From Hope to Healing


During Marc's time at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario, following a massive stroke and brain bleed, a friend suggested I start a blog. I'd been making notes each day and updating his progress on Facebook but after some thought, I realized that this could be something that Marc could later read to follow his journey back to health.

I thought it might also serve to help someone else. If it can help even one other person to recognize the signs of a stroke or to help a family member understand what happens during this battle, then it was worth recording.

This is Marc's story. It begins with our hope for his survival and follows his healing journey.

For those of you new to blogs, you can find previous posts in the Blog Archive on the right side of the page. Each post has the date so you can easily follow along day by day. Just click the one you want to read. This story starts on Saturday, December 8, 2012.

(To see the earlier blog posts, click on "2012" in the Blog Archive section and it will open the posts from December)

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Saturday, January 19, 2013 - Just a Swelled Head

Today was a restful day with no physio or OT, other than what Marc and I did together.  His homework, if you will. 
He did get some good news, however.  His doctor came by with the results of a CT scan that they did yesterday and reported that his initial bleed has healed very well.  The reason for the CT scan is that the size of the swelling on the right side of Marc’s head has been up for debate for a few days.  The swelling is his body’s way of protecting his head while it is missing the bone flap, which was removed during his initial neurosurgery.  It will be replaced in a few months, once all the swelling has subsided. 
We’ve been assured that this swelling is just fluid that will be absorbed through the skin over time.  The debate came when Marc asked a student nurse the other day if she thought the bump had gotten larger and she passed on his concern to his nurse.  It became quite a discussion point.  Some of us thought it had, some thought that the shape changes frequently so it’s hard to tell and some thought it had gotten smaller.  I personally think that it has just shifted downward a bit.  I started teasing him that he now looks like Gumby.    
Clearly we needed to find out for certain. 
After monitoring the swelling by measuring his head daily for a few days, it was decided that a CT scan was in order.  We weren’t expecting an issue as he is not showing any neurological signs of a problem.  In fact he is improving neurologically. 
Turns out he just has a swelled head which must be from all the applause he’s been getting for all the successes he’s had this week. 
So even though the weekend is quiet and more restful, Marc continues to get good news.  I could get used to this. 

1 comment:

  1. I never thought I'd say how relieved I am that my friend's partner is suffering from a swelled head.

    Honestly, at this moment, you've got it made, Sandy!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.