Also, you should all now be able to comment - the setting was so that only members could comment but now anyone can!

Hello! For those of you who understand things about blood (which does not include myself), Dad's blood was 10 today... up from 7 yesterday. The other number they had said yesterday was 64, so I don't really know what those mean! But apparently now he is still considered "low" but not as bad as yesterday. He did lose a fair bit more blood today so they are going to decrease the amount of blood thinners. He had a visit from a urologist today (there's a hint as to where the blood is being lost from...). They will test his blood again tomorrow morning and give him some more blood tomorrow afternoon if necessary. Just another bump in the road that will keep him in the HSC for another few days! His cell phone is back in action and he is accepting calls. If you would like to know how to reach him or when/where to visit him drop me an e-mail at nbarela@gmail.com . He is REALLY enjoying seeing friends and family despite being exhausted. He tends to nap while I am there but then perk right up whenever someone else comes in! I will try to update every evening when I get home to keep our friends and family away up to date on how he is doing. :)

Dad had a busy day today! He had a CT of his head this morning, but we never heard anything about it after. He had a few visitors this afternoon. Early this evening he started a blood transfusion and is getting two bags of blood because his hemoglobin was 64... Apparently normal is like 140-160. No wonder he was so tired! He had another gang of visitors tonight and is loving all the attention. I'm sure once this new blood gets into him he will feel more energetic!

Hello everyone... Just a quick update on Dad now! He is pretty much the same as the last couple of days! Still having some chest pain when he breathes deep or when he coughs but the chest x-ray is clear so it seems like it may be muscular. Other than that there is nothing big to report. He had a bunch of visitors today and enjoyed that but he certainly was tuckered out! A warning to visitors: be prepared to hear all about the doctor from Halifax who is haunting his dreams. He is very serious and is preparing himself to deal with him when he goes back there! Haha. Hopefully he will continue to get better and better everyday!

Back at home...

Dad is having a pretty good day. He slept really well last night with his sister not keeping a close eye on him!! We are going to have to trust that the nurses will watch him closely since being back to work will make it nearly impossible to spend nights with him. He isn't the best patient since he jumps right out of bed in his sleep and has already taken a couple of spills... They haven't made it too easy to trust them so far since last night I was called and told that they asked him what medication he was supposed to be taking! Seriously??!?!?!? You ask a patient who has had an operation on his BRAIN in the last 10 days what medications he is on??? He can't even tell you with 100% certainty what he had for breakfast!!!!!!! There was also a detail list in his file that they just hadn't found yet... you mean, you didn't LOOK FOR IT! oh myyy.... I would not want to be a nurse after watching what they do closely for the last 2 weeks, but I feel that there are some things that common sense should tell you. Like maybe that asking a patient on a neuroserg floor what meds they are on is not the best idea. Anyway, it was all figured out and he is back on track now! He is in pretty good spirits today and was resting this afternoon when I left and has had some visitors since. Dr. Englebrect (sp?) was in to see him this morning. What a nice man. We have been very lucky to score fantastic doctors, and all with great bedside manor. He is supposed to me meeting with Dad again tomorrow. Ok, back in to see him again now!

It is very strange being home. Good, but strange! I think it was in my mind that when we got home everything would be ok... anddddd, it's still not! Dad was pretty tired last night after a long day. Mary Lynn stayed with him through the night so hopefully it all went well. The phone in his room doesn't seem to be working and my cell phone is broken altogether so I haven't been talking to them this morning. I am finding it super hard not being there all the time, but I have to get some rest since I'm back to work tomorrow... The doctors are going to meet with him tomorrow too so hopefully they will be able to chat with one of us after work as Dad is still a tiny bit too confused to relay everything that they say to us. Going in to see him now and will update when I have some info!

Touched Down!!!!

We have arrived!!!

