet and legs, and many other things. When the speech therapist came in to test his swallowing she asked me questions about what he eats at home and reactions to foods. I told her exactly what she asked... Mick's reply was "Shannon! Don't tell her...she won't feed me! In addition to this we had to leave the room when he was being tested or taken for tests; when returned the last time he was quite upset because they had to dialate his eyes and he couldn't see. He's had several things going on and me not being able to be in there with him has stressed him out where his blood pressure has raised since he has been here. He told me he didn't love me because I wouldn't give him a burger. Poor guy did not get to eat until 7:45pm... Last time he ate was 8:30 am yesterday morning. Now the bad news; they found a large blood clot in his right leg. He will now undergo a procedure in the morning to filter the blood clot. The fear of it going to his heart or brain is great just like any other clot but the anuerysms complicate things.So, once again just say a prayer for peace.Thanks to everyone for prayers and concerns.

Thursday's Update

Since Dad is in N-ICU(Neuro Intensive Care) we cannot see him until 11:00 and visiting hours end at 8:30....only 2 people at a time also. As you can imagine by the time we saw him this morning he was pretty upset and thought we left him for good. He was also upset at mom for not leaving her cell phone number for him, even though he has no way to call. We wrote it on the board for him today! He has already had a CAT scan, an ENT vocal test thing, an MRI, and later tonight a Speech Therapist is coming to look at how he is swollowing things because he's choking so much while eating. They will also run a test on his feet and ankles tonight to make sure there are no blood clots from all of the falls, since both feet are still so swollen. Dad has also told us he has been poked a lot! :-) He still makes us laugh/smile! He is also upset because they still have not fed him, which means the last time he ate was yesterday morning before he was air lifted from Boone, which he did not like either! I feel pretty bad for him...he told the nurse he would even take a peanut butter sandwich! Even though he is upset at quite a few things he still seems to be doing alright. We will keep everyone updated as more tests are ran in the coming days. Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers.Jess

Change again!

I'm getting really annoyed! Went to Boone hospital to check Mick in to be transported. Got there about 8:30 did not leave for transport until 11:50. Once at St.Louis had to repeat everything about Mick 2x to surgeons from the very beginning of this whole ordeal. No, I wasn't happy. Then the Dr. on call told me that Mick will not be having surgery on Monday; more than likely it will be Tues. & Wed. She said since Dr. Abdulrauf is gone until Sunday night they won't be doing the angigram until Monday because he wants to be there. She also said that because of Mick's issue with swallowing that they will more than likely do a treachautomy for surgery. That blew my mind. Anyhow, they have been doing lots of tests. A lot of other tests like MRI,CT scans and a bunch of other stuff will be done tomorrow and the next few days. She thought they would be doing the external shunt Sat. or Sun. The ENT will come in and do testing for Mick's swallowing to see exactly what Mick is capable of. I was mad because they did not get to him today therefore THEY WOULD NOT LET HIM HAVE FOOD all day.! He just wanted to eat. Lucky for him the nurse at 8am said to let him have breakfast. The lastthing she said is this is more complexed because he had the coiling done and that becomes difficult for them when they clip the anuerysms because it sometimes does not allow the clip to close which causes other problems. That's the scoop; Oh and we are staying in the hospitality house which is nice but you know it's scarey when the nurse tells you "DON'T WALK OVER BY YOURSELF" OR STOP AT ANY GAS STATIONS AROUND HERE... Which that part we figured when we pulled on Grand and there sat 3 police cars with 4 thugs sitting against a rail on the ground... Lord pray for the sinners and keep us safe! ;0)

Mick headed to St.Louis

..Mick will being taken by ambulance or airlifted from Columbia to St Louis Univer hospital tomorrow to prepare for removal surgery on Monday...(that's the plan) we hope nothing changes. Mick has had symptoms come back that he had prior to the shunt along with new symptoms. On Thurs. they will begin tests and angigram. They will also change his shunt to an external shunt so they can watch how it's draining. Please pray for healing for him, and strength and peace for our family!

Mick's news

Rec. a call from Micks Neurosurgeon in Columbia. Very concerned about information that wasn't given in St.Louis and the fact that "false hope" might have been given. He wants to make sure we have all the information and that we don't allow them to push off the surgery. He said he is willing to do surgery on a Saturday if need be because surgery needs to take place soon. I know this surgeon in St.Louis is suppose to be great but greatness isn't going to matter if they postpone it so long that it's too late. Pray for a speedy decision. I keep telling myself tomorrow or Wed. we will have more answers. If not we might be looking at Dr. Ryan doing it again.

ST.LOUIS

The verdict is in. Went to see the Neurosurgeon in St.Louis. Unfort. Boone Hospital did not send all the discs that were needed so we did not get all the answers we wanted.The doctor is very confident in doing the surgery. Have read and was told today he is World Known for his work. People come from all over to have him do their surgery. He talked to us briefly about what would take place and that after he receives the other disc he will look it over and has a meeting setup with his team on Tuesday. He will then call either that night or Wed. to let us know the plan of action. I asked about % sense that is all we have heard and only negative about having this surgery done. As of yesterday the retired surgeon what Dr. Ryan to tell us that he has done 12 Annuerysms of this size and only 4 came out good. However, this doctor said he does surgeries of this sort weekly; not nec. just like it but other complexed surgeries. He also said that it is very complex surgery and there is a great deal of risk but he can not put a % on the surgery because each one of these surgeries are not alike. Again he felt confident in doing it and has a great deal experience in doing so. He left by saying he will treat Mick like he's his own family. I am disappointed that we went that far and did not get the information that we needed. Date, risk % , etc. However, him being as confident about taking care of Mick made me happy. I think it was just comparing apples and oranges because I do not have to pull information out of Dr. Ryan and never have. He did praise Dr. Ryan for realizing that someone more capable should be doing this surgery.So that's the scoop. We will not know more until next week. They have to look over everything with the team and move sched. around so they can get the surgery done in July. It will NOT be in the next week as orginally planned.The verdict is in. Went to see the Neurosurgeon in St.Louis. Unfort. Boone Hospital did not send all the discs that were needed so we did not get all the answers we wanted.The doctor is very confident in doing the surgery. Have read and was told today he is World Known for his work. People come from all over to have him do their surgery. He talked to us briefly about what would take place and that after he receives the other disc he will look it over and has a meeting setup with his team on Tuesday. He will then call either that night or Wed. to let us know the plan of action. I asked about % sense that is all we have heard and only negative about having this surgery done. As of yesterday the retired surgeon what Dr. Ryan to tell us that he has done 12 Annuerysms of this size and only 4 came out good. However, this doctor said he does surgeries of this sort weekly; not nec. just like it but other complexed surgeries. He also said that it is very complex surgery and there is a great deal of risk but he can not put a % on the surgery because each one of these surgeries are not alike. Again he felt confident in doing it and has a great deal experience in doing so. He left by saying he will treat Mick like he's his own family. I am disappointed that we went that far and did not get the information that we needed. Date, risk % , etc. However, him being as confident about taking care of Mick made me happy. I think it was just comparing apples and oranges because I do not have to pull information out of Dr. Ryan and never have. He did praise Dr. Ryan for realizing that someone more capable should be doing this surgery.So that's the scoop. We will not know more until next week. They have to look over everything with the team and move sched. around so they can get the surgery done in July. It will NOT be in the next week as orginalLy planned.

