8 Weeks Today

It is crazy that it has now been 8 weeks since this journey began.  A nurse was asking what happened and it is unreal to think that Archie had an aneurysm on Labor Day, got coiled, had vasospasms, had a craniotomy, had angioplasties, got an external drain, got a shunt, they took the shunt back out and then put an external drain in.  A lot has happened over the past eight weeks, it is hard to wrap my brain around.  A lot of people are asking how I am doing and honestly I am fine.  The first hospital visit was hard, there was so much going on and it was all so foreign for me.  I mean I had heard of brain aneurysm but I really didn't know what they were.  There are so many medical things going on and I am so thankful that my mom is a nurse so she could translate/explain things to me.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, all we have to do is get rid of the infections and get that shunt back in.  That in my mind is a piece of cake, although with Archie there always seems to be some sort of complication.  We were talking to the charge nurse today who has been here for 15 years and she has not ever seen a patient leave and come back with an infection in the shunt.  I mean leave it to Archie...

Today Archie got moved to the POD room which is the step down bed from an ICU room.  He is still in the ICU but now he is in a room that the nurse to patient ratio is 3:1 instead of 2:1.  Archie really does not need the attention that a ICU room gets.  We are pretty self-sufficient for the most part: I am able to clamp his drain, unplug almost everything except for the IV (I don't mess with that!).  The other thing with the ICU rooms were that the respirators on the other patients were driving Archie crazy with all the beeping and the noise, there are no respirators in the POD.
 

It was a good day.  The neurosurgeon said that surgery will probably be next week.  He wants to wait for the antibiotics to run their cycle before he puts the shunt back in.  My sister came to visit and coerced him into going on a little longer walk this morning with some grumbling.  His appetite is getting better slowly, it is not stellar but he is eating something at every meal although, I am definitely pushing him to eat more.  This afternoon we went on another lap around the ICU and then we got moved.  This evening Renee brought us some yummy italian food for dinner!

I know I keep saying this but it is the truth, thank you so much for the continual thoughts and prayers.  I feel so much strength and comfort knowing how many people are praying for us. We are going to get through this.  

Another Boring Day, Day 55

It was another boring day in the ICU.  Archie voluntarily went for a walk this morning, which never happens, so that was a surprise.  Usually I have to start a fight in order to get him up and walking.  I went to church at the hospital from 11:30-12:00.  Archie got a new roommate so I got kicked out for about an hour while he got settled.  During this time, I went for lunch and hung out.  Archie watched football again all day long.  At 3:00, Archie and I went for our second walk of the day and went for a lap around the ICU.  Thank you to Katrina and Jim for coming to visit and bringing us some snacks for the room.  Tyler brought us a yummy dinner, which meant Archie didn't have to eat the yucky meatloaf that was on his tray for dinner.

We are approximately one week into antibiotics and I anticipate we will be in ICU for at least another week until they put the shunt back. After they put the shunt in, we will be here probably 3+ days for observation purposes.  Basically, we will be  at Baylor for approximately two more weeks.  If you are interested in coming to visit, send me a text.  He can have up to two visitors a day.  The visitors give him a distraction from the monotony of the hospital.  Thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts.

Below is a picture of our Halloween decorations courtesy of one of Archie's customers.  Happy Halloween!

Saturday, Day 54

Today was a pretty uneventful day and I am thankful for that. This morning I got a text at 6:30 am asking when I was going to get to the hospital because "laying here alone sucks." I stopped and got McDonalds for breakfast and Archie ate 2 pieces of bacon, a sausage patty and. Couple bites of pancakes. He was saying the morning was dragging on until football started at 11. He watched football all afternoon. For lunch he ate the BBQ beef in his lunch tray. He went for a short walk around 1:30 and then later he made a lap around ICU. Around 3 pm he asked me to go downstairs to get him some Chick Fil A nuggets and he ate four of those. Then around 5 pm he asked me to go get him a twix csndy bar. So I think he is starting to get a little bit of an appetite back. His dad come for a visit this afternoon. Tonight he ate some spaghetti from his tray and I got him a twisted root burger which he had a few bites of.

We were told the white blood cells in his head that were causing the infection have lowered. Archie has not been coughing as much today as previously. Overall, I was please with a boring day.

Mystery Solved, Day 53

If you recall a week from yesterday Archie started having stomach issues at home.  Well the mystery is solved, he has c diff which is Clostridium Difficil.  It is a bacteria that grows in the intestine, it is common in hospitals. The c diff was the reason he was so worn out and not feeling well the last couple of days he was home before we took him back to the hospital. So they will start him on a 7 days of pills to clear that up.  Unfortunately, this causes Archie to be put in isolation which means that if you are going to be touching Archie you will have to put on a gown to make sure that you are protected.  You also need to wash your hands instead of using the alcohol foam outside of his room.  
The head MRI that was done yesterday came out clear, there were not any changes.  Also, the EKG was good as well.  We are still waiting on some of the other test results.

Archie did not sleep well last night.  This morning Archie snoozed quite bit due to the not sleeping situation.  My mom came to visit for like 20 minutes this morning and the first thing Archie said is "I am not going for a walk and I am not going to take a bath."  My mom takes the bad guy role when she is there because if I suggest anything of that sort Archie will make some nasty remarks to me.  Archie generally will make smart/rude remarks to myself or his mother, we are his scape goats.  Thankfully I talked to the nurse and she was the bad guy this afternoon when it came time for walks.  He ate something at every meal, not a crazy amount but more than nothing and something to provide some nourishment.  Archie went for two walks this afternoon.  He watched some television today, the news to keep up to date with what is going on outside of Baylor Hospital. He has also been watching parts of the Ranger games the past couple of nights.  Hopefully tomorrow is another good day!