The word came this morning that the flight was left to come get us! We wouldn't let ourselves get excited until we actually were landed back here, but it happened! Touched down at around 3:30pm this afternoon! Finally able to spend some time with Mary Lynn, Fred and Rick as well as I'm sure another few visitors after them. He will sleep well tonight that is for sure. He has been feeling pretty good all day. :) It will be weird being able to get away from the hospital for a while! Will update again tomorrow.

The latest is that we should be leaving the hospital tomorrow am at 10:30! I am not getting my hopes up until we are in the plane and it is flying. Mom came up tonight and is staying with Dad tonight thankfully so I can sleep! He has been feeling unwell all day - most likely because of the blood pressure issues. There were a couple of the episodes where he passed out and it was super scary but once they explained it, it did make sense. It was when he had been lying down and then stood up. His blood pressure droped really quickly. There is a name on it (ending with hypertension) but I can't remember it. I am just glad it wasn't seizures like they initially though after the first one this morning. They were saying that his body has been through a lot and it is healing so hopfully this isn't too out of the ordinary. Dr. Fleetwood was in today again to check on him and he wasn't concerned about it. He said once his body regains strengthn through eating, resting, and getting up and moving around he should feel much better. Lets hope so! Fingers and toes crossed that we will be home tomorrow!!!!

So, the problem with the plane still isn't resolved. They said it could be tomorrow morning, but as per usual, they can't guarantee anything. This is just so unfair to everyone. Most importantly for Dad. It is heartbreaking to see him so sick and tired, yet he can wake up to ask me if we have any info on the flight. He wants to get home so badly. It's super hard being up here now for almost two weeks with very little sleep... spending a freaking FORTUNE on hotel and food... using up sick time... esspecially when we will most likely be back here in a couple of months... How is that even possible! I will barely have enough sick time left to come up with him at all if it is before summer... uhhh!!!! Not to mention, the emotional drain of being in a hospital with a sick family member 24/7 and having little support here... I hope they have a good psyc ward because I'll be be checking in pretty soon! If having family around is such an integral part of the healing process, why would they make this so difficult?
It also must be costing the NL gov more money to have him here than at home... AND they don't have any beds left on the neuroserg floor where Dad is, so people are left down in ICU or on other floors which isn't fair to people from here and must be costing the NS gov extra money. It is just brutally unfair from all sides. ESPECIALLY when we now know that we have the equiptment and trained doctors at home, and it is just a political issue holding up the availability of the coiling procedure at home. I am much to frustrated. Please God we get home tomorrow or I may just take him in a wheelchair to the airport and take him home myself.

Rough day...

We still have not heard from the air ambulance people... when we called this morning they said the plane was still in being serviced and they would let us know... Unbelievably frustrating. Dad is not feeling the best today either. When we stands up his blood pressure drops quickly and he has passed out twice, followed by vomiting and sweating. Of much less importance, but very annoying, my cell phone charger is broken and is dead. Blah... If we are still here tonight Mom is going to come up - it is too hard for just one person since Dad does not want to be left alone for a minute!!

Met with the Doc

Just spoke with Dr Fleetwood. He told us that during the coiling/stenting they were not able to restrict all blood flow to the aneurysm but they aren't sure how much blood is still trickling into it. In a couple of weeks while at home he will have a repeat angiogram to check out how the clotting is coming along and see how much blood is in the aneurysm that is fresh since the coiling. Once we know this we will be in a better position to decide on the next step. Our (well dads and the doctors) choices pretty much are to have the aneurysm removed surgically (high risk of bleeding, stroke, death depending on how mug it is clotted) or leave it alone. Depending on how much blood flow there is, leaving it there could have a high chance of second or third bleed. Also he said if it was left and a significant bleed or rupture was to happen it would be very difficult if not impossible to repair. He would also have a high risk of stroke, especially if he doesn't take his plavix (sp?), which is a blood thinner. He said that he isn't convinced that the episode Dad had two weeks ago wasn't more from the infection in his blood than the aneurysm.... I guess that isn't something that is easily pinned down. It was nice for Dad to meet him and for him to have the opportunity to ask a couple of questions.