Laugh of the Day...

Stephanie gave Mick a "Build a Bear" named Mickey for his fathers day present. Mick keeps that bear by his side all the time. He loves to snuggle with it when he goes to bed.Today when he was laying in bed I was talking to him and asked him if he wanted his bear. His reply "DON'T hold him like that" I asked like what (I had my hands around his neck) he replied "like that" which then he replied "He's done nothing to you". Yes, I giggled but this is the 2nd time he has told me I'm not treating his bear right. ;0) Last time he asked "What did the bear ever do to me". He keeps me rolling with laughter.

Cardio Dr. Today

This Dr. told us what would take place during surgery;opening up & stopping the heart, bringing the tempature down so to a safe tempature. They have a small window. There are many risks involved with this procedure. He would not put a percentage on it but said it was less then the anuerysm surgery. Here's the kicker.... he has never done this for a brain anuerysm. He said he feels comfortable in doing it and has talked to his mentor and several other Dr.'s and will do it but just like Ryan he knows there are other Dr.'s that are more capable of this. We will hold off rest of the tests until next Thurs. after we meet with the Dr,. in St. Louis.

Change in Plans & Information...

Dr. called today and said that the retired Neurosurgeon has bowed out of the surgery , to high of a risk for him. Retired surgeon still wants him to continue coiling and stenting even though it's not working. He said he would give his help on how to do it or whatever but din't want to be part of it. So, where do we go from here. Dr. Ryan said he is still willing to do it but he knows are hesitation on him doing it and he understands. We talked about the Surgeon in St. Louis doing it. In the end we kept the July 10th's surgery on the books since things are getting worse. Dr. Ryan said we prob. would not be able to get things done as quickly as he was hoping but within a 30 min. period;between Dr. Ryan's nurse and the Surgeon's nurse in St. Louis had set up an appt. for July 2. She said the Dr. is coming in on his day off because of the urgency. I asked what type of Dr. he was as far as sending Mick home wanting to continue the coiling and stenting. Her reply was "no not at all and that is why he's coming in on his day off. He's very concerned how large and issues we are having." She also said he will be doing surgery very quickly because of it. So off to St. Louis we go.

Here is who he will seeing and information on him:
Dr. Saleem I. Abdulrauf, MD

Personal FactsPersonal Facts: Male Years Since Graduation: 18 Practice Member Since: 2000. HealthGrades Recognized Doctors are board certified in the specialty they practice; have never had their license restricted or revoked; are free of state or federal disciplinary actions; and are free of any malpractice claims.
Professional Appointments: Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, Consultant St. Louis University Hospital, Attending Professional Affiliations/Memberships: Member, Congress of Neurological Surgeons Member, American Association of Neurological Surgeons Member, American Medical Association Member, American Heart Association Member, American College of Surgeons North American Skull Base Society
Experience / Training Specialty: Neurosurgery (HealthGrades has verified that Dr. Saleem I. Abdulrauf, MD is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery) Information from ABMS® is proprietary data maintained in a copyrighted database compilation owned by the American Board of Medical Specialties®. © Copyright 2009 American Board of Medical Specialties. All rights reserved.
Medical School: St Louis University School Of Med St Louis Saint Louis, MO 1991 Internship: Henry Ford Hospital Detroit, MI 1992 Residency: Henry Ford Hospital Detroit, MI 1997 Henry Ford Hospital Detroit, MI 1997 Fellowship: Uams Medical Center Little Rock, AR 1999 Positions: Yale UniversitySchool of Medicine, Instructor of Neurosurgery New Haven, CT University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery Little Rock, AR Disciplinary ActionsHealthGrades has examined disciplinary actions within the last five years from the Office of Inspector General and 50 state medical boards.HealthGrades could not detect any disciplinary actions for Dr. Saleem I. Abdulrauf, MD as of 06/24/2009.Note: HealthGrades reports on state and federal disciplinary actions (if any) from the previous five years.

Date of Surgery...

Dr. called today; he was hoping they could stop Mick's heart by going by angigram through groin area again. After talking to cardio department decision was made that the safest way because of this surgery was to open Mick's chest up. They will stop his heart and put him on by pass. He said normally it's no more than 30 min. although it's been known that 50 min. has taken place before with good results. So, on July 10th Mick will go in to Boone to have his Anuerysms removed; they will begin and when they are ready Mick's heart will be stopped and be put on bypass so they can stop the blood flow to the Anuerysms; they can clip and do what they need to do. He said the surgery will be about 12 hrs. We will see the Cardio Dr. this week and Mick will have tests ran to make sure there are no problems with his heart.All I can say now is prayers are needed double time.Thanks...

Laughter...

Things have been pretty upsetting around here and I was thinking this morning I haven't shared some laughter with everyone for awhile so here's a few to tease him about when he comes out of this next surgery.Week before last preparing to go to his moms he sat at the edge of his chair waiting to be lifted up to walker: Our wonderful devoted dog also likes to go to grandmas so he sat in from of Mick waiting to leave. Out of no where Mick looks at Mo (the dog) and says "Mo stop staring at me"....Mo just cocked his head like what???Three days ago Mick is getting ready to get up again and again the devoted dog is sitting in front of him: Mick looks at him and says "Mo you're not doing your job" I of course had to ask what job is Mo suppose to being doing? Mick replied "cleaning up my crumbs"...Mick had just had toast.Friday at the Dr. appt. while waiting for Dr. to come in I slipped off my shoes (ballerina shoes) and said " I need to paint my toenails" without missing a beat Mick says "I need to paint his too" I chuckled and asked why does he want his toenails painted he said "to match mine". I told the Dr. and he had a good chuckle too...Best for last: this morning laying in bed I told Mick I had a nightmare that I had to give up Mo (our dog) and went back for him and they wouldn't give him back. Mick asked why did I have to give him up and I told him I didn't know. Here's the laughter! MICK Replied "I CAN SEE GIVING UP THE GIRLS BEFORE HE GAVE UP MO! " I busted out laughing. This is a man that swore he would not have a dog inside and this dog has become his best friend. Now of course we all no under normal circumstances would this be true but it was still a good laugh.Hope this makes you all laugh too.

Today's appt....

