September 9, 2012

A Labor Day I won't forget


I have meant to write for a long time but there has been no time.  One week ago, (as I was told) Erik was sitting in his dining room around lunch time and it seemed he started feeling strange.  He rose up from the chair as if he was going to stand and then fell, full force, face-down and started to have a 30 second grand mal seizure.   A little background:  This was his 3rd seizure in 5 weeks.  It followed one 8 days previous where he, again, fell on his face and possibly fractured his nose.  All three seizures have necessitated trips to the Emergency Room.  Cat Scans were done each time with no problems found to his neck or skull.  Since these seizures began I'd started noticing that Erik wasn't mentally as present.  Eating became confusing for him.  Walking began to be a chore.  It has been hard to know if Erik's in pain except by visual clues.  If you ask him "Erik, do you hurt anywhere?" he always answers "no" or won't answer at all.  As you can imagine, our desire to get to a neurologist was high.  I had 2 different appointments for him lined up - with 2 different neurologists, trying to find one who could see him the soonest.   Then came the strong seizure the day before Labor Day.  The next morning all he would do was sleep deeply.  We could hardly rouse him.   Something just wasn't right, he had no interest in food.   So we drove him to the ER to see if there was any chance a neurologist could see him.  Thankfully they admitted him and he was seen the next day.

Here is a picture of him that first day in his hospital room.   His head was very scraped by his fall and he had tubes and noises all around his hospital bed.  He put up with it all amazingly.  Better than I would have, for sure.  He was in a special bed that was filled with air constantly -- so the noise was like sitting next to an engine in an airplane.

The following day he was given an EEG in his room.  The technician had to attach a ton of sensors on his head, face and chest.  Erik was supposed to lie still and not move his head.  If only he'd been sleepy during this test!   He moved his head quite a bit but they still got the readings.  Results came back normal.  The neurologist had already decided that Erik needed anti-seizure meds, just as we hoped.  The initial dosage made him extremely drowsy so the dose was lowered and we're now watching to see how he does on it.   
So then it seemed like weeks passed, but really it was just 5 days/nights in the hospital, waiting and watching.  We were blessed with exceptional nurses and staff.  Family took turns staying with him all day and night, except for the last night...we knew by then that he'd be cared for very well and he was.  Finally it was time to be transferred to a rehab nursing facility that happened to be near my home.  Erik got to ride on a stretcher in an ambulance. 

sitting up after laying in bed for 5 days feels good.
We're so eager for therapy to begin so Erik can hopefully regain his strength.   He seemed to lose so much of himself after each seizure.  Erik fed himself a little bit while in the hospital but mostly we had to feed him.  Also, he seemed so weak.
First day at the Rehab center,  getting settled in.
That night dinner was brought to his room and he made me so happy by taking the ham and cheese sandwich and actually lifting it to his mouth and biting it.  Hadn't seen him do that in so long.  Erik entered the rehab on a Friday afternoon and sadly, the therapy won't begin until Monday so we spent the weekend of checking on him, trying to make him comfortable.  I feel like I'm not succeeding at that very well.   He's usually sitting in a wheelchair when he's not napping in his bed.  Tonight my daughter and I tried to shave him.  We will never be able to earn a living shaving men's faces.  We ran out of shaving cream so he ended up with patches of skin and patches of whiskers everywhere--oh my goodness.   
save me from my sister's shaving

I hope you can't tell what a terrible job I did, but I know Erik forgave me.
A male care-giver came to the rescue and took care of the mess we made.  He finished the job for us but I forgot to take a picture of his whisker-free face.  You'll have to take my word. 

Ahhhh, deep breath.  Rehab starts tomorrow.  Please pray Erik responds well and his body and mind heals, for good rest and that we know what to do to give him the best quality of life going forward.  So many friends and family have kept Erik in their prayers.   How can we thank you enough?  The Lord keeps reminding me of His love for Erik, of His constant protection and provision.  Erik is his child and He is his Good Shepherd.  Thank you for reading and caring for my sweet brother.

1 comment:

  1. so glad he is settling in and pray today goes well for Erik.

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