I went for a massage tonight during shift change and let me tell you that was amazing! My dear friend, Melissa sent me a gift card to Massage Envy.  Sitting in a chair in the hospital all day long has been a little tough so the lady worked out my stress and I am feeling good.  Thank you Melissa!

I Just Don't Feel Good, Day 52

The nurse described Archie as puny this morning.  He just didn't feel good this morning but when you ask him what is wrong he couldn't tell you anything specific.  Archie was not interested in eating breakfast this morning.  The nurse convinced him to drink some Ensure to get some protein since he had not eaten dinner the night before or breakfast, I think he had two or three sips.  He was mostly sleepy and napped most of the morning.

The critical care doctor's RN came in and was concerned so she called the doctor to have her come see him.  When the critical care doctor came in and asked him how he was feeling he said "fine".  The doctor of course said "I have heard otherwise".  She asked Archie if he was depressed and Archie said he didn't think so.  The doctor said it is totally understandable for him to be depressed after being in the hospital this long.  She also said she is going to run some tests like blood samples, EKG, and some of his brain fluid just to check. She also talked to him about his hunger strike and she said if he did not eat soon they were going to have to put a feeding tube in because once he becomes malnourished is just makes the situation worse and the time spent in the hospital longer.  Archie of course asked if he was malnourished.  The doctor said not yet but she was not going to let him get that way.  Then the neurosurgeon came to visit and he said he wasn't looking right and that he was really sleepy this morning.  I mentioned that he had not eaten anything and that he had taken a benadryl but the doctor said he thought he wanted Archie to get a head MRI to check and make sure everything was alright, he said most likely everything was fine but wanted to be safe.  Then neurosurgeon said to put a feeding tube in if he is not hungry, thankfully the nurse was able to ask for a day reprieve before it was put in.  After the discussion about the feeding tube Archie ate a couple of bites of turkey, a few green beans and a couple bites of soup for lunch.

So the afternoon was full of tests.  When trying to schedule the MRI there was an issue with the clip that was used in the craniotomy.  They wanted confirmation of the type to ensure that they clip is MRI friendly.  So that took about 30 minutes of looking at his records to confirm that it is made of titanium and the MRI was finally scheduled for 5 pm.  The MRI took 1 hour to complete.  Afterwards, the nurse was telling us how the MRI went she said they were not able to complete the whole MRI because the last 10 minutes which is the dye part Archie said he needed to get out.  Let me preface this with the fact that Archie is claustrophobic. The nurse said he was done and that he needed to get out, she said she was begging him to keep going but it didn't work.  He was talking some crazy stuff as well saying we were at someone's house and not at Baylor.  This was because he was laying down flat and that they had the drain clamped.  When she released the clamp he because lucid pretty quickly afterwards. I went to dinner with my dad, sisters and brother in law while Archie hungout with his mother.  I brought some dinner for him and he ate about 6 bites of pasta, a few bites of calzone, and a few bites of chocolate ice cream.  We watched the Rangers until about 9 pm when Archie took off his glasses and was going to sleep.  I could definitely tell a huge difference in his behavior from this morning, he was more energetic and talkative tonight.

I decided to go try to donate blood at a blood drive at the hospital since I had not donated in 3 months and was overdue.  I generally donate every 8 weeks at Carter Bloodcare plus, I feel like I need to help replace the 3 units that Archie got. So went upstairs at 3:45 to the blood drive.  An hour and a half later I was getting screened and got declined because we went to Cozumel last year on our cruise in December.  Apparently American Red Cross and Carter Bloodcare have different rules.  I was SO grouchy that I spent an hour away from Archie before the MRI to try to donate blood.  Oh well, I will go down to Carter Bloodcare next week.  My sister did donate blood tonight so someone was successful.

Sidenote: I guess I have not been very clear, Archie is back in the ICU because he got the external drain back in.  He is not in the same room but on the same area as before.
Please pray that Archie feels better tomorrow and that the results are good.  Thank you!

Roller Coaster, Day 51

A Roller Coaster is how I describe my life right now. Yesterday was such a better day, I was so excited that he was feeling better and then today happened. Today Archie did not feel well. He did not eat any breakfast, although his stomach was growling the food didn't sound good. He was not nauseous but not interested in food. The no breakfast made for an interesting morning and early afternoon. He just does not have any energy and feels horrible so he in turn takes it out on myself and his mother. He did eat some lunch- a few bites of chicken and some macaroni & cheese. He then went for a walk around the ICU. He took a LOT of naps today. When I brought him dinner tonight he again passed on eating. I harassed him about taking just a few bites of food with not luck. I told him tomorrow he will be eating breakfast so get ready. Since the Rangers did not play tonight we watched "Criminal Minds," one of our favorite tv shows and then I headed home around 9 pm. Please pray that Archie starts to feel better!

I talked to the doctor today and he said Archie can start having 1 or 2 visitors a day BUT that is the max because too many wears him out. Archie feels like his has to entertain people even if he is tired and he gets overtimulated. So if you would like to come see Archie PLEASE send me text message or a Facebook message to let me know a couple of days that work for you so that I can schedule people to visit. Also, the visit will be a short 15 minute timeframe. One other favor is - if you, your significant other or your children are sick please DON'T come expose Archie to anything. His immune system is already challenged and we do not want him having to deal with anything else. I know my restrictions are annoying but I am just trying to do the best for Archie. I also know that Archie would enjoy seeing someone besides myself and family because he is tired of the hospital which we all understand. Thank you!