It's the 19th and the day we have dreaded. Went for Ct scan and to see Mick's Dr. again to discuss surgery dates. Dr. Ryan said he spoke with 2 more neurosurgeons and a retired neurosurgeon who was in practice for 30 years and majority of his work was anuerysms. They all said coil and stent and shunt; that was done and now they said there they have lost hope.(their words not mine). As much as he dreaded saying it ;it was what it is because things just aren't improving and he doesn't see it improving in the future. He also said we are now getting to a dangerous point with him. The large anuerysm is continuing to fill. The Dr. asked Mick if living the way he is now is worse than death and he said yes. After discussing other items about how things have been the Doc said he would like to do surgery the week after the 4th that way he will not be on call and he can focus on Mick. The retired neurosurgeon will be assisting. He still needs to verify with him if he's willing to do this and set up dates with Radiologist. We all know the chances but he's not living and this is what he wants. This is God's hands and if we have the Dr. looking out for Mick and not what a "code of ethics" would be that's what we need. He said if we go somewhere that doesn't know him or us they will push keep trying the coiling,stenting although it's not working because they do not want to be the one to deal with the outcome.That's all I have energy to say tonight. Sorry, I will let everyone know when I know more. Let me be clear Mick wants Ryan and has always even before he was incapable of making decisions to do this operation.This is the one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and I know there will be no win win situation.

Today's Dr. appt.

Well, for starters I was confused on my days and had to resched. an appt. but, Mick did get to see Dr. today to get his staples out. We discussed how he's been doing, good and bad. He is a little more verbal but he doesn't makes sense at time and is having more "what I call" halicinations....they might be called something else but I don't know how else to describe it...Anyhow, he told us that Mick's left side paralysis will not get stronger even with therapy because it is the annuerysms that's causing the issue. The stress ball and the weights can just help with him not losing anymore strength. Said he should still use the walker/wheel chair and don't push himself where it's strenous. What's next; next Friday he will have another CT scan and then go back to the Dr. ; today we discussed if Mick does not show a big difference by then removal of the Annuerysms will take place in July. Only other choice is to let him go on living the way he is and let life tick like a bomb. What would you do? I only know that Mick is not living right now. He would not want to continue this path. I would not care how I have it as long as I have him but that is selfish so we have to do what we know he would want. God willing if it comes to the removal God will make the best choice for Mick. Another decision we have to make is his Dr. although he told us at the beginning he would not remove them because of the chance of survival (he's never done one this size) told us today that he would be more than willing to remove them instead of sending him somewhere else. His thinking is we have a relationship with him and him to us and it might be a better choice. He said he feels comfortable if that is the decision we go with OR he will go ahead and set things up with someone else. That's it for now so; Until next time..........

If it's going to happen...

Mick 's bandages were seaping/leaking and I noticed he had blisters and a rash on his side......took him to the doctor today (Monday)...The nurse said it 1st and then the Dr. confirmed.....He has SHINGLES... I got tickled with the Neurosurgeons remark when I called her back... "You got to be Shi**en me" Just what he needs.Anyhow, if you live here in PG and you or your kiddies have not had chicken pox stay away from our house...It is contagious! Same family as chicken pox... He's on more meds... other than this the week is full of Dr. appts. Friday he will get his staples out... No change as of yet; however, today he was more verbal than he has been so maybe it's a sign of something positive to come.

Going Home...

Dr. came in this morning. Mick is the same as he was before the shunt. Dr. was hopeful from 1 thing Mick did right after surgerythat it was a sign of success; however it only happened the 1x. ...As always it's a waiting game.... Anyhow, he is going home and will go back to see the Dr. in 2 weeks along with having a CT scan done again. From that point depending on how he's been doing will decide what the next steps will be. Yesterday was a sad period for me because his personality had changed to a real crabby person; almost to the point of being rude to the nurses and me when he spoke. Rest of the night he did not speak unless it was to the nurses to answer the questions. However this morning was a happy one because he woke up saying "Goodmorning Mama".... ;0) Every once in a while he will say that and I can say how I miss it. It's a treat for me because I always feel like it's a glimmer of hope of something good to come. For all those that didn't know, Before Mick got sick that's the way he would address me in the mornings or when I would call from work to see how he's doing. All will be well; God willing.

From the room

As stated before Mick came out of surgery doing well. Only complaint is stomach pain. Dr. came in and said they had some trouble getting line into his stomach so it would probably be hurting. He also said that Mick's left side (arm & hand) isn't worth a poop. (my words)...Face is still on fire possibly due to antibiotics given during surgery. They are keeping an eye on it.
May get to go home tomorrow.

No problems....

They took Mick back to surgery about 11:30. Dr. came out shortly after 1pm. All went well. They put incisions in right side of head, 1 behind ear and the last through abdomen. Dr. said flow to the stomach was good. All went well. He's in recovery now, we are waiting to go up to the room to see him. No idea how long he will be in the hospital. If he's lucky they will release him by the weekend. That's the scoop.Thanks for the prayers.

Time for Surgery

For all that have asked or that are curious. We have to be at hospital in the morning at 10:30 and they will start surgery at 11:50.... Boone Hospital... I do not know how long it will take or how long he will be in the hospital.
Hope this helps with your questions.

Clarification

I've been told there was some confusion with my last post: Mick will have a SHUNT put in. I used the term shenting because it was said to me but evidentally it is improper and confused people thinking they were stenting again. SO. for those of you I confused sorry I relayed back what was said to me. ANYHOW, for all who want to know more about this procedure here is a site that I thought explained it well. Complications are also listed but because Mick has the annurysms it makes things more touchy. HOPE THIS HELPS ON QUESTIONS....http://www.lifenph.com/surgery.asp

Decision Made

The five of us went to the Neurosurgeon's today. The girls wanted to hear for themselves what the options were and all the other stuff that has taken place. The Dr. is very adiment(sp?) about trying everything possible before we plunge into the removal. The verdict: we are doing the shunting. There are risks of bleeding and other things that could take place but the risks are much less than taking the jump to remove the annurysms. The plan is shunting ; see if it changes anything within 2-3 weeks THEN we do not have any other options except to remove the annurysms. The shunt will hopefully drain the fluid away from the annurysms. If it works, then in future they can look at trying the coiling/ stenting after another angigram (sp) would take place.
O.k. that's the scoop. I have some relief knowing I/we have at least 3-4 more weeks. Thanks for all the prayers...Keep them coming.
NOW FOR THE LAUGH OF THE DAY!------------------------------------------------------------------------By the way..............it has been brought to my attention that my grammar is not up to "Future Teachers of America's" Standards... That would be Jessica and Stephanie. ;0) So my apologies for anyone out there that it bothers. Just pretend that this is free writing and I do not have to worry about grammar when I am spilling my guts to everyone. That's what I do.... LOLJust in case you are curious.... I received A's in my Comp. classes sooooooooooooo I do know the correct way to write ; I just choose not to on facebook..SO ARE YOU STILL LAUGHING...

