Bernard's MRI yesterday showed that the entire aneurysm was found and treated (coiled), which is very reassuring. The MRI also showed that he had a "significant stroke"(this was the second one) in the area of the brain that controls his left leg. Despite that adjective, his doctors believe that he will get full function back, and if not that 99% back. It will take another year before they can see what brain tissue was injured versus the tissue that is gone.
His doctors say that Bernard's case has been unusual from the start--unusual for him to have complications from the second angiogram, unusual that the complications presented themselves 24 hours after the procedure (instead of earlier), unusual that the internal bleeding from his leg artery caused his blood pressure to drop, which then initiated a stroke. I would like to say that I take comfort in Bernard's unusualness, because it is also very, very unusual for someone to survive both a subarachnoid hemorrhage and a classic stroke within a month, and come out of it more or less intact. He has dodged the bullet twice.
So now Bernard's focus is on rehabilitating his left side and gaining stamina and strength. His doctor is quite hopeful that Bernard will be able to resume his apprenticeship in late August.
We are so grateful for the support and prayers that we continue to receive. We are humbled by your generosity.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Bernard's Recovery is Progressing
Firstly, thank you to everyone who has been providing meals, yard work, housework and transportation to doctors' appointments! We are so grateful for your support.
Sally returned from Washington DC late Saturday with the children after attending a work-related conference there. Bernard had lots of visitors, good food and rest while the rest of the family was away. His physical therapy is focusing primarily on strength building on his left side--from his limbs to his vocal cords. He is making progress, though it feels frustratingly slow to him at times. He also rues his hair loss, which was due to too much radiation from the cameras used during the procedure to fix his aneurysm. He decided to have his head shaved, which actually looks good on him.
Wednesday morning he will have an MRI, which we pray will show that all of the aneurysm has been coiled with nothing "hiding" this time. Please keep us in your prayers for this day.
Some of you have asked me to clarify how many strokes Bernard actually had. The hemorrhage he had on April 12 is classified as a stroke, even though it is rare and not related to blood flow being blocked. He had a second "typical" stroke on May 10, where the blood flow in the area of the aneurysm (where the stent had been placed) was slowed down or affected by a clot from the puncture in his leg artery. The puncture in his leg artery was a complication from the second angiogram to coil the rest of the aneurysm on May 9. The surgeons entered the catheter in the leg artery and it unfortunately punctured it without them knowing at the time.
I will post again after the MRI results come out.
Sally returned from Washington DC late Saturday with the children after attending a work-related conference there. Bernard had lots of visitors, good food and rest while the rest of the family was away. His physical therapy is focusing primarily on strength building on his left side--from his limbs to his vocal cords. He is making progress, though it feels frustratingly slow to him at times. He also rues his hair loss, which was due to too much radiation from the cameras used during the procedure to fix his aneurysm. He decided to have his head shaved, which actually looks good on him.
Wednesday morning he will have an MRI, which we pray will show that all of the aneurysm has been coiled with nothing "hiding" this time. Please keep us in your prayers for this day.
Some of you have asked me to clarify how many strokes Bernard actually had. The hemorrhage he had on April 12 is classified as a stroke, even though it is rare and not related to blood flow being blocked. He had a second "typical" stroke on May 10, where the blood flow in the area of the aneurysm (where the stent had been placed) was slowed down or affected by a clot from the puncture in his leg artery. The puncture in his leg artery was a complication from the second angiogram to coil the rest of the aneurysm on May 9. The surgeons entered the catheter in the leg artery and it unfortunately punctured it without them knowing at the time.
I will post again after the MRI results come out.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Bernard is back home
Bernard was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday night and is back home. He is able to walk with a walker and will have outpatient rehab. He is working on gaining strength and endurance as well as doing exercises for his left side (which was affected by the second stroke). He welcomes visitors as he is cooped up at home right now, his only "excursions" being visits to the doctor or PT!
Some of you also know that Baby Bernard was hospitalized over the weekend for dehydration (from having a gastrointestinal virus). Big Bernard got wheeled up to the pediatric unit to see his son. What a weekend! Thank God they are both home now and doing better.
Some of you also know that Baby Bernard was hospitalized over the weekend for dehydration (from having a gastrointestinal virus). Big Bernard got wheeled up to the pediatric unit to see his son. What a weekend! Thank God they are both home now and doing better.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Doing better today
Bernard has started moving his left leg a little, which is really encouraging. We are hoping that he will be moved into in-patient rehab as soon as possible. He wants to thank everyone for their prayers and good wishes.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
It was a stroke after all
Bernard had an MRI last night that showed he had a "classic" anterior cerebral artery stroke, probably sometime on Saturday. At this point the neurologist cannot link it directly to the perforation of the leg artery during Friday's procedure to fix the aneurysm. So Bernard has had two different kinds of strokes in one month and is living to tell the tale, thanks be to God. Please keep us in your prayers.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Bernard is back in the ICU
Last Wednesday they discovered that Bernard still had a partial aneurysm that had been "hiding" when they did the intial coiling procedure on April 15. So they went back in to finish the job on Friday and Bernard was set to go home on Saturday. Just as he was about to be discharged, he started having severe pain in his side which was discovered to be internal bleeding from a punctured artery (the artery that the catheter had entered the day before). To make a very long story short, they ended up repairing the artery at 2am on Sunday morning. I spent the night in the hospital. His left side is weaker than before and they are trying to find out why, because they don't believe he had a stroke. We have had a rough ride and are very grateful for the support and prayers we have been getting from friends and family.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Update on Bernard
Hello to all and thank you for all of the meals and childcare help. We are indeed grateful.
Bernard was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is home embarking on his recovery. His neurosurgeon is planning to put Bernard's picture in the office's "wall of fame" because is it so rare for someone to emerge from this kind of trauma without significant deficits.
Bernard had a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), which is a rarer type of stroke caused by a cerebral aneurysm. The aneurysm was the result of an unknown congenital birth defect, not high blood pressure or atherosclerosis. Of those that have an SAH, 1/3 die before they get to the hospital, 1/3 die at the hospital and 1/3 survive, with survival ranging from vegetative state to former self. You can imagine me trying to take this in as the neurosurgeon sat me down upon Bernard's arrival to ICU and delivered that to me while wiping my tears. They use a scale developed by two physicians named Hunt and Hess to assess the severity and rate of survival for a SAH. It goes from 0-5 (five being most severe). Bernard was classified at about a 3.
We received and are receiving amazing support from family and friends. I want to thank Jane Hagen and Sarah Gregory for offering suggestions about how to communicate via the web on Bernard's condition and for actually setting up this blog for us.
Bernard was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is home embarking on his recovery. His neurosurgeon is planning to put Bernard's picture in the office's "wall of fame" because is it so rare for someone to emerge from this kind of trauma without significant deficits.
Bernard had a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), which is a rarer type of stroke caused by a cerebral aneurysm. The aneurysm was the result of an unknown congenital birth defect, not high blood pressure or atherosclerosis. Of those that have an SAH, 1/3 die before they get to the hospital, 1/3 die at the hospital and 1/3 survive, with survival ranging from vegetative state to former self. You can imagine me trying to take this in as the neurosurgeon sat me down upon Bernard's arrival to ICU and delivered that to me while wiping my tears. They use a scale developed by two physicians named Hunt and Hess to assess the severity and rate of survival for a SAH. It goes from 0-5 (five being most severe). Bernard was classified at about a 3.
We received and are receiving amazing support from family and friends. I want to thank Jane Hagen and Sarah Gregory for offering suggestions about how to communicate via the web on Bernard's condition and for actually setting up this blog for us.
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