Staph not Staff, Day 50

Yes, that is correct the bacterial meningitis is a skin staph infection. The doctor said that if he tested himself or someone else that the skin staph would be there on his skin. How did it get there, he did not have any clue. It probably got in through the incision. So we now have only one antibiotic to deal with instead of the three different general types they have had him on. The spot of pneumonia that they found on his lung has gotten smaller since yesterday and they will be treating that with the same antibiotic because it was probably caused by the staph. The good news is that he does not have the flu. His critical care doctor did say that we would probably be here for 3 weeks because she said the infection will have to be gone and we will probably have to finish the antibiotics before they put another shunt. This is not what Archie wanted to hear but the nice thing is that she is honest with us and he trusts her.

What a difference a night and some prayers make. Last night I went home a little discouraged since he was not eating which was causing him to be grouchy. I went home and said prayers last night and this morning asking God to please get Archie to eat something. Well when I got to the parking lot of the hospital I looked at my phone and I had received a text from Archie asking me to pick him up some breakfast since he could eat solid foods. I went and got him a BOB from whataburger. He only ate a few bites but I was happy because that was probably more than he ate all day yesterday. His appetite is not huge but he did eat something every meal.

Archie also reminded us that he usually eats lightly for the first couple days after surgery
and then the floodgates open and he eats everything in sight. He went for a short walk today
but he did pretty well. He took a couple of naps throughout the day but nothing like
yesterday where he slept all day long.

Thank for the continued prayers, they give me the strength that I need. I know the Lord will not give me anything that I cannot handle. We are over the most difficult part and we just need to be patient, get rid of the staph, get the new shunt in and get the heck out of the hospital. It will happen.

7 Weeks

Today Archie pretty much slept most of the day.  He started a hunger strike so he has not eaten with the exception of a few bites for lunch and dinner.  We even tried to trick him.  He is now in a communal room so there are new rules.  For about two or three hours we were not able to get in the room because the door was shut and they were doing something to another patient in the room.  He had a CT scan this morning and there weren't any changes.  His neurosurgeon had no news to report - everything is looking good in his opinion.  We found out he has a small spot on his lungs of pneumonia.  We are still waiting on the culture to come back in regard to the bacterial meningitis so they can figure out which antibiotic will be most efficient.  (Right now they are giving him several antibiotics to combat the bacterial infection.)  He got up and sat in a chair for about fifty minutes today after much complaining.  Tomorrow he is supposed to get up and go for a walk, but we will see if that happens.  For most of the day, he was weak, tired, and a little on the cranky side.  I'm sure some food will help him, but that is not working in my favor.  Everyone at Baylor is surprised we are back and wondering what the freak happened.  Praying tomorrow will be better (and you pray too!).

Post-Surgery Update

Archie was taken back into surgery around 11 am this morning.  They removed the shunt and put in an external drain in his head again.  Everything went according to plan and he slept the afternoon away.  We got moved back to our 4th floor ICU hangout, although not the same corner suite room. Archie was excited to see all his nurse girlfriends again.  The infectious disease doctor informed us that he had a bacterial meningitis in his shunt, which is why it needed to be removed.  They did a sonogram on his liver and his kidney since he had stomach issues for so many days.  They did testing for influenza to make sure he didn't the flu.  He will be treated with antibiotics once they figure out what strain of bacteria it is.  Archie was given three different types of antibiotics to start working on the infection.  I headed home during shift change and plan to go to bed at 8:15 tonight at my Dallas residence.

Infection and Another Surgery

Last night Archie had a horrible headache that would not go away even with medication so my mom urged me to call the doctor. The doctor says if the headache persists that we should go to the ER and get a CT scan. He also said to make sure we go to a Baylor so they would be able to compare it to the most recent CT. Archie started throwing up so we hopped in the car and headed to Baylor Frisco. I was explaining what I was instructed to do and the nurse informed me that they would have to request the records from Dallas and when I asked how long that would take she said it just depends. She also informed me that all the rooms are full so there would be a wait, I told her there would probably be a wait in Dallas because it is always busy. So I called my mom and she said she thought we should just head to Baylor Dallas. So we hopped in the truck and drove down to Baylor Dallas. We arrived at the hospital around 11 pm. By that time we got there Archie had thrown up again and was freezing. When we got there they took Archie straight back. We got sent to an ER room where they proceeded to pull a bunch of blood, do his vitals and all if that stuff. The doctor showed up and withdrew some fluid from his head for testing purposes.  He said there is a lot of fluid in his head and that his ventricles are large. He said he thinks there is an infection and he is trying tow figure out where the infection is. He said he thought is might be the shunt causing the issue but would confirm. At about 3:45 the nurse told us that they were going to try to move him to ICU until they figured out what they were going to do. They gave Archie his morphine and he was out. My mom and I headed home to try to get a little sleep and so I could pack a bag so I can move back in with my roommates in Dallas. I slept for about an hour and fifteen minutes and then headed back to the hospital thinking he would probably be in ICU resting. Thankfully I checked with ER because he was still there. The nurse finally came in and told me that he was having surgery this morning around 11 am. When I asked if they were removing the shunt and putting in a drain she said she "thinks so but I will hear from someone soon". The doctor called and confirmed that he is removing the shunt and putting in the external drain. Archie will then be put in ICU for a week or two. The surgery will be late this morning, we are waiting for an ICU bed to be ready because The doctor does not start surgery until a bed is ready. So that is what I know thus far. Please say a prayer for Archie this morning. Thank you!