In Turmoil

Tuesday came and went but not without bad news. It's been 2 weeks since Mick's last surgery and there has been a long list of different symptoms/issues that have taken place. I faxed that list to the Dr. so they could ponder over it before the Dr.'s appt. that was to be set to discuss Mick's accidents on Friday. I did not hear from anyone by 11am so I called to make sure they received the fax and to see if they had a time yet for Mick to come in. I was told the Dr. was in Surgery and they have been discussing everything and verdict is still out. The Dr. was going to call later or they would call with a time to come in. 2pm rolled around and the Dr. called and we briefly discussed some of the issues. There was no good news. He said he wanted to see Mick today (Wed) to discuss options but before he said that he said the coiling and stenting procedures aren't working and "We are losing a battle". My heart dropped out of my chest. It's Wednesday and we went to see the Dr. today. We were lead right back to a room and within 2 min. the Dr. came in to talk to us... discussed a few things and then left to set up Mick's CT picture so he could show us what is going on. Mick's CT showed that there is spinal fluid backing up/filling in his brain. The annuerysm is causing a blocking the flow from the spinal fluids. After that blow to the stomach we went back to the room to discuss options. Here's the hard part. Coiling and stenting as said the day before is out (at least at this time) now we have to decide what is a "Level of Life" that Mick and the family can tolerate. TOLERATE how can that even be a word for the Living... The Dr. told us really the only options are staying the way he is and pretty much letting things take it's own course, removal of the annuerysms, or what Indianapolis Neurosurgeon suggested was "shenting" . With shenting they would cut an opening into the side of his brain put in a shent and let the fluids drain to his stomach to absorb. RISKS: Letting life happen= pins and needles waiting for the annuersyms burst and increased symptoms, Shenting=possible annuerysms bleeding=stroke or etc. I save the worst for last; Removing the annuerysm=40% or less of survival, possibilitie of vegative state or death is too high and they only want to consider this as a last option unless this is what the family decides. So, I am trying to figure out what is the best answer for him. It's not about the family. We have to decide what's in his best interest and he can't tell us what he wants other than; " I don't want to be like this" which he has always said anytime we discuss situations like this. How do we (family) make a decision that could be so devistating. My heart is breaking and I honestly don't know what to do. The girls and I are going to sit down and discuss everything per Dr.'s orders and then call him on Monday with an answer. At this point only thing we know for sure is he will never work again.( Mick broke down hearing this) We have 3 options and none of them are good. There's no right answer nor is this a win win situation. I'm trying to think of something positive right now but it's so hard because there was nothing postive said today so my positive is for the moment we have him in this state and it's better than the alternative but that's our (my) selfish thinking.So, I for now I will say goodnight and just ask for prayers for the right answer for him.

THANKS TO EVERYONE

THANKING EVERYONE for their support, help, and prayers. I wish I could show how much we greatly appreciate each and everyone of you all... Friends, Family, Community pulling together is the way life should be and you showed that last night... LOVE EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU!

Exhausted Him and Me...

LONG STORY SHORT'MONDAY;Orthopedic Specialist-Wheel Chair & Walker THURSDAY: Headaches & Both sides of neck swollen like someone put 2 balloons under skin- medication reaction- they don't think so now...but they do not know.FRIDAY: Not 1 but 2 ! FALLS.... 1 at Pats and 1 and our house; ER visit shows nothing to be concerned. Swelling is normal amount due to recent surgery.FRIDAY: Home 10 min. in bed with headache; 5 min. later fell again (minor-up against wall this time) , crazy out of his mind, stressed, heart rate way up, halucinations, love, hate, mean, defiant, working motions with hands like he was on job. Called Dr. and he had no answers other than "let's put him back in hospital -if you want" so we can monitor him and give him MORE meds to try to calm him down...I told him I'm baffled and nothing he said made me feel better about what was going on...(THIS IS THE DR. ON CALL-not-MICK'S NORMAL NEUROSURGEON.)I calmed Mick down by agreeing we would not stay at benefit for long because he was stressing about the benefit. Thought we were good and 20 min. passed and he was up again but this time food was his focus.Beats the heck out of me so we shall see what the morning brings. THANKS FOR READING AND LISTENING ....

Orthopedic Appt.

Today was Mick's appt. an ;X ray and CAT Scan were the same as previous ER X Ray. 2 torn ligaments. He said they were severe tears but with time they will heal.....Solution: Cast boot for about 4 more weeks. He said that Mick could use walker at home. With time he can work his way to not wearing the boot but estimated is that 4 weeks time frame....If it doesn't get better he talked about physical therapy. Physical Therapy was taking place in hospital but was agreed that it would be delayed because of the limit that the insurance allows. Because Mick still has surgeries to take place we all felt that it would be best to hold off. That's the scoop...so now everyone is in the loop. ;0)

Waiting...

Waiting for something positive. Waiting for good news. Mick has some "issues" that they have ran some tests to see if that is why he is having these issues.. Possible infection. I'm just a "Lady in Waiting"... As of Tuesday Mick has been working with a therapist for walking and his left side paralysis. Today a Speech therapist started working with him. The Dr. came in and said reality is do we really want to continue the therapy now or do what we can while still in the hospital or wait until we get further down the line. The issue is "INSURANCE" only allows so much time with patients and he would hate to use it now if it's going to better benefit him later. It's still in debate; more to come tomorrow. Tests came back with no infection. Maybe just irritation. Dr. said thinking he might let Mick go home tomorrow; after some more therapy here at the hospital. That's the scoop... Just a waiting.... Positive: Mick has talked a little bit more than yesterday and is able to at least roll himself to one side (with help)..Positive: NONE of this has stopped him from eating MY LUNCH. ;P)Negative: Speech Therapist said soft foods only because he does choke frequently during eating.NEGATIVE: GOOD BYE GIZZARDS...

News from the Dr.

First I will tell you that Mick has had trouble breathing. Dr. ordered an EKG, blood work and a chest xray...within 5 min. all 3 departments were here. Within the next 15 min. Doc. showed up to talk about results... ALL ARE O.K. he does still have some wheezing; unsure why tests only showed high white blood count but he said that was a normal thing because of the steroids. They also think part of his breathing issues might be anxiety because is oxygen level shows up o.k. Part II asked a lot of questions that didn't get answered because I missed him this morning. So he wanted to talk about what has gone on and the next steps.The reason there was such a big pocket at the bottom of the large annursym is due to the blood flow pushing the coils further and further into the annurysm. When they 1st did this there was only a little area but unfort. it became an issue. In 4 weeks they will be trying to stent again. He stated that it looks as if the vessel of the large and the small annurysm are connected and that could very well pose a problem. PROBLEMS.... If the coiling has the same issue again they have to look at other alternatives. There is two alternatives. 1st having someone else try to do the procedure and the only other option is to REMOVE the Annurysms. The other issue that could take place is that they get the stent in but because the annurysm shares the vessel they are afraid that the blood flow will pass by the large annurysm as planned but could cause the small annurysm to fill up more.POSITIVE: He said likely hood of the LARGE annurysm to burst is lessened. Should not be a problem.NEGATIVE: The chance of the small one bursting is higher and if it does than we are looking at death, comotose, vegetative and other things that could take place.He is staying longer for rest and so they can keep an eye on him.Doc said once again that we are back where we started from and basically we are at trial and error; because we really don't have many options. He did state that it is likely that Mick will back in a few years having to repeat these procedures of coiling because of the blood flow pushing up into the coilings.For all of you who are reading this I know with the comment above you are prob. saying trial and error my foot. But, I want you to realize this is it. It wasn't not just this Dr.'s decision to do this. 4 other States and about 10 other doctors all agreed this was the only option besides removal. He asked Mick if he wanted to continue this path or (as he hesitated when he stated) removing it. Mick and I trust this Dr. with (Mick's life-literally) He has been straightforward with us from the beginning and he wants what is best for Mick and I (we) have had too many conversations with him or staff members to know where his train of thought is.Last but not least (SOME LAUGHTER) Dr. told Mick when this is over he knows that they will be friends and continue a relationship. I told him he might be his friend but he probably won't share his GIZZARDS. Mick said probably not. Dr. said that would be alright too because he doesn't think he can tolerate gizzards.There it is ... a lot to consume...so until next time...ttfn

