Why is it that health issues always make me feel as if I am on a roller coaster? I go up hills, only to be plummeted down, screaming, trying to hold on to my lunch. Then up I climb before, I am slung around at breakneck speeds holding on for dear life. Why would anyone WANT to take a ride like this? It doesn’t matter if it is my own health issue, or the problem of any one around me…I don’t like the health roller coaster ride. It is exhausting trying to hold on when the unexpected is right around the corner.
My last note told about Louise’s remarkable turn around. She was eating, talking and seemed to be coming back very quickly. We were thrilled and began discussing where she would go after they released her…which was supposed to happen today. Then, true to the roller coaster ride we are on, she had a set back. It was yesterday afternoon. (Of course, Friday after 5…because our roller coasters always seem to run on the weekends) She was sitting on a chair, then standing trying to leave, then suddenly confused, followed by non-responsive. Bill put her in the bed and she curled up, eyes closed, into a semi-fetal position. No talking. No communication. They couldn’t even get her to open her eyes. It seems that we were starting over again…right where we were last Sunday. The doctor came in and said they would up her anti-seizure meds and evaluate her once they had kicked in. The goal was to stabilize her over the weekend and pull in the team on Monday to figure out what next. Since she was in a deep sleep and heavily medicated we all went home to get some much needed sleep. This morning, Bill’s phone rang early. He answered and it was his mom. Ray had given her the phone to talk to Bill. She was saying how she felt weird and that something was wrong with her. She told him that she was better now, but she cannot understand what is going on. It was the most alert and coherent she has been since all of this started. It’s like a miracle happened while she slept and she was back with us again. And so, today, we are back on the uphill climb of the roller coaster. We are guardedly optimistic.
It seems that the “neurological events” she is having short out her brain, which shuts down her function. The docs say that it does not damage the brain itself. The only danger to her brain is if she should fall and hit her head while she is non-functional. These events are unlike seizures in that they do not spread over the whole brain, but are localized in one spot. Therefore, if they can stop the pulses from happening her function returns quickly. It is the continuous pulses that are the problem…not brain damage. All tests show the brain itself is still in good condition, and the tumor is not growing. The cause for the impulses isn’t understood, but the stopping of them is the treatment. If the dose of the medicine can be regulated the doc says she should be able to regain the function she had before this happened. She is weak, so it is likely to take a while, but they plan to release her to a rehab/nursing facility so that she can gain function back. I promise you that if she is aware, she will not like this one bit. It will motivate her to do the work in order to be able to go home. Home is her goal and when she is with us she tells us so. Please continue to pray for Louise, the doctors and us.