My Poor Husband, Day 47

The title says it all.  Archie was up at 2 am for about 30 minutes and then got up at 4 am and watched a movie.  He is still having cramping and stomach issues.  We went to get a chest xray this morning at 9 am.  We then headed home and hung out at the house.  Archie asked this morning what our plans were and if anyone was coming over.  I had to remind him that due to his stomach issues we probably will not be having anyone over and if anyone wanted to come over he should probably make sure they know that he might have a stomach bug. I counted our chest xray visit as our morning walk.  I am still trying to keep him on the BRAT diet which is bland food like soup, applesauce, jello, potatoes, and noodles.  He is annoyed because he wants to wants to eat something besides what I have been giving him.  I had to remind his that this diet should help his stomach issues, he said I should have told him that previously.  All I could do is smile to his comment.  We went for a 3 house and back walk before lunch and a 3 house, around the corner and down the alley walk tonight.  I explained to him that we need to add some distance to our walks because this will help with his endurance when he goes back to work.  He informed me that he can do more but he just doesn't want to. This afternoon he just watched some football and some tv.  Archie is aware that there are some memory issues because I asked him about something this afternoon and he said he could not remember and was a little annoyed that he could not remember.  This evening he had a headache that kept getting worse.  He asked for a hydrocodine because he was in so much pain which he has not taken in almost a week because it was caused some issues but the headache was that bad.  So he just went to bed with a horrible headache and he still has stomach issues. All I am going to say is my poor husband.  Hopefully the headache will go away!

Friday, Day 46

Last night was interesting to say the last.  Archie was up most of the night with stomach issues and cramping.  We think he has a bug of some sort so now the Stewart household have been quarintined.   Archie was not feeling well at all this morning so we did not do a walk this morning.  He hardly ate anything at all and I could not get him to drink anything.  My mom said we need to probably put him on a clear liquid diet to help with his stomach.  Around 11 am I got him to do a short walk (3 houses and back).  Then for lunch he ate 1/4 of a bowl of soup and a couple bites of jello.  Thankfully we had a general doctor appointment this afternoon at 2:15 pm.  So we spent about an hour and a half at the doctor's office.  We discussed his cough, his stomach issues and everything that has gone on in the past 6 weeks.  The doctor wanted to do a urine sample, blood sample and a chest x-ray to make sure everything was working correctly.  Archie is dehydrated which is really no surprise since he spent the night on the toilet and had not had much to drink.  We are still waiting on the blood results, the doctor wanted to check his red blood cell counts, white blood cell counts and just make sure everything in the blood is looking right.  We are going for the chest xray tomorrow morning at 9 am.  The doctor wanted to wait for the neurologist appointment to check for seizure before we make any decisions about anything right now.  The doctor did say that an occupational therapy evaluation would be a good choice and they would help with the decision about going back to work in regards to anything besides computer work.

Due to the bug we postponed speech therapy to Monday night because Andrea has kiddos at the house and I did not want to exposed her to anything like what he has.  Monday, we also go to the neurosurgeon to get Archie's stitches out.

This weekend will be pretty low key and I am going to still try to get Archie out walking 3 times a day but we will see how he is feeling tomorrow.

Thursday, Day 45

Archie had another long night with the two hour sleep intervals.  So he was pretty tired again this morning.  Archie made an appointment with a client to look at a job at 11 am because his partner was in Lake Tahoe looking at a job.  So we made our first car ride since he came back from the hospital last Friday to Saginaw to look at a building.  I took notes during the meeting for Archie and I am trying to start a trend to help Archie with his memory.  Archie did well on the trip, he did take a little nap on the ride home.  When we got home we ate lunch and then I forced him to go on a walk which was 1/2 the block.  Then he went and took an hour and a half nap because he was whipped from our activities.  I then bugged him again for another walk and he almost walked the whole block, I think we missed like 2 houses.  Then he rested for a little while and we did our last walk of the day which was down to the end of the street and back (5 houses). 

Tomorrow we have a primary doctor visit since Archie does not have a doctor, he usually goes to CareNow whenever he is sick.  After Monday, I think the neurosurgeon is going to be done with us so if we need some additional medication or need anything we are going to have to go to the doctor.  So we are  need to give the doctor the details of everything that has happened since the aneurysm on Labor Day.  Tomorrow night Archie is going to have a speech therapy evaluation with my friend Andrea.  She is going to do a cognitive evalution that will check Archie's memory.  I am so thankful for Andrea because speech therapy was declined by the insurance company and she is meeting with Archie on her own time.

Wednesday, Day 44

Archie did not sleep that well last night again.  He got up at 12:30 and took another bath and then was up every two hours.  We got up at 7:00 I think?  Archie has developed a cough and when I discussed it with my mom, the nurse she said Archie needs to be walking more.  So, we went for a walk (5 houses, around the corner and home).  He watched the news and then we caught up on DVRed Criminal Minds. We went for another walk, I tried to get him to walk the block but he wasn't feeling it so he walked the 5 houses and back home.  We ate lunch and then went for another walk with my mom who came to vist and enjoys going on walks with Archie. We then watch Transformers 3 and went on our fourth and final walk which ended up being only 5 houses again even though I was pushing for the block.  My persuasive abilities did not work very well today maybe they will work better tomorrow.  We are now cheering on the Rangers.