2 Steps forward & 3 Steps back....

Mick had his surgery today. Was suppose to have a stent put in that crossed the large annurysm and the small annurysm. DIDN'T HAPPEN... Nope it wasn't the Nutty Butty Bars.... After a little over 3.5 hrs. of surgery Dr. came out and showed us what he did but was dissappointed. They could not do the stent. The pocket that was left open from the large annurysm (the bottom section that wasn't coiled before) had filled with blood and going at a fast rate this time. The blood flow is going at a pace where the small annurysm is now grown more than before..... He said every time they tried to stent the blood flow would pull the stent out. They had to go in and RE-COIL the large annurysm. They did not pull the coil from before out; they added to it to make the annurysm have no pocket. He said we are starting back to square one and that he was sorry or something to that fact. At that time he said he would keep Mick for a couple of days. However when recovery called and said Mick was in NICU we passed the Dr. headed to check on Mick and he said Mick would be here until Thurs. or Friday. Unsure of what the difference but it's one more question I have for him when he comes around for his rounds in the morning. Mick has been wheezing, both feet are now swollen and the assumption is the right one was injured on his last fall (Tuesday) so, I do not know what the thinking is, maybe it's for precaution because of the increase of the little annurysm. As soon as I know AND I have all the facts straight I will let everyone know.

My apologies to a friend...

Don I am so sorry: I forgot to send you the information about the Fundraiser. It's Sat. May23rd...I think it starts at 5-7pm .. Dinner then Dance,Auction & Raffle, I forgot....they are also doing a washer tournament at 2 or 3pm. I've been told they don't want my help with anything so I'm somewhat out of the loop... ;0) So, this is what I know... Hope to see you but if not I'm sure we will gab later on.

And it... BEGINS

Straight from Mick...I'm fine but no one will give me something to eat or something to drink... Dr. just came in and talked about what will take place during surgery; he asked Mick if he had any questions.....YOU GOT IT....; His question was CAN I HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT.... of course Dr. said maybe tonight. No sooner did he leave Mick told me he would like to have some pretzels.I bet he dreams of food. Night before we came to the hospital he woke me up at 1am to tell me "since we are going to Columbia we can get me some gizzards!"... Of course I replied yes Mick now GO TO SLEEP. lol Now, If I was a betting person...OH WAIT...I am... I would bet you the 1st thing he says after surgery is CAN I HAVE GIZZARDS... I swear that boy is going to turn into a gizzard.

In the hospital

Here we are again. Mick ck'd in hospital at 4pm for Surgery tomorrow. They are giving him meds thru IV. We need special prayers because they too thought he was wheezing and they said that they had to let the Dr. know. They thought maybe at some time may "affixiation" sorry no idea on spelling of that word... anyhow because Mick constantly is choking on food the nurse thought that might be a culprit. So, just say a special prayer that they still do surgery (if it's safe) and what ever the issue is; it will correct itself.

Thursday 5-7 & Friday 5-8

Received call yesterday from Mick's Dr. because of Monday's ER visit with his foot along with his trouble breathing, excessive sleeping and blood pressure being higher than it has been he wanted a CAT scan to be done.So, this morning (Friday) off to get a CAT scan only to find out we also had to go to family physician because Mick has a big knot on his left side of his arm. The Dr. said it prob. took place with his fall this past weekend but he now also has torn a muscle in his upper arm that we didn't know about.Anyhow, CT scan came back with same results as before nothing has changed but nothing worse that he can see. That is good news however he doesn't know why Micks blood pres. and other symptoms have taken place other than maybe getting nervous about going back into hospital. Anyhow, surgery is still planned for Monday BUT he will be going in the hospital Sunday night around 3 or 4pm...So, that is the latest scoop for all who have been curious. Hope it helps with questions.

Step by Step

Original Post: 5-4-09
Here it is almost 10:30 pm. I have been home from the ER since shortly before 10. Rita took care of Mick today since Pat & Ig had Dr. appts. I came home early due to a Migraine... Anyhow I went and picked him up and in the midst of conversation Rita noticed he had bruising and swelling on his left foot. Nope I didn't notice it before because he constantly wears those slippers from Christmas. I contacted the family physician and neurosurgeon because I was told any bruising they needed to know so....off we went to the ER. Almost 5 hrs later we were released with Mick wearing a boot. After having an Xray they do not believe it's broke BUT has 2 torn ligaments. He is to see a Orthopedic Specialist to double ck that there isn't a breakage but also to see if anything else needs to take place with the torn ligaments. Right now the plan is wearing the boot until he sees the Orthopedic specialist. They wanted to get him in next week but of course we all know he is suppose to have Sx so they said the following week would be his appt. Oh... you are all prob. wondering how... Mick fell getting dressed after a shower about 3-4 days ago and didn't tell me he fell. I noticed he was dragging that foot more but I thought it was his paralysis getting worse. Stubborn Man! Anyhow, that is the scoop... ER, 2 Torn Ligaments, Boot, Orthopedic Specialist and according to Mick the most important thing of the evening "ARE WE GETTING GIZZARDS!"... At one point it was taking so long for Dr.'s to come in Mick said it was all my plan... to wait long enough for Church's to be closed and he wouldn't get his gizzards. He then proceeded to tell me how ticked off he would be which I just laughed at him.Got to love the Gizzard Eating Crazy Stubborn Man!

Laugh of the Day

Dr. called today to say surgery was resched. for May 11th-Monday. I told Mick this and asked him if we were going to have problems again since we had issues with his eating last time. His reply was "no" he didn't do it. Of course I had to ask "who's fault was it" his reply......(got to sit down for this one) THE NUTTY BUTTY BARS! He was dead serious... That's my laugh of the day. I told him I needed a laugh today and he gave me a half smile! Anyhow, surgery is sched. for May 11th for those who are interested.

