Today it is back to Madison to see Stephi. The drive is getting a little easier every time. I am learning the hard lesson that sitting and waiting and worrying and wondering is not good for your own health. I had to take a couple days for myself in order to regroup. I am still feeling a little tired, but better than yesterday. When people ask how you're doing, it is always easier to just say "I'm fine" than to go through another mental meltdown. It will get easier as time goes on. Stephi is strong, and she is doing well. It is very hard to have her so far away sometimes.
Stephanie looks great today! When I don't see her for a couple days I am always amazed to see her progress each time. She got her shunt pulled from her head last Monday. They give it a couple days to determine whether or not her brain will shunt her spinal fluid on it's own. Well....she is looking a bit like a water head today :) The right side of her head is bulging. The extra swelling is causing her to have more of a headache today. It is ice and meds for Stephi today!
The bandages are off. There is an incision that starts on the top right side of her head and extends around and underneath to her right ear. It has a million blue stitches holding it together. She has a few other stitches here and there on her head that must have been the sites of some old drains. Her hair is about 1/4 inch long over her entire head. Thank god she was blessed with a descent shaped head! She is the cutest bald girl I know! She has a few more greys than I remember - but I guess she is entitled to a few greys these days!
Tomorrow she will go to surgery to have a permanent shunt placed that will shunt her spinal fluid into her abdomen. OK...... so I'm a OB nurse .....so....what?!?......Unfortunately for me they say nothing about her cervix - because I would totally understand that!! The shunt will stay with her for life. It will all be done internally so she won't have a tube hanging out - but she is not excited about the surgery- It sounds like a simple procedure compared to what she has been through already. We will all be up here waiting for her to get back.
The plan now is to replace her right bone flap next Thursday if the swelling goes down. This should be the last head surgery for her. I'm sure she has a little fear over these upcoming procedures as she is way more coherent this time around.
Rehabilitation comes next. She will need to go to an inpatient rehab hospital until she is safe enough to go home. She is doing well, but they will need to make sure she is taking information, processing it, and reacting appropriately to different situations. She is still sharp as a tack, but has some trouble processing things related to time (when people were here last, what day things happened on, etc). The filtering seems better today - she still jokes with us but it is always appropriate. Stephi is walking and walking and walking!!! She does not use a walker anymore. She is up and around with stand by assist of another person and walks the hospital hallways. She drags her left foot a little but seems aware of it more today. The left hand is pinching and doing some other fine motor things that were not up to par last week, so it is encouraging. As a matter of fact, we just got done walking to the UW Hospital gift shop (her room is on the 4th floor ICU) It was a pretty good distance. I'm not sure if you are supposed to take a head injury patient too far way from their unit? But no one stopped us and she kept walking. Way to go Steph!
Stephi is asking to go to rehab in Wausau - so if any of you blog followers know a good place please share! She wants to get back toward home and she is missing her kids!! I cant even imagine what is going through her head right now. I want her to come closer to home too (but I know it's not all about me) :) I miss her and I miss my niece and nephew badly! It is sure not the same up there without them. I suppose if Stephi chooses to come back home, our sister Jen will not be far behind! I wouldn't mind having her closer too!
Keep Fighting Stephi!!!
Stephanie looks great today! When I don't see her for a couple days I am always amazed to see her progress each time. She got her shunt pulled from her head last Monday. They give it a couple days to determine whether or not her brain will shunt her spinal fluid on it's own. Well....she is looking a bit like a water head today :) The right side of her head is bulging. The extra swelling is causing her to have more of a headache today. It is ice and meds for Stephi today!
The bandages are off. There is an incision that starts on the top right side of her head and extends around and underneath to her right ear. It has a million blue stitches holding it together. She has a few other stitches here and there on her head that must have been the sites of some old drains. Her hair is about 1/4 inch long over her entire head. Thank god she was blessed with a descent shaped head! She is the cutest bald girl I know! She has a few more greys than I remember - but I guess she is entitled to a few greys these days!
Tomorrow she will go to surgery to have a permanent shunt placed that will shunt her spinal fluid into her abdomen. OK...... so I'm a OB nurse .....so....what?!?......Unfortunately for me they say nothing about her cervix - because I would totally understand that!! The shunt will stay with her for life. It will all be done internally so she won't have a tube hanging out - but she is not excited about the surgery- It sounds like a simple procedure compared to what she has been through already. We will all be up here waiting for her to get back.
The plan now is to replace her right bone flap next Thursday if the swelling goes down. This should be the last head surgery for her. I'm sure she has a little fear over these upcoming procedures as she is way more coherent this time around.
Rehabilitation comes next. She will need to go to an inpatient rehab hospital until she is safe enough to go home. She is doing well, but they will need to make sure she is taking information, processing it, and reacting appropriately to different situations. She is still sharp as a tack, but has some trouble processing things related to time (when people were here last, what day things happened on, etc). The filtering seems better today - she still jokes with us but it is always appropriate. Stephi is walking and walking and walking!!! She does not use a walker anymore. She is up and around with stand by assist of another person and walks the hospital hallways. She drags her left foot a little but seems aware of it more today. The left hand is pinching and doing some other fine motor things that were not up to par last week, so it is encouraging. As a matter of fact, we just got done walking to the UW Hospital gift shop (her room is on the 4th floor ICU) It was a pretty good distance. I'm not sure if you are supposed to take a head injury patient too far way from their unit? But no one stopped us and she kept walking. Way to go Steph!
Stephi is asking to go to rehab in Wausau - so if any of you blog followers know a good place please share! She wants to get back toward home and she is missing her kids!! I cant even imagine what is going through her head right now. I want her to come closer to home too (but I know it's not all about me) :) I miss her and I miss my niece and nephew badly! It is sure not the same up there without them. I suppose if Stephi chooses to come back home, our sister Jen will not be far behind! I wouldn't mind having her closer too!
Keep Fighting Stephi!!!
1 comment:
Sara,
I glad to hear that you are taking care of you! Steph, OMG you go girl two weeks ago tonight I truly thought I would never be able to speak to you again and now you are walking to the gift shop???? Do they have those good carmels like we have? Good job fighting Steph, I am so proud of you!
Also I do now that Marshfields (at Joes)rehab is good, but I am not sure about Wausau! So maybe another blogger knows how Wausau's is!
Have a great weekend!
Keep Fighting!
Georgette
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