We haven't heard anything else from the air ambulance.... Just waiting...

Ohhhhhhh myyyyyyyyy.....

Yup.... Flight cancelled just in time for Mary Lynn to book her flight home and foe Chris to cancel his flight up here tonight for the weekend. Dad and I are very disappointed but he doesn't seem to be feeling the rage that I am. That being said, Colin with the air ambulance just called and said they were on getting ready to leave when a mechanical problem was detected so the mechanic will be at least 24 hours. One good thing though, they were coming just for us - not with another patient which is very nice of them. Well, not really - that's the way it should be when they send someone away for something not available home. The nurse practitioner (who is fantastic) came in today to tell dad about the aneurysm and showed him pictures of it. She explained that he will need to get it surgically removed and he seems to be processing that ok. He said that he didn't have a clue what an aneurysm really meant before she explained all that and that someone might as well have told him he was pregnant. He was concerned when she explained how large it is and that it is one of he biggest she has seen - and rightfully so. We have all had weeks to come to terms with this - he has only had a day or so. Dr Fleetwood never did show up yesterday so we are hoping to see him today as he is in surgery now.

False alarm.... Can't come until tomorrow because of plane availability.... Not sure how that changed in 3 hours.... #%*#!!!!!!

We are coming home!!!!!!!!!! 10am were leaving here!!!!!! Thank God. The resident doctor said to him and Mary Lynn this morning "see you in a couple of weeks to remove that clot" so I guess that is the plan? I would be nice to be a part of that plan and at least know about it!! Ok see you all home lunch time!! Woohoo!!

On the list - trying to be patient!

Well he is on "the list"!! And hopefully on the top of said list. Not quite sure if he gets that going home means to the HSC and not home home but its a step closer none the less. We are waiting for a visit from Dr. Fleetwood now who will hopefully explain the next steps for us. It is good that Dad is in a position now that he will be able to understand and be a part of the decision making process. We have many questions for him and will relay the info when we get it. We had a visit from the physiotherapists this morning and they had Dad up walking around a bit and he has a walker now for getting to the bathroom and the patient lounge (which by the way is a beautiful room with lots of windows, leather sofas, and a flat screen tv!). He seems to have his appetite back and he food here is actually really really good!! I have been finishing what he doesn't eat to save on trips to the cafeteria haha. He isn't sleeping very well - or at all really, at night. This was an issue before the bleed as well so maybe the doc will have some advice. Ok I'm getting to the boring stuff now - I will update when I have something interesting to say!

Day 12 in hospital.... 8 in Halifax!

Well we are finally out of ICU and back on the 7th floor where we started here in Halifax. The nurses are all commenting on how dad is like a new man! He's having another great day here today, although he is tired after a night with little sleep. His feeding tube is out and he is back on the good stuff - had a chicken sandwich and soup for lunch. He's sitting here now drinking a glass of pepsi and doing a sudoku puzzle. Unbelievable. Were getting a move on the air ambulance. Mary Lynn was talking to the director a few minutes ago and they don't have his name on the list yet but he said it's too bad he wasn't ready yesterday because they were here with another patient. Arrrrgggggg!!!!!! I don't want to wish someone gets sick enough to come here.... But I do! Haha. Will let you know when we have more info on his return home.

A great day!

What a day! Dad was awake most of the day chatting with myself and Mary Lynn and even cracking a few jokes! We were like too fools we were so excited about every little thing he was doing. He even ate (well clear liquid) for the first time since last Friday! I was starting to worry that the way he had been the lat few days was going to be the new dad. Thank god he was himself today. It was so good to see his sense of humor back - as dry as it might be haha. He was asking questions about what happened to get him here and was wondering about what's happening at home now. He knows about the aneurysm but we didn't get into what still lies ahead. We are just so lucky to have him with us right now after this horrible week. Now we just need to get him home!!! Thank you all for the support, messages, and prayers. Writing things down on this blog helps me reflect on what is happening and the fact that people are reading it helps haha. It is unreal how many page views there have been... Right now we are at 3,500 views in 6 countries!!!!!!! Imagine that! Unreal. Anyway, hopefully tomorrow we will get some more info about getting him home ASAP even if it has to be on a commercial flight. Be in touch tomorrow.