The Peanut Butter Wins

It's the day of Mick's surgery. 5 am comes and our pooch is making noise... a warning I do believe... Mick was in the kitchen trying to eat muffins. He knew he wasn't suppose to eat or drink after 12am...that didn't matter to him... 7am came and I heard noises again I awoke to a clattter... caught him in the kitchen "supposedly" clipping his nails by the trash can... I was having trouble believing but I didn't see anything so I said o.k. and started getting dressed... Don't ask why but I felt the need to go check on him...what did I spy but a tear in his eye as I took away his PEANUT BUTTER NUTTY BUTTY he ate 1 and was trying to hide the other one from me. After taking it away I told him to take a shower and with defiance he crossed his arms and threw himself in a laying down position saying "NO" I don't want to. After a few minutes he went and took his shower...I thought all was good until I checked and he wasn't too be found... Searching the house I ended up outside where I had spotted him coming out of the garage with a COKE in hand... Just wanted a Coke... So the argument began again. Steph intervened and took the coke and poored it down the drain as Mick is wanting to fight me for it. ( Mick is not himself ) Finally we decided best thing to do is head on to Columbia; get him in the car away from everything..Nope, not once but twice did he get out and we were fighting him wanting another Coke this time includes him in the car screaming " I want a coke", "I want a coke"... of course no coke was given so then he started in about wanting gizzards.... again and again.WHAT A MORNING...So I bet you are wondering where this is going...Ck'd in hospital at 10:30 ;surgery sched. at 1pm. 1pm came and after discussions between the anesthesiologist and the Dr. the decision was made...NO SURGERY...Peanut Butter stays in the system too long and they couldn't take a chance with any complications during the procedure. The Peanut Butter wins...Afterwards we found out he did eat the muffins that I thought was caught... We left hospital around 2pm now we are waiting for surgery to be resched. So pray for patience, my hair which is turning grey and for Mick to stay out of the Peanut Butter...LOL...Actually don't worry about the food; Dr. Ryan is putting him in the hospital night before so we don't have this issue again.As soon as I know I will keep everyone up to date.That's all I have to say about that... ;0(

Clarification

A few people have mentioned to me that they thought Mick's surgery is on Thursday. Normally this would be the case but MICK'S SX is on FRIDAY... this change is because he is waiting on the other Dr. to return from out of town. I hope this clarifies any confusion.

Life's Moments

Wal-Mart & Wal Greens= Opening up candy before purchased.
Pouting because we took the cookies away because he was eating all of them at one sitting.Telling Matt "he would get up BUT he didn't want to.
"Going to school with Stephanie and lifting his shirt not 1x but 3x showing his pants unbuttoned and unzipped.
Eating my "gluten free" pancakes Mick taking fork out of my hands and eats my pancakes.
Quote of the day: Our life's a stage, a comedy: either learn to play and take it lightly, or bear its troubles patiently.Palladas

Laugh of the day!

Laughing inside! Put Mick on a scale since he can't button his britches. He has gained 20#... Had to buy him a pair of jeans... went from 31 to size 34... I call him Buddah now ...He just smiles at the name... He has a sweet tooth like you wouldn't believe!

Question by several has been asked so...

If you want to post a message for all to see place cursor over "comment" and click. If you want it to be private place cursor over envelope and that will send message to e-mail account...
Thanks for all who are keeping up with the posts and continued prayers..

Long Weekend

First I was glad to see everyone who came to PG for Easter. Sorry we didn't get to stay long. Mick gets tired and bored easily. It was great seeing you though.Anyhow this is the scoop; Mick has been having some balancing issues more than he was before, been squinting a lot again along with some other symptoms so I planned on calling the Dr. on Monday (today) He's been so cross with people . Anyhow , I also have learned that he had a bad rash or something on his stomach, bruises on feet and arms too. Along with those issues he has become very emotional again but not only emotional his thinking process has become worse. When he good moments they are really good but then we had moments like Saturday where I was afraid he was going to be arrested....went to Wal Greens to exchange something and as I was at customer service Mick showed up behind me from the candy section with a RIPPED open Whopper box shoveling them in his mouth. Oh it gets better later that day we were at Wal-mart and he found a box of Rice Krispie treats...Yep you got it! He walked over got the box and started opening it up because he wanted one...the concept of having to pay first and against any law to open before purchasing just was not in his thinking process. SO, I called the doctor today and the rash he said give him benadryl, the memory and the balance thing the Dr. said he needed to up his steroids again. He said that they weaned him to 2 x a day to see how he was going to do but because of his actions shows that he needs to be put back to 3x a day. His final words to me was "It's going to get worse before it gets better" needless to say that is not something someone wants to hear. I love the Dr. but that was so hard to hear although I do know it ;doesn't mean that I want to hear it out loud. He also said that he will prob. keep Mick for a few extra days with the next surgery.Well, that's it for now but on a happy laugh of the day... He can't button his pants and some of us had a good laugh at the dinner table last night when he lifted his shirt when I asked if he ever buttoned them back up.Got to laugh!

Dr.'s Visit

Brief n to the point...because I did this once before and lost it.. ;0(Mick has his sched. test today and Dr. appt. ... Cat scan came back no change good or bad...same from 2 weeks ago. Dr. said on the 24th they will go in and stent both annuerysms but as 1.. it will connect with 1 stent size about 5mm wide to 22-28mm long. he said this procedure should not increase symptoms anymore than what he is already experiencing. The 3rd surgery will be coiling of the small Annuerysm which he said symptoms could increase. This is a change of plans from 2 weeks ago when we met last. He said that the reason they are doing it this way is because stenting and coiling at same time is too much of risk for complications because the stent has a tendency to pull the coiling out...(something like that)... Anyhow, on another note: Mick is still needs to be in care of someone during day, can not lift anything more than 5 pounds and still can not (because his vision comes and goes) allowed to drive. This is the scoop as always we appreciate all prayers and thoughts.

News today

Next Surgery is April 24th…the Dr. who is the specialist in this procedure will be out of town and that is why it is not as planned He will do surgery prep and all that good stuff the day before as usual...(I'm assuming)... Next week is the same sched. for tests, cat scan etc. and Dr. appt. on Wed. the 8th so nothing has changed there… So, we are still waiting patiently to see what all is said next week.

News from PG

First I wanted to let everyone know the Dr.'s are still trying to decide they are doing surgery next week or the following week. Dr. Ryan has to work out sched. with Dr. Sadue that is the issue at this time. I will let everyone know as soon as I know.
Things here are still day by day. Micks mom said he had a good day today; didn't do much but wasn't agitated as usual. His vision is still bothering him but it's something we have learned it comes and goes. As long as we have some good days "we" are good.
Now for a destresser for me for at least for the moment...this from my daughter....
THIS FROM MY DAUGHTER JESSICA:
Hello Family and Friends! Some GREAT people in Pilot Grove have decided to throw a benefit dinner and dance for dad on Saturday, May 23rd at the Pilot Grove Community Building. There will be raffle prizes and possibly a silent auction. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up so they can mark their calendars!! Thanks again for all of the prayers and support!! Love, Jess
WE (Mick and myself) are so blessed to have such wonderful children, family and friends. Words can't begin to touch the way I feel. I will just say THANK GOD for brining each and everyone of you into our lives!

