A letter from Suzy:
Dear Family,
I wanted to send you this update on Daniel, things have been pretty rough lately. I took Dan to the hospital on 16, Aug. as he was having difficulty with low blood pressure, very low blood oxygen levels, weakness and confusion. After several hours in the E.R. and intravenous fluids he seemed a little better and was able to return to the assisted living.
Over the next few days he seemed to get stronger and improve a little. On Thursday 29, Aug. I was called early in the morning and told that Daniel was in a very bad way. When I arrived I saw that he was barely able to stay in his wheel chair, he could not sit upright and was leaning to the right, he was extremely confused and did not seem to know what was happening around him. I called an ambulance to transport him to the nearest hospital. When we arrived we were met by the neurologist who has treated him in the past, after an examination, including a cat scan of his brain and numerous lab tests it was determined that he had most likely suffered another stroke on the same side of the brain (left side). It was a small stroke called a TIA. He is back at the assisted living where he has slept most of the time since this last incident, he is much weaker than he has been and is not using his right hand at all. Each day since Thursday I have noticed that he is improving in very small amounts.
Since the first stroke in April 2012 he has slowly been getting weaker. His doctors feel that as his body becomes weaker and he deteriorates physically he will most likely have more of the stroke symptoms reoccur and manifest themselves as mini strokes with the possibility of another larger stroke. Because the prognosis is quite clear that Daniel is not getting better, but is slowly failing I have made the very hard decision to have him admitted into the hospice program. What this means is that he will continue to take all medicines that will keep him comfortable and free of pain, but we will not be actively treating any health issues such as heart disease or diabetes. We will treat infections and any illness that causes him discomfort.
Daniel is not at the time of this letter in any danger of dying, he will be in the hospice program for 90 days at the end of that time they will reevaluate him and determine what his condition is. If he has improved significantly he will go back on the regular home health care. Because he is in the hospice program I will no longer have to transport him to Dr. appointments, lab appointments etc., this has in itself become very difficult and dangerous for both of us as he grows weaker and cannot help getting in and out of the car. I want you all to know that this decision was not made lightly but only after much prayer, meditation, counseling with my LDS. Bishop and several doctors.
It saddens me deeply to be without Daniel and these past many months have been full of grief for me as I have felt this loss daily. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go through these next months together. I will keep all of you posted if Daniel's condition changes for better or worse. I still keep hoping for a miracle!
Love to all,
Suzi
No comments:
Post a Comment