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+-- Thread: VOT- Update on William (/showthread.php?tid=170950)
VOT- Update on William - Gourmet_Mom - 06-01-2015
I'm not sure where to start? So I will start after April's surgery which went well and all seizure meds were working. He was still feeling a little "drunk from heavy meds, but all was well until late April. He began to notice puss coming from an opening around the skin flap on his forehead. We emailed Platics surgeon, and he felt it was okay until next visit on May 13th. When we got there, he agreed it was signs of infection, so another surgery was scheduled with Friedman, neurosurgeon who did original tumor extraction in 2002, as lead surgeon.
The surgery was Monday, May 18th. All went well, and he bounced back well. All infection was hopefully removed. Original mesh was removed, original bone flap,was removed, scraped and cleaned and replaced. All went well with recovery, and we were sent home Thursday, May 21st and met with nurse to start home antibiotic IV.
IV in PICC (?) line went well that night and the next morning. (I'm turning into quite the nurse these days.). But at 11:55 that Friday, he had a violent Grand Mal Seizure. It took over an hour for our local hospital to get it under control. The long time seizing caused stroke like symptoms on his right side. They upped his seizure meds some, but he seized again when the kids visited on that Sunday. They were able to stop it quickly, but obviously, more meds had to be added. The med they added was one we replaced after Decemnber seizure, because it caused major mood swings, including mean angry behavior.
So before he left the hospital for rehab last Friday, they began backing the Kepra down and replacing it with another med. right now, he is on 5 seizure meds and feels "drunk" all the time, but he will be on 4 by next week and hopefully 3 by the end of the month.
That brings us to rehab. The rehab close to home would not take him until tomorrow, so we opted to go with one close to his hospital. This added the comfort of having him close to his doctors while adjusting meds. He had a small work out Saturday and did well. He sent me home yesterday to take care of family business. Been on the phone ALL day long!but most is done! WHEW!
Best news of the day, he had a recommendation of one to two weeks rehab, but case manager said they will release him Thursday! He is really doing well! His cognitive skills are totally back, if only slightly impaired due to heavy medication. Has almost full use of right arm and leg, just slightly unbalanced, again, probably due to meds. So I will go up Wednesday so we will have time to review transitional JS in meds Thursday morning and give us time to get home to meet nurse to restart antibiotic IV Thursday evening.
We have a neurology visit in early July to further adjust meds, but other than that, all is well! WHEW! That's probably more info than needed, but, that's the story. Hoping to get things back to normal soon. They are setting up therapy sessions at the hospital close to his office Friday or next Monday, so Nurse Daphne will be busy until after July Fourth. Hoping all goes well! Positive thoughts and prayers are MUCH appreciated and thankful for!
Re: VOT- Update on William - Mare749 - 06-01-2015
Daphne, I'm so glad you checked in! Hope the worst is behind you now.
Re: VOT- Update on William - Gourmet_Mom - 06-01-2015
Me, too! This has been a nightmare! I forgot to mention, the infection is the likely cause for the December seizure, and the later seizures were likely caused by the invasive surgeries. Hoping all that is behind us now!
No driving until almost Thanksgiving is going to be a trial, but he now knows how dangerous it could be and how long it will take for his meds to get adjusted. Thankfully, between me and Andrew, he will be able to live a fairly normal life until he can drive again.
Re: VOT- Update on William - cjs - 06-01-2015
Daphne, you are certainly my hero!!! Thanks so much for coming on and updating us. Whew, what an education you all are getting,
Continued good luck with William getting better and better day by day!! Take care of yourself, also.
Re: VOT- Update on William - labradors - 06-01-2015
Sounds better. Hope it continues improving.
Re: VOT- Update on William - Trixxee - 06-01-2015
I hope he continues to improve at such a great rate! Just the other day I was wondering how the driving ban was going for him. Better safe than sorry.
Re: VOT- Update on William - Gourmet_Mom - 06-02-2015
Thanks, you guys! It has certainly been an education!
Re: VOT- Update on William - Roxanne 21 - 06-02-2015
Daphne---welcome to the world of nursing....fun, huh??
Wow--what a ride you guys have been on but it's great that progress is being made. Hone those skills and it will be even better
Hugs to you both!!
Re: VOT- Update on William - BarbaraS - 06-02-2015
Daphne I'm so happy for you and William and family that his condition is healing and things are getting better!!
Barbara
Re: VOT- Update on William - losblanos1 - 06-02-2015
That's great news! Thanks for the update Daphne.