One more day

Things are the same here. Mick's mom said she thought he had a good day and as soon as we got in the car he told me his vision was crazy and he just wasn't feeling good. I asked him why she thought he was good and he said " I don't have to tell her everything"
Honestly nothing has changed. He has his good days and his bad days the same as it has been.
What I have learned. Caring for a child is a lot easier than caring for a stubborn man! No matter what his mine set if he's having a good day or bad day he still wants to argue with me; for the moment and then says I just being mean.... Dang it anyhow...at least with my kids I could put them in TIME OUT... ;0)

Day by Day

Haven't posted for a few days and have been asked how Mick is. Right now we are just taking it day by day... He has his good days where his symptoms aren't so bad or they fluctuate back and forth during the day. Then we have are bad days; he just wants to sleep, his symptoms are worse and his personality is crazy in both directions. He's either emotional with the smallest thing like a phone call to see how he is doing or he's crabby and confused.
Today has been somewhat of a good day. He went to Boonville with me; he's always afraid I'm going to leave him while he's sleeping. We went to his moms and he played cards with us. Still having a lot of vision problems but things up close is better.
For the most part he is good today; memory still bounces around sometimes it's long term some just short term. So, that is the scoop for the day.
It's a happy day and hopefully it will continue to be a happy day. ...Keep the prayers up because they can move mountains. Appreciate each and everyone that is taking there time out to be concerned for Mick.

Correction

I don't want anyone being confused so...the correct date for Mick to go back to Dr. is April 8th.... Surgery more than likely will be the following the week per Dr. Ryan as of today. Thought I should tell everyone in case you are putting it on your calendar...

CT Scan

Mick had his CT scan today because of his crazy behavior yesterday along with his other symptoms. No additional inflamation found under than the normal expected due to the procedure. He wanted to put Mick back in hospital but Mick refused. Dr. didn't want to fight him since it was more to get in a calm state of mind. Dr. Ryan said it could be several things such as his agitation due to the symptoms or a combination of the steroids. He gave Mick 3 other RX that he has to take. 2 to help with sleep and anxiety and last one because he's been having really bad headaches again. He will see the Dr. again on April 8th as planned unless some other issue comes up. ...These are the days of our lives...
I was told today I wasn't suppose to pray for patience so again I will just pray for strength. ;0)
Thanks again for all who are concerned.

Very Upset....

Mick just woke up....Mick's personality is off the rictor scale..mean & irritable...... Waiting to talk to Dr.
Dr. just called back and said that it could be steroids but could be swelling on brain. Sched. Cat scan for tomorrow.

Patience is a Virtue

That is Mick's comment of the day.... I haven't written in a few days but I was approached by several people today so I thought I should give an update. Mick is basically the same. His vision has become worse but everything is where it has been. Left side paralysis, speech slurring still and when walking he is still stumbles, swaggerts what ever you call it. For the most part he's in good spirits unless you call him to ask how he's doing then he gets pretty emotional....His meds have doubled since last week trying to keep inflamation down. The steroids that they have him on makes him eat like he's never had a decent meal...needless to say he's gained some weight (yes, I think we can all agree he needed to anyhow) unfort. with this medication it also makes him aggitated more than he already has been. Not being able to do anything is driving him nuts.
So, that's the scoop. Positive of it all....we still have him to drive (me nuts) and we are taking one day at a time. With God's grace and everyone's prayers we will get through this; Patience is a virtue and I guess that's what we have to say everyday. He is still staying with his mom and dad during the day... As long as there are no issues with his symptoms this will continue until end of week when I'm at work; and then maybe next week he will be able to stay at home by himself.
Hope this helps answers any questions.

Question was asked...

A friend asked when Mick's next surgery will be...Mick goes in on Apr. 9 at 9am for another MRI then the Dr. at 10am. They will do surgery that week or the following week depending on what the MRI shows. Then the following SX will be 4 weeks after. Hope this helps anyone else who was wondering... P.S.No changes today... still very tired, having some trouble swallowing but the stubborn man won't tell me anything so I'm just watching to see if it persists.

Home

Mick is home now. Trip drained him so he is sleeping. No new news on symptoms. Still dizzy but again everything will take time.

Stubborn-Man 3-21-09

Mick will be going home today. His symptoms are a litttle better but he is determined to go home so when the nurse asks how he's doing he says "fine-I'm ready to go home". and then as soon as he leaves the room he's squinting and dealing with same symptoms... What a stubborn man.... But.... He must be getting somewhat back to his old self even with his symptoms because he's been driving me nuts like old times. ;0)
Thanks again for prayers... I had faith that prayer would do the job. God always has a plan even if we don't understand it at the time.... Just continue to pray because he has a long road ahead....

Evening Update 3-20-09

Everything is basically the same. He's been doing a lot of sleeping and when he's awake he's driving me nuts trying to walk around. (He's not suppose to because he's still dizzy)...
Only new news is that is blood sugar has been elevated. I did not know until about 5pm that it was an issue. I wasn't too pleased to find out it was a concern and know one bothered to tell me they might given him insulin. Dr. Ryan came in shortly after I found this out. I asked him and he told me that people on steroids usually have an elevated reading and it should level out within a week or two. If not then they will be concerned about it.....They just took it again (he didn't even wake up) and it raised another 14 points ... Yes, I will stress a little bit about this too... but, I'll try not to since the Dr. isn't too concerned I will try not to be... Remember I said try... ;0)
Anyhow, I'm going to say goodnight and I'll write more later.
Thanks for all the calls and concerns.

Moved out of NICU; 3-20-09

Just got moved out of ICU to room #4106 @ Boone Hospital. He is still dizzy. The symptoms from before the surgery are still present but should begin to go away with time. We will keep you updated through the day. Thanks for all of the prayers!

P.S. Anyone watch Fifty First Dates? 10 second Tom??? Welcome to my world.

3-20-09

Mick is still in intensive care unit. His vision is still doubled, when they tried to get him to walk he was very unstable so they made him go back to bed. His left side still has paralysis; maybe a little more than before because he is spilling coffee all over...he said he can't feel that side of his face. He finally got his cup of coffee at 6am ... he also said he didn't sleep any because of all the noise and I have to agree there's no way I could have slept with all the lights and noise that takes place in that room. Dr. Sadue came in to check on him and just confirmed what they did and checked on his status. He stated once again that Mick will have to come back 4 wks for another procedure and then again 4-6 weeks for the next. In addition to this information he told us that when they couldn't get the stents in they were getting anxious and the fear of damaging what they just did was too real to continue trying to put the stents in. I was impressed that he admitted that. I asked him about the size and if the pics were blown up and he said that it was actually 1in across and 1.5 in tall so it was bigger than believed but they took care of it by filling the width; they don't worry about feeling the heighth with coils the important part is going across to block that path.
They are suppose to move Mick in a room at some time this morning. I will keep everyone posted as done prior. This will as the Dr. said a long road to recovery but hopefully with nothing but positive results.
Thanks for all the prayers.