Archie is starting to catch himself in some memory issues which I think is a good thing in my opinion.  He was confused about dates but acknowledged that he was mixed about and wondered aloud why he thought the dates were different.

Tuesday, Day 43

Last night Archie went to bed at 7 pm because he was not feeling well.  Which caused him to wake up several times and then at 1 am and he went to take a bath because he was not feeling good.  He then came back to bed and woke up several more times until he got up at 7 am.  I made breakfast and then we watched the news and the movie Tron.  We finally went for our first walk of the day around 12:15 pm, we went down to the end of the street and back (3 houses).  I then made some lunch and then Archie rested.  We then went on another walk down the alley across the street, around the corner and back to the house (5 houses).  Archie then rested some more and then around 5 pm we went on our last walk down to the end of the street and back (5 houses).  Archie then ate some dinner, we caught up on some of our DVRed shows and then he went to bed at 9 pm. 

His stomach issues lessened today but he was still in pain and uncomfortable.  He has not taken a pain pill since last night at 7 pm, the doctor told us the pain pill might cause some stomach issues so we are going to try to avoid them and go the advil route instead.  Archie did go on 3 walks with me today so I am proud of him for that.  I am hoping that tomorrow Archie's stomach is feeling better.  I have plans of making our walks a little longer than what we have been doing the past couple of days.

Six Weeks

It is hard to believe that it all began six weeks ago.  Archie and I were just discussing today that it seems so long ago that the aneurysm happened.  We have gone through so much during this time.  I am so thankful that Archie is with us today and that he doing so well overall considering how much was done to his brain in the past 5 weeks. 

Today Archie slept in until 7 am.  He got up and took a bath and then he ate some breakfast. My sister and nephews came over to visit because Archie wanted to see the boys today if possible so Jessica stopped for a visit before a playdate.  We all went for a walk around half of the block (3 houses, around the corner and down the alley) and then they visited for a little while.  Then Archie took a nap, ate some lunch and then rested a little more.  We went for a walk around the other half of the block (5 houses, around the corner and down the alley).  Then he rested a little bit more.  Archie was having some stomach issues today so he did not eat any dinner or go for his third walk.  I am hoping tomorrow he feels a little better.

I started trying to schedule appointments first thing this morning.  The appointment with the neurologist to see if he had a seizure will be on Halloween.  I made an appointment with primary doctor on Friday.  We are getting his stitches out a week from today.  When I tried to make his physical therapy appointments I was informed that he would need speech therapy and occupational therapy.  BUT speech therapy is not covered by his insurance plan because it is like home healthcare and that is not covered so, I am thankful that my friend Andrea is a speech therapist and willing to meet with Archie.  The other issue is that Archie does not think he needs occupational therapy.  He does not think they will be able to help him crawl through attics and his job.  He has agreed to go to the evaluation next week but he is not agreeing to anything.  So all of the appointments will be completed within 2 weeks today. 

Sunday, Day 41

Today was another good day.  Archie woke up several times last night again and was trying to sneak into the bathroom without waking me up even though I told him I would prefer that I am awake and walking with him since he is still not super steady on his feet.  Archie told me if he falls just let him fall.  I of course told him that we didn't get through this 5 weeks for him to fall and bust open his head again.

This morning Archie woke up at 6 am and took a nice hot bath to soak his tired and sore body.  I made breakfast and then we watched the movie Lincoln Lawyer (it was really good).  We then went for our first walk of the day which was a walk to the end of the street (5 houses) around the corner and around the back down the alley.  We at lunch and then Archie took a little nap.  Then we went on another walk up to the end of the street and back.  We watched the Cowboys game and then ate dinner.  Afterwards, we went on a walk the opposite direction to the end of the street around the corner and down the alley.

Archie is getting more steady when walking and is not stalling when I ask him to do task.  I know Archie likes plan and schedule his day so I will ask him what time he would walk first thing in the morning, then later around lunchtime I will ask about his next walk.

Tomorrow I am going to call about scheduling physical therapy for Archie and to try to schedule an appointment with the seizure doctor.  On Friday night my friend Andrea, who is a speech therapist, has offered to meet with Archie because part of her job is cognitive evaluations to help with short term memory and other thinking processes so we are looking forward to meeting with her.
I really appreciate all the prayers we have received and I will continue to ask for the prayers.  Yes, we are at home and out of the hospital but we are still on a recovery journey.  The doctor has said that there will be some personality changes that we will see that could be permanent or could last up to one year.  Archie is able to work on his computer but is not able to do any lifting, climbing or anything strenuous.

Our First Day at Home!

Out first night of sleep in our bed was amazing last night!  Archie got up several times last night but everytime we woke up we were able to go right back to sleep.

This morning we slept until about 7:30 am.  Archie's mom and stepfather went and picked us up some breakfast from Le Peep since we didn't have anything at the house.  After breakfast Archie rested while his mother and I went to the grocery store to stock up since we hadn't been there in 5 1/2 weeks.  When we got back Archie went on a walk down the street (about 3 houses and back).  Then his mother and stepfather headed back to Iowa Park.  Archie took an hour and a half nap and then we had some lunch.  Then we went on another walk (about 2 houses and back) and afterwards Archie took his first shower since Labor Day.  He then rested for a little while.  Around 6 pm we went for our last walk of the day (3 houses, around the corner and back home). 

