Day 6 - Out of the Woods and Into Rehab

Welcome to the Chamberlin blog. So many of you have been so faithful about praying, calling and wanting to know what is going on with Mom. For some reason, it seems that daily my distribution list named "Mom Update" gets deleted from Outlook (probably because of something I do) and I have to create a new one! Fearful that I'll leave someone off that I promised to include, I decided it's time for a Chamberlin Blog...so this one's for you!

As I (Audi) have said before, we have been so humbled by the number of people who have called, written, or come to our rescue in the midst of Mom's illness. Cards, letters, emails, visits, babysitters, food, prayers, tears...all on behalf of my sweet mother who for so many, many years has been on the giving end of things. Now it is her time to receive.

We are so blessed to have the love of family and friends - near and far - to support us during this time. If I ever neglect to say thank you, please forgive me. I do not take your prayers and well wishes for granted. How many times have we said "How do people go through these things without a faith, good family, and friends? I'm glad I'll never have to find out.

Well, for those of you who are just catching up with you, I'll give you the short version. (Feel free to check out now if you've been on board since the middle of December). Back on December 16, Mom had open heart surgery. Five (yes, 1-2-3-4-5) bypasses were done. She came through with flying colors and the staff was amazed by "her numbers" that day. Then later that afternoon, her bleeding became an issue and after a total of 10 units of blood, plasma, and platelets...she was finally "out of the woods."

Mom came home and was well on her way to recovery. She started rehab and did the bike and the treadmill. Her comment about that was "it wasn't that hard." I guess all that weight lifting at the Y and those hours on the elliptical trainer paid off...

Then, Dad came down with a nasty stomach virus. We spent the day at the ER with him getting him rehydrated. We kept them separated so Mom wouldn't get it but I guess they had done their "smooching" after Dad got the bug and before he exhibited any symptoms because 2 days later, Mom was at the ER with the same bug. She stayed in the hospital for 4 days because upon examination they found that she had a plueral effusion (water around the lung) -- not uncommon in patients after open heart surgery -- but it was something they wanted to watch and not let get out of hand. She came through that okay and was "out of the woods" once again.

Friday, January 18th was a good day. Mom told me, "I feel normal again...almost like before the surgery." The next day, she gave Dad a "concert" on the piano. Then, while working on the computer in the bedroom, Dad heard a "thud." Mom had gone down and it was back to the hospital, this time because she had a stroke.

She was in ICU and it's certainly been an up and down roller coaster ride. It took awhile to get her Atrial Fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) back into a normal rhythm. This was probably what caused her to "throw a clot" and have a stroke. She was finally "chemically converted" (yeah, I didn't know that term before this so I'm not really that smart) and back into a sinus (normal) rhythm. "Out of the woods" once again.

Just today, Mom was transferred to acute rehab. She has aphasia (or dysphasia to be exact) which just means she has difficulty processing language. She knows what she wants to say and is still as smart and as sharp as she always was. It's like the printer for your computer is just not working right. She is making rapid progress with her speech! However, she is still extremely frustrated.

She also has right hemi-paresis...can't use her right arm/leg. Today, though, we saw those little right toes wiggle! She recognizes her hand/foot as being her own (which is good - some patients have neglect and don't even pay attention to the affected side), and it is so sweet how she takes such good care of that "piano hand" that has served God's church for all of these years.

Finally, she's still on oxygen...I'm guessing because she still has that Pleural Effusion (don't know I'm not a doctor). She's breathing much easier now, so in that regard I'm thinking she's "out of the woods" once again.

We are praying that if God sees fit, He will heal her with a zeal that will make everyone take notice of His mighty power. God certainly has been working through her all of these years so we're hoping he'll use this opportunity to do it again!

Enough for the details...in future postings, we'll try to relate to you some of the awesome things that have gone on behind the scenes, beyond the facts, and in our hearts.