Dec/27/09
Hi all. Winkie has been transferred to the general ward. I stayed with him last night. They shifted him out of the adult day ward (next to emergency) around 3:00AM last night. Because he has a “superbug” i.e. ESBL, he has been given a room to himself, with two beds. However, because the bathroom is shared between his and the next room, and he has the superbug, he isn’t allowed to use the in-room toilet, meaning only the portable cammode and urinal, which makes things a little more difficult, but not impossible. If you google ESBL, you’ll see that it’s an antibiotic-resistant enzyme, commonly produced by the bacteria E. Coli and K. pneumoniae. After I sent out the last report, however, I learned from the doctor that they have ruled out ESBL as the cause of Winkie’s stroke, and that he isn’t technically “infected,” only “colonized.” This means that although he has the superbug, it isn’t affecting him.
So no worry on the superbug. The doctor took us to see the ct scan last night – the blood could be seen the in his left temple area, about a 1.5″ diameter round. We are told the damage has been done to his left parietal lobe, which has affected his language processing. What we know…At about 1:30AM (Boxing Day) Winkie was complaining of upperback pain and a headache. I thought he was acting strange, but chalked it up to extreme tiredness and Winkie weirdness. He had had a headache for about two days prior.By this time, Mom was already in bed asleep. After giving him a neck/backrub, and some Panadol for the headache, I made him go to bed. I also went to bed. I heard, in the middle of the night something frightening, but thought it to be my mother, having a nightmare. After we brought him in to hospital, we learned from him that he had gotten up in the middle of the night (after I had sent him to bed, apparently) and taken a diluted form of pharmaceutical grade (pure) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). He apparently had called out in the middle of the night for help, but Mom was fast asleep next to him, and I was in the next room, having waiting for a second sound after the first and heard none. He had had swollen feet (puffy ankles and a puffy right foot) for the last 2 months or so. I now believe that the H202 he took flushed his arteries, because all of the swelling has left his feet – they are back to normal in size. The following morning we received a phone call from the son of a family we were going to be having Boxing Day dinner with- he was asking for a computer recommendation from Dad. Dad was unable to clearly articulate anything to him, and we realized something was quite wrong. We called for an ambulance, and they brought him to Middlemore hospital around 11:00AM. We now know that his stroke was caused not by a clot blockage in his brain, but by a ruptured artery. We don’t know if the H202 he took induced it, but the doctors think it very unlikely. Right now, the doctors are basically just trying to control his blood pressure and pain, waiting for his body to reabsorb the blood, and for the swelling to go down. How is Winkie doing?
We can mostly make sense of what he is saying most of the time, but to try to get him to answer the most basic of questions, Where are you? What is your date of birth? What is my name? these things are severely affected. He is not in a lot of pain. The doctor asked him to give a pain rating for his headache, 1 being the lowest, and 10 being the highest, he finally was able to answer with about a 2-3. He’s comfortable, but frustrated. He realizes that he cannot remember certain things, and he has been trying to process using pen and paper as well as by speaking.I am hoping to gain further clarity from the doctor the next time he visits as to why they have opted out of sending him to the neurosurgeons in Auckland hospital. I think the neuro-surgeons looked at his ct scans, but just need to confirm that.
They have decided against surgery (for pressure relief), ruling it too dangerous. But this, too, I want to ask about.Thanks for your prayers of faith for Winkie! We are hopeful, and are believing with others that are praying for him that he will think and talk and write normally once again.
So no worry on the superbug. The doctor took us to see the ct scan last night – the blood could be seen the in his left temple area, about a 1.5″ diameter round. We are told the damage has been done to his left parietal lobe, which has affected his language processing. What we know…At about 1:30AM (Boxing Day) Winkie was complaining of upperback pain and a headache. I thought he was acting strange, but chalked it up to extreme tiredness and Winkie weirdness. He had had a headache for about two days prior.By this time, Mom was already in bed asleep. After giving him a neck/backrub, and some Panadol for the headache, I made him go to bed. I also went to bed. I heard, in the middle of the night something frightening, but thought it to be my mother, having a nightmare. After we brought him in to hospital, we learned from him that he had gotten up in the middle of the night (after I had sent him to bed, apparently) and taken a diluted form of pharmaceutical grade (pure) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). He apparently had called out in the middle of the night for help, but Mom was fast asleep next to him, and I was in the next room, having waiting for a second sound after the first and heard none. He had had swollen feet (puffy ankles and a puffy right foot) for the last 2 months or so. I now believe that the H202 he took flushed his arteries, because all of the swelling has left his feet – they are back to normal in size. The following morning we received a phone call from the son of a family we were going to be having Boxing Day dinner with- he was asking for a computer recommendation from Dad. Dad was unable to clearly articulate anything to him, and we realized something was quite wrong. We called for an ambulance, and they brought him to Middlemore hospital around 11:00AM. We now know that his stroke was caused not by a clot blockage in his brain, but by a ruptured artery. We don’t know if the H202 he took induced it, but the doctors think it very unlikely. Right now, the doctors are basically just trying to control his blood pressure and pain, waiting for his body to reabsorb the blood, and for the swelling to go down. How is Winkie doing?
We can mostly make sense of what he is saying most of the time, but to try to get him to answer the most basic of questions, Where are you? What is your date of birth? What is my name? these things are severely affected. He is not in a lot of pain. The doctor asked him to give a pain rating for his headache, 1 being the lowest, and 10 being the highest, he finally was able to answer with about a 2-3. He’s comfortable, but frustrated. He realizes that he cannot remember certain things, and he has been trying to process using pen and paper as well as by speaking.I am hoping to gain further clarity from the doctor the next time he visits as to why they have opted out of sending him to the neurosurgeons in Auckland hospital. I think the neuro-surgeons looked at his ct scans, but just need to confirm that.
They have decided against surgery (for pressure relief), ruling it too dangerous. But this, too, I want to ask about.Thanks for your prayers of faith for Winkie! We are hopeful, and are believing with others that are praying for him that he will think and talk and write normally once again.
Blessings,
William