One whole week in Halifax...

Great morning so far after a really relaxed night. Very little pain and he slept soundly for most of the night. This morning one of the doctor told dad about his aneurysm and that he was in hospital etc and when I went in he told me what the doctor said and remembered it all. When Mary Lynn asked if he was having any pain he said "no, I'm just feeling confused". So it's good that he is more aware of that! He can't remember any of the last few days or how we got here but thats ok... We were told he wouldn't remember any of that. I just hope this improvement continues!!! Taking a nap now while Mary Lynn visits with him but I will update again once he is moved upstairs out of the ICU.

Update from last night I forgot to post

Dad had a lot of sleep today! He was up in the chair for about an hour but even then he was falling asleep... I guess that's because yesterday he was so awake. He hasn't had as many hallucinations I guess because he hasn't been on as many pain meds. The cramps are much better - only a few today. They decided to treat the abscess with antibiotics which seems to be working. Thankfully he didn't need to go through another surgery for that!! We are still waiting for a room outside the ICU. Mom and Adrienne are gone home so me and Mary Lynn are switching up the night shift... Hopefully he will have a good night. Still putting out my feelers for any contacts with the air ambulance people... Anyone have any contacts?

Halifax, I am getting very sick of you!!!

Still in ICU right now but checking on a room in the imcu (intermediate) where he was when we got here because he is medically stable right now! Mentally... not so stable. Again today he is very confused and still hallucinating pretty much all the time. He pulled his feeding tube out and tried to poke it back in but it got kinked so they put in a new one. He is still agitated with all the tubes and restraints. They're going to get him on the list for an air ambulance home tomorrow morning but it could take weeks before one comes. I still can't believe that they would send someone here but not come get them!!!! It is super hard being away at all but the fact that we are just here now when we could easily be home is BRUTAL! Especially that we are all using up our sick time and paying out of our own pockets for hotel/food.... Crazy. Can't imagine being in a position where we couldn't be here for financial reasons like I'm sure a lot of people are. It's not like we are going to leave him here alone!! Uuhhh!!! Clearly it isn't only dad who is agitated here today. Update again later.

Update

He has been awake most of the day and talking a lot. However, he is very confused and having lots of hallucinations. It could be a side affect of the pain meds they have been giving him for the abscess. Cramps seem to be calming down. Still no word on if they're going to do surgery for that...

Good morning!

Things are looking up here today! He has been awake a lot this morning and saying more too. Still waiting on surgeon to have a look at his CT of his belly. They may drain the abscess (which is a minor surgery) or possibly be able to treat with antibiotics. Hoping to find out soon.

The stomach issue is an abscess that will need to be drained. Hopefully that will be early tomorrow as it is causing a lot of pain. Mary Lynn and I are taking turns with him tonight. Thankfully the waiting rooms are much more comfortable here than home.

Not a terrible day finally.

Just was in with Dad and he was the most awake I have seen him in two days. He also asked "how long I been down here?"!!! We were very excited. This is the first sentence he has put together since surgery. His blood pressure has been very low but is much more regulated now even with decreased medication for it. He seems to be having some bad stomach cramping that is causing pain but fits with what the docs were thinking about the possible infection in his bowels. He nodded his head when we asked if that's where his pain was so he is understanding us. Also

Adrienne is here now too.

Still in ICU

He is still in ICU today. He pulled out the breathing tube early this morning but they didn't put it back in because his breathing has regulated. Good sign. His blood came back positive for infection which could be causing the sleepiness and whatever else... They are going to do a CT of his stomach now because they think that is where the infection is coming from. When we went in this morning he looked at us and knew us. The nurse asked him who we were and he said "Mary Lynn and Molly". Close enough! At least he said something that makes sense - better day than yesterday.

