History & Update on Dad

Danette with Dad in Neurology ICU

This all started with dad about 3 weeks ago, dad & mom were headed on a vacation with our sister Debbie and her family, and dad was driving him and mom to Klamath Falls, Oregon. They were singing along to a song on the radio when dad speech became slurred, thank goodness he was singing and it was noticeable to mom that he was having trouble, she asked him if he was okay and he said he didn't feel well, mom told him to pull over to the side of the road, he got pulled over, Randy & Debbie called 911 and Randy drove dad to emergency 35 miles away as quickly as he could. Part way there dad's symptoms went away and he started to feel better. The testing at the hospital showed dad had suffered a mini stroke and that his left carotid artery was 90 percent blocked. After finding out that the surgeons experience with this kind of surgery was minimal at best, dad and mom asked if it would be safe for them to come back to Utah before being treated further. He said yes, and stubborn as dad is, would not allow anyone to bring them back, flying or driving, him and mom came home by themselves. Thank goodness all went well.

They had an appointment already scheduled with the surgeon here before they left Oregon, and when they got home, surgery was scheduled for last Thursday, October 30th. That morning they were headed out to vote early when dad had another mini stroke. They got him up to emergency at Intermountain Medical Center and they ran tests there and found that his left carotid artery had completely closed off, and they decided not to do the surgery, that it was riskier in their opinion to go ahead with it,and that the body had already been compensating and rerouting the blood flow through his right carotid artery and the other two arteries that go to the brain. They said he may still suffer a few mini strokes as his body continued to adjust. Friday morning, he had another one, this time, he was taken to the University of Utah Medical Center, where he was checked out by a neurologist and stroke specialist, after running their tests, felt like what was being done for dad was the right course. So we brought dad home again.



He continued to have more of these mini-strokes that didn't last very long, (one of course happened immediately following the BYU game!) Dad was tired of emergency rooms, and refused to go up any more, so we just kept a close eye on him, even though he had 2 or 3 more mini strokes. Sunday we knew he was getting worse, he was having trouble remembering things, including our names and dates important in their lives. We were all very concerned, we had family prayer together and the men in the family gave dad a priesthood blessing and then gave mom one. The next morning mom and Wendy were headed up to take him to the hospital again to get him checked out as his memory was still bad. On the way out to the car, he had his massive stroke, Wendy was the only helping dad to the car when it happened, luckily Bret, Tammy's husband was there and came sprinting across the lawn and got there just in time to grab dad , get him the rest of the way to the car and then lifted him in and put him on the seat in their car. When dad's body buckled, Wendy screamed because she couldn't hold his weight, and mom was just coming down the stairs in front of the house to get in the car with them and it startled her and she slipped and fell down the stairs, injuring her ribs. (She didn't even tell any of us that she was hurt until dad was all taken care of at the hospital, it was hurting her every time she breathed. They checked her out and nothing was broken, but possibly a hairline fracture.) They called 911 and they came immediately and took dad up by ambulance to IMC again. They told us then that he had suffered a massive stroke and only gave him a 50/50 chance of survival. They also told us that if he had another stroke, they would intibate him (put a breathing tube down his throat), but then we would have to make some decisions. They asked if he had a living will. Dad and mom both do and mom and many of us were already aware of his wishes. We called all of our siblings so that they could get to Utah and the hospital ASAP.



He has been in Neurology ICU at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, and has received great care from them, and we have kept constant watch over him as a family as well. They told us that the first three days were especially critical. Tuesday, he was able to say a few words that were hard to understand, many times, his words did not make sense at all but they told him to keep trying, that he would improve with practice. Wednesday and yesterday, he was able to stand up for a couple of minutes and sit in a chair, (yesterday in the chair for an hour) They have been feeding him through a feeding tube, but Wednesday and yesterday was able to eat some pudding and applesauce, and by yesterday felt that he had improved enough with his swallowing that last night they moved him to more solid food, anything you can cut with a fork, and he fed himself with his left hand. He was eating so quickly that the nurse asked him to slow down, she was afraid he was going to throw it up. He continues to be paralyzed on his right side, but last night lifted his right leg up a little bit off the bed. The plan is to move him up to physical therapy on the 12 floor, up there they will actually have something available for us to sleep on instead of a hard chair, we are really excited, and they want us to be up there as caregivers for his physical therapy sessions, and to assist in them. He will start out at a minimum of 3 hours of physical therapy a day, which includes physical therapy, occupational therapy(learning to dress himself, brush his teeth, bathe himself, etc.) and speech therapy. Ben Donner, one of dad's missionaries called and came to see him yesterday. Three times dad dozed off between the time that Ben called and when he arrived, and every time he would wake up he would ask if "the missionary" (he is not able to form anyone's name yet, without first being told their name, then he can say it.) was still coming. I was amazed at his eagerness to have him come, and we felt that this was another great sign of his progress. Once he gets up to physical therapy, he is allowed to have visitors between 4 and 8 p.m.

Well, I think that's the story, we will try to keep posting information about dad's progress, please send e-mails to him, we know he would love to hear from you and we will check the e-mail account often so that he can keep his spirits up through your love and support and well wishes. Send pictures too, he would love that! Thank you soooo much for all of you who are able to fast for dad today, what a blessing you are in our lives. Thank you for all the meals Alpine 6th Ward, and well wishes, you are all amazing.