Overall today was a great day!  Archie was compliant with my every request.  He didn't play any games when I asked him to do something like he had been the past several days.  He would do whatever I asked and didn't stall like he had at the hospital.  I told him the schedule of the day which included 3 walks and a shower and he did awesome.  What a great first day at home, hopefully tomorrow will be as wonderful.

He is Free!

That is right, we are currently in bed at our house! I cannot believe that it finally happened.  I was so excited to drive into Frisco and into our driveway. I will really miss my roommates and my sofa bed in Dallas.

This morning Archie began with a CT scan first thing in the morning.  When he returned to the room afterwards I spent about 30 minutes trying to get him to sit up and eat some breakfast before the physical therapist showed up but that didn't work out so well, the therapist showed up before he sat up to eat.  Archie walked down the hall with the therapist and they had him do some exercises. Afterwards he ate a muffin for brunch since it was basically 10 am then he napped for a couple of hours.  The doctor said that Archie's CT scan was good and that he was free to go home.  Archie woke up and ate some lunch and then my mom harrassed him into a walk, a wheelchair ride outside and a bath.  Poor Archie was just beaten down but he got all of it done. The physical therapist thought Archie might need some inpatient physical therapy so he did get an evaluation before he was released but they thought that he could do some outpatient therapy instead.  He finally able to head home around 6:00 pm.

Archie was sent home with only one mandatory prescription with is an anti-seizure medication, he was given sleeping pills and a pain pills when he needs them.  We are going a week from Monday to get his stitches removed.  I am going to call on Monday to try to schedule outpatient therapy and he needs to go to visit a neurologist to get an evaulation to see if he had a seizure.  Note: The week that he had his craniotomy and the angioplasties he lost control of his left side of his body and the doctor thought he could have had a seizure or the vasospams got really severe.  So we need to go get an evaulation so see if he did have a seizure or not.  If Archie did have a seizure he will not be able to drive for 6 month due to state law.  My plan now that we are home is that we are going to try to take 3 or 4 walks a day.  I am interested to see what tomorrow bring with it being to the two of us at the house.

I definitely have a new appreciation for nurses, doctors and everyone who works in hospitals.  I did learn a lot while I was in the hospital, I kept joking that I could almost be a nurse after the time I spent there.  I did spend a lot of time praying for patience and understanding during this time, I will continue to do this.  I know that God granted it because there were times that were difficult, Archie would get frustrated because I was "nagging" but I got through it and did not get my feelings hurt.  There were times that I didn't know if I could make it but I just remembered what the ICU nurses said "you have to be strong and you cannot cry in front of Archie."

Right now I do not think we are going to be up for visitors until we figure out what staying at home will be like.  I cannot believe how much love and support we have received from everyone.  Thank you so much for your prayers!   

Thursday, Day 38

This morning started a little rough because Archie did not eat any breakfast. Therefore, he was very lethargic and tired. He did go on a walk with the walker and the physical therapist. The physical therapist suggested that in-patient rehab might be beneficial for Archie. We were supposed to talk to a rehab person and a social worker, but no one ever showed up.

He finally ate lunch and got a lot more energy and was more energetic. He went on a walk with me down the hall and back. Then, he took a little nap. A physical therapist showed up for an afternoon walk and this time he did it without a walker.

The doctor said he was not ready to be released today but maybe tomorrow. My mother harassed Archie about going on a wheelchair walk until he finally consented. We went downstairs and outside for the first time in five weeks. We spent about ten minutes outside. Afterwards, Archie thanked my mom for the harassment and said he enjoyed the ride. Since then, he's been napping and he ate his dinner. He will hopefully sleep for the rest of the night.

A Bittersweet Day, day 37

Today was a bittersweet day because Archie finally got out of ICU after five weeks but he is in a lot of pain.

The day began with Archie sleeping until about 9 am, the nurse did wake him up before that for vitals but he went back to bed at that point. It was humorous this morning because Archie did not remember that he had surgery yesterday he asked the nurse "what time is surgery today" and we got to remind him that it was done yesterday. The doctor came pretty early today, around 10:30 am. He looked at all the surgery sights and uncovered all but the spot on his forehead where his drain (his unicorn horn is what Archie called it) was. The doctor said that we would move to a room today and if everything goes well, we will be able to go home tomorrow or the next day. Archie was having some pretty intense headaches and his stomach was hurting. When asked what in his stomach was hurting he could not really describe what the issue was: surgical site, gas issue due to air getting in there during surgery or just stomach aches. He did get up with the physical therapist and used a walker to walk about 15 feet but he was in serious pain so that was as far as he could go. Archie was really disappointed in himself because he could not go very far and had to use the walker but we reminded him that he had surgery yesterday and that he will be able to go further tomorrow.
Archie got moved around 2:30 pm to a regular room. We were actually kind of sad to be moved out of ICU because we now know 75% of the staff now and they treated us so well. But some of the nurses said that they would stop and check on him in his room. Once he got in his new room he was unable to get comfortable and in a lot of pain. I think 75% of the words coming out of his mouth were cuss words. He wanted a morphine IV shot like he had been getting the past 5 weeks but the doctor put him on an oral pain medication which he was not happy with. I tried to explain to him that he would not be able to get the IV morphine after we leave so we are going to have to start weaning him off of it so that when he goes home he will be able to use the oral meds but what do I know? Archie did ask the nurse to call the doctor because he was in so much pain and the doctor did give him one last morphine shot around 6:30 pm. I think it worked for the time being but I am a little worried about what will happen tomorrow when he cannot get another one but we will cross that bridge when we get there. Thank you for the prayers and please keep them coming.

