Mom Update 11/1

Update (9:23pm): We just heard from the neuro PA and she told us that the swelling in her brain has remained the same - no increase in swelling. So all in all, we're considering that good news. She's going to put her on a little medication and hopefully we'll see even less swelling when the do another CT scan at 8am tomorrow. Thank you for all the prayers - keep them coming!

Update: The doctors are going to do a second CT scan tonight at 8:00pm to evaluate if her brain is still swelling. We've asked the neurology PA to call us once she's had the chance to analyze it and let us know if she's still swelling, holding, or decreasing in swelling. This will basically let us know what direction the next bend in the road is going to take us. I'll post again tonight once we get the debrief.

I got a call from one of the doctors on the stroke team that is monitoring my mom's case this morning and he told me that the stroke she experienced was fairly extensive. Because the stroke was on the left side of her brain, she will have significant weakness on the right side and likely have language and communication issues and require significant care. This is the best case scenario.

As part of monitoring her care, the team is doing a CT scan each morning. Today's scan revealed additional swelling in the brain (which is the body's normal response). Unfortunately, the skull doesn't allow for much room and the swelling can potentially be life-threatening.

Now (2:02pm) our entire family has just met with the neurologist looking after her and it may come to a point wherein the swelling is so great that it maybe necessary to remove part of her skull in order to preserve life. Unfortunately, because the extent of the stroke was so great (they showed us the CT scan and it has damaged almost the entire left side of her brain) that we're not sure what kind of functionality she's going to have, even for a best case scenario. So just to be clear, if we decided to do the surgery, it wouldn't improve her outlook at all, it would simply increase her chance of living. (Mom has been pretty clear with us in the past that she has no interest in living life as a vegetable. She wants to be here, or not.)

For the brain, maximum swelling usually takes place between 48-72 hours, or the window of time we're in right now. They'll do another scan tonight which will indicate whether it's continuing to swell or beginning to recede. In any case though, the outlook really isn't very bright.

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers and know that if you would like, now would be a prudent time to come visit.