Re: OT..Stroke Identification..Important Info..


"sf" <see_reply_address@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ds10p1p4f93ig0bfeovosr276jk6kr90l2@xxxxxxxxxx
> Long story, but please bare with me....
>
> On Thu, 01 Dec 2005 12:30:03 GMT, Ophelia wrote:
>
>>
>> "MG" <whoever@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:lXyjf.8253$ea6.7967@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >
>> > "Ophelia" <ophelia@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> > news:kCijf.34255$8G6.20410@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >>
>> >> "MG" <whoever@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> >> news:_Zhjf.7646$ea6.4307@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >>>> true Ophelia...and yes, other things may cause alarm, but sometimes
>> >>>> the
>> >>> onset of a stroke can be a simple as having a sudden onset headache
>> >>> (how many of THOSE do we all have? lol), an episode of dizziness
>> >>> (ditto) or some other fairly innocuous symptom, to more obvious ones
>> >>> such as seizures, sudden paralysis, collapse, or other.
>> >> >
>> >>> I guess the moral of the story is...if it's abnormal for the person,
>> >>> get it investigated!
>
> YES!!!!!!!!
> <snip>
>> >>> clotting disorders, etc, or previous 'odd or weird' short lived
>> >>> symptoms such as the innocuous ones above, or other more obvious
>> >>> ones
>> >>
>>
>>
>> I had a call from my friend T last week who told me this. Her mother
>> (88 and frail) had fallen outside her house. T couldn't lift her and
>> two men nearby were afraid to carry her up in case they hurt her. They
>> brought out a chair and she was liften on to it. T went into the house
>> and called the warden to come and help. She was off that day and the
>> person on the line said they were calling an ambulance since that was
>> policy. When the ambulance came they gave her a good telling off
>> saying it had not been necessary. T ask if they could take mother to
>> T's house and was told they were not a taxi service. They also said
>> they were reporting her. T's husband R, when he got home from work was
>> livid and called the ambulance service to complain. The complaint had
>> been put in against T that *she* had called out the ambulance to take
>> her mother to her home!!! So I leave you to guess what would happen if
>> you tried to call out medical staff for a headache!
>>
> Comment:
> The moral of that story is absolutely NOT the norm in my part of the
> world.
>
> In my city, the fire department paramedics pick up people who have
> fallen when others can't physically pick them up. You may not know
> exactly why they fell, so calling the paramedics is considered doing
> the right thing here.
>> >
>> >
> Here's what's happening in my life right now:
>
> My mother was admitted to the hospital Wednesday in the early AM. My
> brother had checked on her a couple of times during the night and both
> times found her in the bathroom, on the floor "flopping around"
> (according to him). He asked her each time if she was ok and she said
> "yes", so he put her to bed and she went back to sleep. I guess it
> happened a third time, so he finally became concerned enough to take
> her to the hospital (this isn't unusual.... people WANT to believe
> everything is OK). They are out in the country, so IT is a long
> distance and a big deal to get there.
>
> She was given an MRI and EKG a couple of hours after being admitted.
> Also, something was inserted that required 4 hours of lying flat after
> it was taken out. She rested peacefully all night. The problem was
> that she didn't wake up this morning as wasn't responding to pain. I
> stayed at work thinking she was a goner and I would be going there on
> Friday to deal with death.
>
> The neurologist called me this evening to say that she was awake, but
> had suffered a series of small strokes in several parts of her brain
> (global: front, middle, back, left, right). It's called an anoxic
> injury, which means it's caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. The
> reason it occurred is unknown at this time, but it could be as simple
> as a couple of skipped heartbeats.
>
> Mom is a cancer patient, but she also is at risk for blood clots. She
> was taking Lovenox (which is injectable Cumadin), a state of the art
> drug - so she was doing everything right. I needed to ask the doctor
> if my brother had gotten her to the hospital the first time she fell
> if the outcome would have been different. The doctor replied with an
> unqualified NO. She said that sort of stroke could have happened in
> the hospital and the results would have been the same.
>
> OK... here is the information I hope you remember: I asked the doctor
> why she would go to the bathroom so many times when she only goes on
> an average of once a night (to my knowledge). The doctor told me that
> strokes commonly cause *an urge to urinate*, which explains why she
> was found in the bathroom every time.
>
> So, if you have a loved one who is exhibiting signs of confusion etc.
> AND has more frequent than normal urges to urinate, please take that
> person to the hospital as soon as possible. Above all, DON'T ask them
> multiple times if they are OK and accept it. Use your own judgment:
> If it doesn't seem normal, it probably isn't - so let a doctor decide
> if there is real a problem or not!

You've explained my f-i-l exactly; however, he hasn't been on the floor in
the bathroom yet. He has the urge about every 15 minutes each night, takes
coumadin, has beat 2 kinds of cancer in less than 2 years, usually confused.
But so far he has had no strokes - that we know of. He subscribes to a
life-line sort of thing that he wears at all times. Hopefully he can push
it if he needs to. I mention this as a future solution, but I'm sure that
someone will tell you about it. It could be a life-saver for your mother
and relieve a lot of worry and responsibility on the part of the caregivers
who are not always present. (Even though we are 400 miles away, he usually
gives us a call anytime anything is up. The highways were hot from our tires
the last few years.)

I hope your mother will be able to function well without a lot of
rehabilitation. My thoughts are with you.
My best,
Dee Dee


.

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