Staying in ICU for at least tonight. A bit of swelling showed on the MRI but that is it. Marylynn is staying with him tonight and he has his own nurse. By the way, her name is Carmel which was Dad's Mom's name... Maybe that is a sign...

Dad is moved down to the ICU now. He is sedated right now. They just took him for an MRI and another CT...

News..

He has been having what looks like seizures for the last few hours. He has had some periods of semi consciousness but not very responsive. Did a chest xray and ekg to rule out heart issues. Another CT done looks the same as yesterday. Horrible. Mary Lynn is on the way for her own sanity and ours. This is really really hard. Please keep praying. :(

Another day...

I'm just waiting for Mom to get ready and go back into the hospital. We both slept a solid 10 hours last night, so we should feel a little more alive here today. I can't comment on Dad right now because I havent seen him since last night, but a few people have asked when we will be home, so I wanted to answer that - we don't know.

There are a couple of reasons behind that. Number one, Dad and I came here in the air ambulance. The NL gov has no problem sending people up here, but apparently they don't like to pick them up. If he was to come back in the air ambulance he has to wait for someone to need to come here (or to Ontario) and they will bring him back with them.

Before the procedure, the doctor has said that if he was stable in a few days and everything was looking ok, he could fly back on a commercial flight. In his current conditon (well since last night - maybe things have changed by this morning), I really do not see that happening. He is pretty much asleep 70% of the time. When he awake, often he is frustrated because he cannot communicate the way he wants to, or he is agitated with being in the bed, tubes and wires, etc. So right now, I have no idea when we will be home - or when he will be home.

I find this pretty frustrating because we have also learned that at home we DO have the medical equipment to preform the coiling procedure and the Government has spend LOTS of money training people to do the procedure... they just haven't done one yet! Not that I would want Dad to be the first but they probably should get that started!

When we were in hospital at home I remember talking to someone who had connections with the flight director for the air ambulance... WHO WERE YOU? If you read this - maybe you could put your feelers out there. Dad's name isn't on the list yet because he isn't ready to leave here anyway, but I would imagine it will be there soon - in the next day or so.

He is receiving great care here, but for my and mom's sake, it was be amazing to be home so the rest of the family could help out too. And it would be great for the rest of the family's sake too because I can't imagine how you all are feeling right now.

Anyway, we are leaving for the hospital now and I will update on how Dad is once we get there and get a feel for how the night went.

The end of a very hard day...

The CT didn't show anything. they're thinking the language issue could be caused by pressure. During the procedure last night there were 16 platinum coils put in the aneurysm (the part where there was blood flow not the whole thing). That extra mass is bound to cause some swelling. We are praying that as swelling goes down, he will regain his speaking ability. It is a sin seeing him like this... Really really hard day. He is in good hands with his nurse Jenny tonight... First time without me spending the night but Mom and I both trust Jenny to keep him a calm as possible. Looking forward to sleeping in a bed. Be in touch tomorrow when we know if anything is changed.

A pause in the waiting...

In for his CT now. No real change with his speaking. Said hi and yes a couple of time that is all. Maybe an F bomb or a J-C here and there for emphasis.

Not speaking except the occasional word. Some repetitive nonsensical things... He understands but that is probably more upsetting to him than if he didn't. Hard stuff... Waiting still fora CT...

Update from Mom: he is much more relaxed now however he is having trouble verbalizing. They are going to do a CT to see what's going on.

Morning after surgery

Good morning... As I said last night the surgery went as they expected. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that there doesn't appear to be any brain damage caused by the aneurysm. Dad had a hard night last night. The confusion seems to be much worse at night and he wasn't making any sense. It could be some blood on him brain that will hopefully drain. It could also be swelling from the surgery. He wasn't answering any questions last night but he did know me ... Although he called me Adrienne a couple of times. Mom is gone over with him now - I needed to get out of there for a few hours. Will update later today. Ps Happy Birthday Jessie xo

Night time is the worst...