3-19-09

Mick went into surgery (procedure) today. Before they proceded Dr. Sadue said they would only be doing one stent & the coiling today because all the literature stated that doing 2 stents at same time with coiling couldn't complicate things so they would come back and do another stent lat It took about 4 hrs. They were not able to stent anything. They ended up coiling the large Anuerisym completely. A total of a little over 7ft of coiling is what Dr. Ryan said to fill this Unwanted, Unneeded and Nuasance of an Annuerisym. Dr. said they tried to stent but it would pop back out and cause more issues and the blood flow was still going to the Annuerisym.The plan is to wait for 4 weeks come back in do another anigram, stent and coil the small annuerisym. Then in another 4-6 weeks bring back for a repeat of angigram and stent. This is all with positive results of the coiling doing it's job.It's now 10:00 and just seen Mick. He just stares into space. Freaked me out with his blood pres. going high and the nurses coming in and trying to figure out whats going on PLUS he was watching t.v. and 1 eye was watching and the left eye went all the way over to the left... A lot of fluttering -spasms in the left eye. Other than this we were all amazed at the size of annueryism. I asked the nurse to compare and she said golf ball size but she wanted to double ck something. She didn't get back with me... compared to what the Dr. originally thought the size was that it was way larger...I can that explains the whole 7ft. of coiling thing..., l9) That just amazes me.Anyhow, I'm going home with Amanda because they are kicking me out....;0) I will be back bright and early.Thank you to everyone for prayers and all who could come to be with us... We love you all.

News from Dr.

Mick met with the surgeon this afternoon and they have him scheduled for an 11:00 surgery tomorrow at Boone Hospital. They will be coiling and stinting the aneurysms. All of the doctors from St. Louis, KC, and Indianapolis agree that this will be the best option for dad right now. If they were to go on and remove the aneurysms the chance of coming out a vegetable or death has moved up to 50% so that is why they have went with this option. A specialist who has taught all of the doctors in St. Louis, KC, etc. will be performing the surgery.
Dr.Ryan said that all the surgeons from above actually sent the information along to Dr.'s they new including Chicago Dr.s. As stated above the risk is too high to perform the removal. Confused on why coiling was an option now and it wasn't last week is because the speed of the blood flow to the Annuerisyms. Due to the size they will only do a partial coil hoping it will absorb what is being held in the annueryism and help it to shrink enough to relieve some of the pressure. By doing the coiling and stinting there is still a risk of stroke or rupture but the Dr. said since the Annueryisms is right on the brain stem it is a straight shot so the risk is less. The plan is doing these procedures tomorrow. If all goes well he can come home by Friday unless he needs rehabilitation. If he gets to come home then he'll have to follow the same routine with someone watching him at least for a week. Mick will have to go back in on a regular basis to have angirams done to make sure the coiling and stinting is doing it's job. If they find that it is not working they will not have a choice but to remove it at that time. Pray for this to work so removal won't have to take place at least before any shrinkage.
We will keep you updated tomorrow as we hear from the doctors. Please continue to pray for him!

3-18-09

Mick and I are at home taking care of some loose ends and waiting to leave for his Dr. appt. In the midst I received a phone call from the hospital wanting to ask about Micks history of his health. I was confused. I gave information and stopped in the middle asking why? She informed me that they needed to get information updated for the Surgery tomorrow! TOMORROW! I was thrown aback... I asked if this is correct because we are headed to the Dr. today and they said that the Dr. from St.Louis was coming in Tues. (yesterday) and they were going to make a decision... Anyhow so it blew my mind thinking that Sx was sched. and no one informed us. The hospital staff said Oh....hold on let me call Dr. Ryans and they will call you back... Within 5 min. the Dr.'s office called back and said they are holding the SX room for Mick... and that the hospital jumped the gun by calling us before they had talked to us... they are preparing for surgery for tomorrow but the nurse would NOT tell me anymore...other than they will discuss it with us at Mick's appt. Needless to say I'm freaked out because I think realization has kicked in and now in my heart I feel this Surgeon from St.Louis said "get him in".... At this point I'm still unsure of anything else but I thought I would share this information so everyone who needs to know can be prepared...
Newer posts will come later...I will be giving info. to a family member so they can continue posting when I'm unavailable...
Want to thank everyone for the prayers and concerns.

3-16-09

Yesterday was a scarey day for me and def. for my mother n law . I went back to work (No I didn't want to but I'm having to prolong it so I can be protected throught FMLA) Anyhow Mick stayed with his mom and dad since he can't be alone. I called him at lunch to check in. As we were talking the line went silent then all I heard was Pat yelling in the back ground. Mick had fallen off the chair. He informed me that within the last few days not only has his vision has become worse,he has had ringing in the ears and he's been unstable but I didn't realize how much until today. I called the Dr. and they replied back at 5pm. Actually it was the nurse who called back. Mick will now be taking 2 steroid pills 3x a day instead of 1 pill 3 x day. The nurse said several things including that the Dr. said he could put Mick back in the hospital if that's what we wanted but they couldn't do anything more then what we already are doing.. In addition to this they have heard back from the Dr.'s in K.C. and Indianapolis who at this time believes that stinting might be the safest way at this time for Mick. Going in and removing ways too much risk. However, she added that the "ring leader" is the Dr. from St.Louis and he is coming to Columbia tomorrow so he can actually have all the information and tests in his presence. She said what he says will prob. be a deciding factor. They want to see Mick again on Wed. to decide what will happen next. From the conversation I had with her there def. will be a decision made on Wed.That's the latest.

Mick's Recap Carried over from Facebook

We thought within the last month or so had a stroke. He went in last week for to the doctor because he wouldn't do it (I forced the issue) that sent him for an MRI this past Monday. On Tuesday rec. a call from the Dr. stating he had an Extremely Large Anueryism. Sent to NeuroSurgeon which said they were very impressed with the size and the location...smack dab in middle of his brain attached to his brain stem. It's a little over in 1" wide/round. They want him to go to another hospital because they have never done one this size or placement. They want the best for him. They put him in hospital for ekg,and several anigigrams and a cat scan. Cat scan showed another smaller anueryism at the base of the brain stem. Dr. came in last night; the group here is thinking stinting might be the way to go; it will block off the blood flow to the anuerisym's but it will not help his motions, speech ,etc. He will still be in stroke like state. The reason the group here is thinking of this path instead of going in and removing the anuerisyms. If they do that his chance of death (they would have to do a bypass and stop his heart temp.) or he could be in a vegetative state. So, they are sending all tests, docs, etc. to KC , ST.LOUIS and Now Indianapolis to see what the surgeons suggest. I didn't state earlier but they have not ever seen or worked on an Annuerisym this size or this placement before and that is why they are unsure what is the best path and exactly which hospital will be the best place for him to go to. They are sending him home on steroids and anxiety medicine. The Dr. came in this morning and stated the same thing including that Mick needs to be placed on disability and get that process going because he has a long haul ahead of him. He did state he's hoping to hear back from them by Wed. The reason why they aren't rushing through this is because of how complicated this one is they have to do what is best. The positive side of this is ; the large anuerisym is not having a normal rate of blood flow. He said normally it would be like a roller coaster racing through but his goes through hangs out for a little bit plays around and then goes on it's marry way. The also positive is we still have time with Mick. So, as I have stated before just do a lot of praying. He is in good spirits until talking to someone and then he breaks down.