For those who pray (or those who don't)

[mattadams]

Might want to keep Chris (MMPC) and his dad and family in your thoughts. His dad suffered a fairly severe stroke recently and is currently at St. Anthonys Hospital. From Chris's email I got the impression that the doctors had a good outlook, but still need to keep him in your thoughts/prayers!

[Tray]

Well, I'm not a religious man, but if I were, I'd sure add them to my prayers.

Hope all goes smoothly Chris, and rest assured that our thoughts and sympathies are with you.

[Snowman]

Well my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones. Next to a heartattack that is one of the next scariest things..... :angel1:



On another topic: BBBAAAAAHHAAHAHAA.. that avatar is too funny Tray!!!

[Walking Eagle]

My thoughts and sympathies are with Chris and his family.

[Up2myLbowsNmud]

Chris, Im thinking about you with this. Im sorry it had to happen to your family, from what I know, yall have a close one. That must be nice!

This hurts my heart. I had a friend in town last week and we were talking about all of our friend's dads. It seems that recently this is happening a lot to so many of my friends. It's so scary. Life is a precious thing and as our parents start to age, things like this start to happen. IT SUCKS! It really scares me.

I hope everything is ok though and im glad it appears that it will be ok. If there is anything I can do to help you through this, Im here. Really, there isnt anything i have going on so I can help with anything you need. 303-709-6683. Update when you can.

[MMPC]

Thanks to everyone for your kind words - it means a lot right now. :) Wow - the hospital has wireless internet access - who knew?! At least it's not all bad news. :wink: I'm typing this in a waiting room after a conference with my father's doctor. Here's an update:

My dad had a "massive" stroke on the right side of his brain, but fortunately (so fortunately!) it didn't hit any critical areas of the brain like vision, motor skills, speech, etc. Right now he's awake and alert and in no pain - just extremely tired. He's had a CAT scan, MRI and ultrasound on his neck. Basically one of the arteries that feeds his brain is quite clogged. There's a possibility he'll need surgery to dissolve the clots found there - or even better - the heparin he's on will take care of it. That will be determined in the next day or so. He's in the greatest danger right now of having another stroke so the hospital is keeping him in the progressive care unit (just a step below intensive care) to watch.

His prognosis is actually fairly good as long as he doesn't "throw another clot," so we're all praying he doesn't. That's it for now. I'll be in and out over the next few days - the length of time he's expected to stay in the hospital. Thanks again for everyone's best wishes... :)

[clavos]

I am so thankful that it didn't hit any critical areas. Feel comforted knowing that our thoughts are with you and your family, and don't forget to take care of yourself too. Hang in there!

[Up2myLbowsNmud]

Thats so good to hear! Im glad youre able to entertain yourself in the hospital, minutes can seem like hours and hours like weeks and so on...
So basically at the moment everythings ok, just watching to make sure things dont go wrong again? So the danger hes in now, is it due to that clotting you mentioned or is it just common for repeated strokes?
Im so glad to hear that positive news! In the last 2 months or so ive had two other friends who's fathers have had strokes and out of all of those youve been the luckiest.

well wishes, well wishes...
and still, let me know if you need anything.

[MMPC]

well wishes, well wishes...
and still, let me know if you need anything.
Again, thanks for the sentiments from everyone. Yes, the internet access is a bonus - I'm actually not sure it's really a "service" they offer as much as I'm mooching off of one of their networks - LOL. But whatever works, right? They don't have WEP enabled, so I'm going to use it! :D

Yes, right now the danger is posed from the clots in his arteries dislodging and going up into his brain. It is a real concern but the hope is that the heparin (blood thinning drug) will prevent that from happening. Still no news on whether he'll need surgery or not. I'll be home after 8pm tonight (when they kick us out), perhaps I'll have more news then...

[MMPC]

Okay, Friday morning and a little bit more information. My father is pretty stable right now, the heparin is evidently working as intended. Soon they'll transfer him from that drug to one called coumadin - still a blood thinner but in pill form instead of IV drip. Once he's been on that for a day or two, we're hopeful he should be able to go home. So right now it looks like Sunday will be the earliest that will happen.

The doctors have also stated they do want him to have surgery on one of his carotid arteries in about 4-6 weeks, after things have stabilized further. Evidently some blood is getting through, but there's a lot of blockage they want to get rid of.

Anyway, in the grand scheme of things, he's still been incredibly lucky to this point. My family and I are thankful for eveyone's best wishes and prayers. If things continue to progress they way they have been, all signs point to a nearly full recovery!

[mattadams]

Chris, glad ot hear all is going well! As others have mentioned, strokes rarely are that easy! I know one of my friends grandmas had a stroke, and she pretty much lost the use of the left half of her body, there was no way for the brain to signal the muscles to do anything, that included her arms and legs, her facial muscles, etc. Not a very good situation. Sounds like your dad is doing quite well! Glad ot hear it!

[y33dave]

As my signature says ...

I'm glad to hear all is well and Dad is on the road to recovery ..

happy healthy thoughts from my family to yours!

If you need anything .. I get the feeling this littel rmftc community would drop what they are doing to lend a helping hand ! That's so awesome to see.

Give Dad a hug from all of us !

Dave
:angel1:

[MMPC]

Well I got some good news this morning - my father will be able to go home today. :D Now the challenge with his "Type-A" personality is to keep him from going right back to overdoing it, LOL. He'll have to undergo a vascular angioplasty in about a month and then possibly surgery on his carotid artery, but all things considered, he's in good shape right now.

Anyway, I wanted to again thank everyone who sent their thoughts and prayers our way - it's helped my family through a tough time. Hard to believe it hasn't even been a week since he went into the hospital - it feels like a month...

[mattadams]

sounds good :)

[Up2myLbowsNmud]

awesome to hear! My dad is like that... always doing too much, working too hard... i think its just because if he satyed at home all day my mother would annoy him and stress him more than the office...

buy him some good books, that will keep him still for a while...

[MMPC]

awesome to hear! My dad is like that... always doing too much, working too hard... i think its just because if he satyed at home all day my mother would annoy him and stress him more than the office...

buy him some good books, that will keep him still for a while...
Thanks. LOL, sounds like our fathers are similar type-A's. The book suggestion is a good one - I'll have to fine a few...

[Tray]

Or steal all of his left shoes. :lol: