Greg Update 3/2/10

Greg will most likely come home from the hospital today, I still have to have confirmation, but the Doctor told Greg last night that the latest CATscan showed that the blood is clearing up and that all the blood tests keep coming back normal. On Sunday we spoke with the cardiologist and the NeuroSurgeon and they revealed a lot of things to us that truly worried us right then and there-and made us quite angry.

First off, apparently this stroke was pretty much caused by the blood thinners. Every time his blood was taken at the lab near the Dr office or by the traveling Nurse, his #s were okay, but anytime the blood was taken anywhere else, such as the few times we went to the Urgent care since his original stroke, the blood was way too thin and they told Greg to stop taking the blood thinners for a few days, so we know there is something fishy going on there, and to fix this his Dr wants his blood taken at the Urgent Care from now on. Greg will be off blood thinners for at least 3 to 6 months (it varies depending on which Dr we talk to) and even when he goes back on them, we're going to have to be convinced he even needs the stuff, seriously!

We feel like we have been LET DOWN by the Medical Community all around. This angers me to NO END because I've felt let down by the Medical Community, time and time again as far as Nicky is concerned (writing my book now, the stories I will tell will make your skin crawl, promise!). In Greg's case, not only Doctor after Doctor IGNORED Greg's TIAs before his original stroke, but nobody told us, ever, in the past several months since his stroke that he had what they now claim he has had all along: ARTERIOSCLEROSIS. Arteriosclerosis is the hardening and the loss of elasticity of his veins and arteries. This is mostly genetic, but can be caused by undetected high blood pressure. The part of his brain that suffered from his original stroke has weak, thin veins, which were very fragile, and blood being too thin was a recipe for disaster. UGH!!!

Moving forward, the two things we'll need to concentrate heavily on for him is his diet and blood pressure. The Dr recommended walking for 30 minutes daily and keeping his exercises fairly mild for quite sometime. I am going to be looking for a GOOD blood pressure machine, any of my family/friend nurses, if you know of a GOOD, ACCURATE one that is not too pricey, please comment below and let me know which one you might reccommend. I would truly appreciate it. Especially if Target sells it, LOL. I get a discount there.

We'll need to keep his distolic (sp?) pressure in the 75 range, which may creep up to 80  in the evening, but never more than that. I have a good handle on the food part. I now shop mostly at Whole Foods (or SuperTarget-they have a good Organic selection) which is a big advantage, and he'll need to completely cut out red meat, sugar, no saturated or trans fat foods, and continue his low-sodium diet. I have a list of fruits and vegetables that help keep his BP down, so that's not going to be a problem.

The issue I am personally concerned with because I cannot control is STRESS. Greg, as everyone that knows him knows, is a Type A personality. I already told him CNN is out and he needs to take it easy, so if you talk or text him, PLEASE keep him Stress free, at least for now. That vein that burst in his brain will take MONTHS to heal and is important to make sure he rests and his stress levels stay low. I can take care of the rest. He already had some incidents of allucinations (possibly caused by the drugs administered to him in the hospital), so rest is of outmost importance now. I am thrilled he'll be able to stay home for at least 6 weeks, possibly more.

As soon as he feels a little stronger we'll start rehab again. He's lost most of the progress he had made on his arm and a good part on his leg as well, so he has a lot of work ahead of him. Unfortunately the improvements are slow, which are frustrating. He told me he's not giving up, but he does feel discouraged, especially when the Neurosurgeon told him this 'could' happen "again". We'll do everything in our power to make sure that does not happen.

Thank you everyone for the kind words and thoughts of encouragement, they mean a lot to us!!
{{HUGS}}
Silvia