Shunt Surgery, Day 36

This morning started out with Archie only being able to have a liquid diet for breakfast.  Then, after 8 am he was not allowed any food before the surgery.  He was cranky about this.  This morning he went on a walk with the physical therapist and another walk after lunchtime.  We spent most of the day waiting for surgery.  It was supposed to be late afternoon, following two other surgeries by the doctor, but he got bumped up because they were waiting on lab results from the other patient.  Instead of a five o'clock surgery, he was taken back around three.  The surgery lasted a little over two hours.  He was awake when we saw him and the doctor said everything went as expected.  The permanent shunt was placed behind his right ear, internally, down to his stomach.  The shunt will drain extra fluid from his brain into his body to be absorbed.  He has an incision behind his ear and an incision where it begins, about two inches long, on the right side of his abdomen.  He complained of soreness and pain in his abdomen and his neck where they put the tubing.  He also had a headache.  We are hoping that a good night's rest an good pain meds will help ease the pain.  When I left at nine o'clock, he was snoring away because he had just received his medicine.  Thank you for the prayers.

Five Weeks

It is hard to believe we have been at Baylor in ICU for the past five weeks. I must say that they have provided great care during that time and they have wonderful nurses and doctors.

Archie went for two walks today, he walked through the waiting room since he has not been there previously And made two laps with the physical therapist this morning. He sat in the chair for a short time. He spends most of his days on his electronic devices meaning his computers, iPad or phone.
We found out Archie will most likely have his shunt put in tomorrow late in the afternoon. There is still a possibility that it might be pushed to Wednesday but the doctor did get a consent form signed and has told Archie he will be having liquids for breakfast and he will not be able to have anything to eat or drink after 8 am. Archie is pretty concerned about being hungry tomorrow but I told him the double meals, snacks and ice creams he ate today should help him tomorrow.
Please say a prayer for him tomorrow.

Sunday, Day 34

Sunday began with cheering my sister, Emily on via cell phone because she was participating in the Chicago marathon. She finished the marathon in a little over four hours for her best Personal Record. Good Job Em!

Archie went for two walks today and sat in the chair for a short time. He watched football most of the day and otherwise it was a pretty boring day. He has a very hearty appetite, he is eating multiple entrees at each meal and snacks throughout the day. I noticed earlier this week that he was cussing a lot more but that has calmed down a little bit. I am definitely noticing that he is having short term memory issues. The doctor has said that could be permanent or could last up to a year. The doctor has also said that Archie is going to have to start writing stuff down to help him remember stuff for a while.

Tomorrow will be the 5 week mark, hopefully we will be out or close to out by the six week mark next week. Thank you for the continued prayers and support you have given Archie and I.

Boomer Sooner, Day 33

Saturday began with Archie going for a CT scan first thing in the morning. This morning Archie wanted to watch the Red River Rivalry between OU and Texas. I was pretty impressed because Archie has only watched about 20 minutes of tv in the past 33 days. He did have to watch the game on a tube tv that has seen better days. Archie was able to watch the Sooners win the game. I went out and ran a couple of errands during the first half of the game. Archie did go on a walk this afternoon and sat in the chair for a short time. Archie has not been interested in taking a nap the past couple of days.

The doctor told us today that the shunt surgery will be schedule most likely on Wednesday afternoon. He said it could take place in Tuesday night but most likely will be in Wednesday. Then Archie will be in the hospital for a few days and then be released, so theoretically he might be out of the hospital by the end of next week or over the weekend! That is if everything goes as planned but I am not going to count my chickens before they hatch.

TGIF, day 32

When every Friday comes I think TGIF, even though it really doesn't matter since I am not working right now. Today was another monotonous day here at Baylor ICU. The doctor said there was not any news. We did find out he is going to have a CT scan tomorrow morning. Archie did take a walk in the afternoon and did sit in the chair for a little while.

He is getting restless throughout the day, he basically sits in bed all day long watching the clock so the days are long for him. I keep trying to encourage him to take a nap during the day but today he was would not take a nap. Archie asked me to get him an OU shirt tonight that he could wear tomorrow for the game but when I reminded him that he would have his gown on so he said never mind. I think I am going to stop and get some poster board tonight and make him an OU sign to hang on his door so he cam show off his OU support.

Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day?

I have thought throughout the time here that my days are like the movie Groundhog Day, I wake up every morning and it is the same day. I know it is a different day but I have the same routine every morning. I wake up obviously, head to the hospital, spend all day long in Archie's room, leave for dinner, come back and hangout until 10 pm when I head home, go home to go to bed and start the day over again. I would obviously be talking about the days that we have been hanging out in the room not the days that there has been a lot going on...

Today was another boring day with Archie. He went on an extended walk today with his physical therapist through the North ICU and the West ICU. He sat in the chair for a little while. Archie is off of most IV pumped drugs now, we only use those if his blood pressure is a little low but now that his blood pressures parameters are a lot lower he has been able to handle it without IV meds for the most part. Archie also got his stitches out tonight, don't ask me how many there were because they did not count them but the incision was from his forehead to his ear so there were a bunch but they used just one long suture.

