September 29, 2014

By morning at 10:45am we got a text from my dad saying:
She had a bisection tear of the artery which caused a heart attack. They have her on meds trying to help the heart recover.  She is considered critical-stable.  The results for the last few tests show it is improving, so they are going to keep treating with meds.  They haven't given a timeline, but as long as there is improvement this will be the regiment.

My mom sent an email at 11:52am:

So here is the best update I can give you.  Bear with me cause there has been a lot of things told and thrown out at us.

She has a dissection (tear) on the arteries that feed into her aorta.  She also had a blood clot but it dissolved from the drugs that they gave her at Lakeview.   So she did have a heart attack from the blockage.  They are treating her with meds to try and strengthen her heart.  She has been slightly improving and as long as it keeps going that way they will continue with that scenario, however if she starts to decline they will need to do surgery which would be coronary artery bypass graft.  That involves grafting where the tear is.  Right now she is not in the best shape to have to have that done.  She will have to have that surgery eventually, but they want to do it on a walking patient not a sick patient.

There is no explanation how this tear occurred.  The doctor said this is the third one he has seen this year.  Her nurse has seen around 4 of these in 2 years.

As the team of doctors talked to us the main one said that she came in dying, so where we are now is good.  She is still in critical condition but stable.

They checked her numbers at 10:00 and they were holding.  They will check them again at noon.

She is very heavily sedated, but when the nurse talks to her her eyelids flutter a tiny bit.

This is very confusing and I have tried to tell it the best way I can remember.  Will try to keep you posted as often as possible.  We sit with her for about 2 hours, but are now in the waiting area.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers and offers to help.  I think we are good right now, but this is going to be a long ordeal so the need for help may arise.  Keep praying!!

Mom email at 1:23pm:

They lowered the amount of sedation that they are giving her and she has responded some to our voices.  She moved her feet a little and mildly squeezed our hand.  When I said something her eyes just barely tried to open.  As long as she stays calm and still they will not increase the sedation.

I failed to mention before that the tear is in a very critical spot.

Her numbers at noon were still okay, they will check them again at 2:00.

Don't know what I told before but when the heart attack occurred it stunned the
Left side of her heart and that is what they need to try and bring it out of shock and to heal

Mom email at 5:51pm:

I have just spent the last couple of hours in with her, while j went home to see the girls and to shower.  She is improving and has really came along well.  Of course she still has a long ways to go.

The doctors came in and said it is possible that they may take the tube out of her throat tomorrow.  They are cutting back on some of the meds which is keeping her a little more aware of some things.  So the tube is starting to bother her.   She has stuff in her lungs from when they inti bated her which is causing her to cough it up, which in the long run is good.  She attempted to spell with her finger into my hand and has made perfect sense.

When the doctors were there she wanted to talk so they gave her a clipboard and she wrote questions.  All of this is very encouraging.

Her nurse has been so wonderful and we will never be able to thank her enough.  She gets off at 7:00 tonight, but Thank goodness we get to have her tomorrow morning at 7:00 until 7:00 at night again.

I feel more hopeful after this afternoon, but need to remind myself that it isn't over yet.

Thank goodness Kellie is a strong girl.  I am sure that is in her favor.

Thanks again and keep her close.

A few things that were told me were that when she was writing in my moms palm she ask:
panic attack
My mom asked oh do you want to know if you had a panic attack at your house? And she nodded yes.  My mom said no you didn't this was very serious you are sick. 
The next thing my mom remembers she asks:
Heidi wreck
My mom asked did you want to know how Heidi is holding up? And she nodded yes. 
My mom told her she is doing very good and is taking care of the girls so good.
When she was writing on the clip board to the doctors my mom said it was pretty hard to read because her writing was so small and she was kind of writing the letters on top of each other.  But she did ask about medications worried about her breast milk.  They are pumping for her but have to dump it due to the medication but are trying to keep her milk supply up.
She ended up getting her breathing tube out that evening which was a big relief for her and another mile stone.