"who laid down in the old athabasca"... Anyone know what this is? He has been singing it over and over and over. Would love to know if it actually is anything. Leave a comment if you know or have any idea... Not having the best night here he is not himself and very very agitated with the incision is his groin.

It all went as planned. Hopefully he is nice and relaxed here tonight.

Nearing the end

Just updated that they are finishing up and he will be in recovery in about half an hour and will be there for an hour. No news on how it went but couldn't be too bad if they are at this point. Will write after speaking to doctor.

Finally getting the procedure ...

Dad is gone in for the procedure. They are putting stent in to keep the blood vessel open that is providing blood to all parts of the brain. They are coiling the middle of the aneurysm and blocking the vessel that is feeding it. The reason they can do this is because the other artery is proving blood across the brain. Will be several hours before he is out. Will update as we hear more. It sounds pretty promising. They do this particular procedure often.

He will be coming home in a few days back to hospital and then receiving rehab. Back here in about 6 weeks to remove aneurysm hopefully.

Patience is running low!

Dad's amazing nurse just informed us that Dr Fleetwood is going to be in surgery all day and it appears that it will most likely be tomorrow before dad's surgery.... Oh my oh my! Because it is a complex procedure its good that they are taking their time deciding on the best option. They are all super nice and tell us all the details. On another note this hospital is wicked and the nurses have been fantastic especially the one who was on yesterday and today in the daytime. Dad trusts her and is letting her do everything. He is very relaxed with her. The nighttime nurse was great too but Dad seems to have something against her - she dealt with him very well though. He is being well taken care of.

Update..

Got a wash and a shave... Sat up in a chair for a bit... Feelin good and down for a nap now. Still waiting to meet with the doctors.

Long night

Long night of pulling out tubes, ivs, and trying to break out like him and ric apparently did years ago.... Oh my... Lots of confusion... Its not easy to keep telling him no Dad your in Halifax at the hospital... No Dad that tube needs to stay in for blah blah blah... Yes Dad you need to take the pills... Hopefully they will get him into surgery ASAP now this morning. There is a chance it won't be till tomorrow if they need additional equipment. Will update when we hear from docs.

Some good news

Spoke with Dr. Mahoney tonight after Dad's angio CT and he told us (now this is in laymans terms) that the blood flowing from the arteries on each side of his neck are sending blood to both sides of the brain. This is good news because if it happens that an artery or part of an artery needs to be sacraficed during surgery, all parts of his brain will still receive blood. Tomorrow is his procedure - the doctors are planning on sitting down around 9:30am to review everything and make their game plan on how they will secure the aneurysm from reciving blood and continuing to grow. Depending on how this goes, it may be 6-8 weeks before part two. He has settled down a little and is sleeping this evening. Long day for him and us tomorrow. Wish him luck!!! He certainly has had some luck up to now!! Thinking about everyone at home and wishing we were all together... xo

Nicole

So far...

WWell it is safe to say that this has been the longest few days of my life to date. Although we have tried to keep as many of our close friends are family in the loop it hasn't been easy. Myself and Mom are in Halifax with him right not which means keeping in touch will be more of a challenge.

This morning as soon as we got here we met with Dr Fleetwood(neurosurgeon) and Dr Mahoney (radiologist). They told us they wanted to do an MRI and another angiogram to get as much info as possible. They are looking at how each artery supplies blood to the brain and if here has been any brain damage to avoid further damage or strokes. They both are very knowledgable and seem like a great team. Dr Mahoney would be the one to put the stint in the artery to close off the aneurysm to blood flow.

If all goes as planned, they will work on removing the aneurysm in a couple of weeks. Not sure if Dad will be home in-between or not - we will have more information tomorrow when they have discussed and analyzed the results of today's tests.

He is a little cloudy here today. Convinced we have committed him ...but we are staying with him and keep reassuring him that he is here to get better. Let's all hope he is regulated a bit by tonight - today has been a lot to handle for him.