It's Diane. I've been here at the hospital since about noon. Sharon didn't get even a minute of sleep last night. She has been so wonderful with Dad! I hope she is home getting some much-needed and much-deserved rest.
Just to fill in those who didn't hear the beginning of the story... Saturday afternoon, Dad had an intracerebral hemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke) caused by hypertension. The bleed is located deep on the left side of his brain. He was initially taken to Mountain West Medical Center in Tooele and then was moved to the University of Utah Hospital.
The exciting news this afternoon is that they took out Dad's breathing tube. Thank goodness! They did all kinds of lung function tests first to make sure he was ready. The pulmonary specialist is my new hero. Dad did really well at doing everything he was told to do. He took deep breaths and blew them out. He coughed on command. Dad is much more comfortable with that miserable thing gone. He's resting, which is what they want him to do for now.
Dad's nurse today (Kira) is SO great! She has come in to check Dad's responsiveness to commands. He is still doing great with the left side, and also continues to squeeze gently with his right hand and move his right toes when prompted. Oh, and the other happy news: Kira said he is opening his right eye much better than he was. I didn't see it before, but it looks great to me!
Dad's new doctor, Dr. French, just stopped by. He's going to be followed by neurology now instead of neurosurgery. The occupational/physical therapists are here now. I'll post again soon with all of the new info.
So glad to hear there is progress! What were your dad's symtoms when it first happened?
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