The doctor has said that due to the amount of fluid in his brain they will probably put a permanent shunt in his head. The shunt will be internal in his head and will drain the fluid in his brain into this abdomen so the fluid gets flushed out. Apparently a lot of children have the same issues and have shunts put in, that is why the doctor measures the kiddo's head throughout the years. The doctor said he would probably put the shunt in next week sometime. He still has a vasospasm going on but it is pretty light so there is not a rush for Archie to get another CT scan.

Wednesday, Day 30

Today was another boring day in the ICU. The doctor said there was nothing new to report. Archie went on a walk with the physical therapist this morning so she could see how he is doing and ate lunch in the chair. He is currently making up for the meals that he missed last week because he has been eating two meals, he eats the hospital food and he normally has someone else bring him something else to eat. The first couple of weeks he was bragging about all the weight he had lost since coming to the hospital but I don't know if he has kept it off with the multiple meals. Archie took a nice hour nap this afternoon. He is still making new friends and flirting with the nurses. The nurses like having Archie as a patient because he is always joking around plus he is much more awake than some of their other patients. It was a nice calm day at Baylor today.

Tuesday, day 29

Today was a good day for Archie. He was awake most of the day besides a few catnaps. The doctor said there is nothing to report, no news is good news. I assume he will go for another CT scan later on this week. Archie did go for a walk around ICU and sat in a chair for a little while. He is having some memory issue, for example he knows we are in Dallas now (finally) but he just cannot grasp it because when he references everything he still thinks he is in Fort Worth. BUT overall his personality is there, so he is still Archie from what I can tell right now. The doctor has warned me that there might be some permanent or temporary personality changes that could last up to a year so we shall see what the future brings. I am just thankful that he is here with us currently and hopefully on the road to recovery. We will be in here for at another couple weeks at a minimum. Thank you so much for the continued prayers!

It has been a freaking month!

I am having a hard time wrapping my brain about the fact that we have been at Baylor for a month tonight. That is crazy!

Archie was up last night for a few hours in the early morning because he decided to nap from 4-8 pm. He went for a CT angiogram this morning at 8 am and then took a nice three hour nap. The radiologist reviewed the CT angiogram and said that the vasospasms are declining. We are on the downhill slope but there is still a chance that more will start up again but the more days that pass means the less likely they are to start up again. Archie's neurosurgeon said that there is no change and he is doing good. The doctor did lower his blood pressure a little which is good. Since the vasospasms got severe on Tuesday the doctor had wanted to top number of his blood pressure from 160-180. Today he lowered that parameter to 140-160 which is a good thing because it was challenging for them to keep it up that high. Archie did get out of bed today and sit in the chair for 20 minutes. It has been over a week since he has gotten out of bed so I was super excited about that. Archie's bruises in his face are turning yellow and green where it isn't too bad but he still has some big black bruises. He is able to finally open his left eye which is amazing because it has been swollen shut for over week, he is showing everyone his new trick.

The good news is that Archie finally believes we are in Dallas. He looked at my iPad and apparently that worked. Although I am still a little confused on why doing that on my iPhone didn't work but whatever. The bad news is that he is asking every nurse, doctor and visitor if he is going to be able to go home today. I have tried to tell him that we are going to be here a while but he wants no part of that. Plus, I look like the bad guy for telling him the truth although if I told him we can go home he would hop out of bed and be ready.  I am praying tomorrow is another good day!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Today was a good day for Archie. He was alert and awake for most of the morning with a few catnaps. He did take a big, fat nap for about 3 hours late this afternoon starting at 4 pm. Archie did not get a CT scan today, he has one scheduled for tomorrow morning. He will have another CT angiogram to see what is going on in that brain of his.

Archie did realize that the room he is in currently is the same one he has been in throughout the past month. For some reason he thought we were at one of customers' houses (an athlete) and that they took us to the Baylor Ft Worth location. Don't ask me why??? I don't know if he is 100% sold on the fact that we are in Dallas but I am working on it. I keep telling him that if I was going to lie to him it would be over something better than our location. The conspiracy theory is slowly going away I think...

Looking back at this week I think about all that happened: a craniotomy, 4 angioplasties, numerous CT and CT angiograms, no visitors, lots of stress and tears. I am glad that this week is over but nervous about what the CT angiogram will reveal tomorrow. I will definitely be anxious about the results but I know whatever happens will happen and all I can do is pray.

A Better Day, Day 26

Today was a better day for Archie. His functions on the left side of the body is better: he is squeezing hands tight, moving his left foot like a champ and talking normally. He had a CT scan this morning and there was not a change, which is wonderful news since it had been a while since that had happened. He was switched from a liquid diet to solid food. He finally was able to get a chocolate chip cookie! He was given a unit of blood today to try to keep his blood pressure up and he has maxed out on the meds we have used to keep the blood pressure high. Tomorrow if his blood pressure is where we need it to be we are going to try to get him in the chair and maybe go on a short walk.

He is a little hazy about where we are located, how long we have been here and a few other issues. The humorous part is that he does not believe what we tell him. He is hellbent that we are at Baylor in Ft Worth and that we have only been here a week. It was pretty humorous too because he would ask addition people the same question they said the truth and he thought we were all in a conspiracy to trick him. He has since looked at my calendar and realized that it has been almost a month but he still does not believe that we are in Dallas.

Hopefully tomorrow brings another day of improvements. I am focusing on the baby steps that we are making but not counting my chickens until they hatch. Thank you for the prayers and please continue them.