Day 81 - Sunday March 4, 2012

Bridgett ate much better today and also was able to drink quite a bit.  Overall she is doing better each day.  She still hurts "everywhere" a lot, but overall better.  I only had to give her Tylenol once today.  Jenn came over and gave her a foot massage for quite a while, which always helps her.   We did a few activities, mostly quiet things.  Mark got back from Montana today--yippee!  It's good for Bridgett to have Mark around and it's so helpful to me to have my honey here and to have not just another adult--but another parent here!

Day 80 - Saturday March 3, 2012

Today was mostly a quiet day.  Bridgett felt a little better.  She is looking a little stronger and her color is better.  Perhaps whatever was happening is getting better.  She hasn't passed out since Monday.  I randomly check her blood sugar and it's between 84-95.  However, today she didn't eat very well and didn't drink very well.  By afternoon I was feeling frustrated.  I just want her to feel better or find someone who can help her. She feels  weak like she can't get up from the couch etc. but if she tries she can do it.  Tyler is great at getting her to try things.  Usually the kids and I can find a way to get her to eat or drink by making it a game or whatever, but nothing was working.  We often (since she has been sick) set the timer for 10-15 minutes and get her to take 3-5 sips of liquid.  Or we can give her choices about what to eat and we can find something to tempt her.  Finally I sent Arrianne and Stephany to visit Jenn and get out of the house; it can get depressing.  By the time they got back I was so frustrated I wanted to just cry but I determined to find another way to deal with things. I sweetly said Bridgett ever since you have been little, whenever you are sick I would give you a little bit of flat ginger ale or some toast.  Which one would be best for you right now; she said toast, so I made some.  Arrianne suggested that I break the toast into little bitty bites so that she could eat it easier.  I took off the crust and did just that and she ate the whole thing. I know that biting things is difficult because of her teeth and perhaps when she is not feeling well it's just too much.  Later on I said when you were in the hospital and feeling sick one of your very nice nurses, Mike, ordered your a toasted cheese sandwich and you ate it and you felt better.  If I make you a toasted cheese sandwich and cut it into cute little shapes that would be fun to eat right.  She said yes, so I did just that and cut off the crusts and she ate the little triangles and squares.   After that she drank better and we played some relaxation music.  She sat and looked at pictures.  She still can't see them really clearly, but better than before.  We all talked together for quite a while and finally went to bed.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.  She has an appointment with the neuro rehab doctor on Tuesday and the neurosurgeon on Thursday, so we've got to get her feeling better by then!  Please everyone continue to remember her in your prayers.

Day 79 - Friday March 2, 2012

Thursday night after Bridgett threw up I went and looked again at the side effects of the antibiotic she was on.  I remembered that it caused nausea, but I was wondering if it caused loss of appetite and IT DID!  So, that was the problem lately.  Since the nurse had told me that she didn't have a urine infection when they cultured it and since I couldn't get a hold of her doctor (I found out that they do not do any after hours answering of calls--no one is on call) I decided to quit giving her the antibiotic.  Well, it worked!  She started having an appetite again by this morning.  She woke up and ate two pieces of french toast.  Throughout the day she ate all of her meals and a couple of snacks.  She drank six glasses of water!  She seems a little stronger, but still complains that everything hurts.  By evening she was exhibiting classic signs of a urinary tract infection--frequency--like every 10-15 minutes. So, this is the third UTI since she left the ICU--two times in rehab at the U of U and then now.  Normally I would give her D-mannose in pill form, plus acidophilus (which I am already doing).  So, I left her with the kids and ran to the health food store and got the D-mannose.   I also got AZO which is a special pain reliever for UTI's that is sold at the any regular store.  You can use it for two days only, to ease symptoms while the medication starts working.  Only two days worth comes in a package.  So we will see how things go now.  I am used to trying lots of natural alternatives, but with Bridgett's serious health history I have been reluctant to do too much.  However, this is a case where I think what I am doing is definitely easier on her system.  Some of these medications really worry me--the list of side effects is horrible and they are bad side effects.  I will feel much better when she is not taking them--and I think that Bridgett will too!   I decided that since Bridgett is missing therapy while she is recovering, we need to work even harder to fill in the gaps.  I found some really neat "flash cards" from Amazon that are perfect for speech therapy.  They are sturdy and brightly colored.  I ordered several sets and the first two arrived today.  I opened just the first box and went thru the 40 cards.  I put out four cards to choose from and asked (for example) this is something I put my head on when I sleep--which picture is it.  She would point to the pillow.  Then I would say what is the name of that? 18 of the cards she knew the correct picture and what the name was on the first try.  20 of the cards she knew the correct picture and knew the name if I gave her the beginning sound (the speech therapists said this is OK to do).  Two of the cards I had to prompt her even more, but she got the name.  I felt really good about this.  Initially, if you remember, they would show her cards and she couldn't get even one.  I have a list of things that we do with her at home, depending on the day and how busy we are with other appointments.  I added these flash cards to the list. This is my list:

• read to Bridgett
• have Bridgett read something I print in large type
• have Bridgett write something
• play some games with money
• play a card game
• do some of the speech therapy games
• describe things for Bridgett to guess what they are, and have her describe to us
• play ball
• play bean bag toss game (football)
• practice her balance
• walk
• quiz her on long term memory questions and cue her to remember things
• listen to classical music for one hour
• flash cards

Maybe we do some other things too, but these are the things I have on my checklist.  By the way, I was remembering when my mom had her stroke.  No one realized at first it had happened, even though it happened at the oral surgeon's office while he was working on her.  By the time dad realized what had happened, it was too late for any emergency treatment.  Dad and mom didn't have any medical insurance, so dad decided that he could rehab mom--and he did an EXCELLENT job!  He got books from the library and studied them.  He found out everything he could.  She was having trouble walking, so he would take her to the grocery store and have her sit in the car and watch how other people walked and then he would have her try to imitate it--using a cart for support.  He did lots of things, but the point is--lots can be done at home.  I want Bridgett to do rehab but when she can't I can certainly fill in.  And sometimes I can see that the student therapist do a poor job.  For instance, the physical therapist student that took Bridgett walking--more and more we realize that this is probably what put her over the edge and caused her to be SO sick that day, which triggered the passing out etc.  I have talked to several experts in the field of TBI's and they all say that it was VERY inadvisable for him to take her on that kind of a walk, especially when they had just started working with her and didn't really know much about her situation.  It was very much an overload of stimulation for her so soon after a brain injury.  Once in the rehab at U of U, one of the student physical therapists hurt Bridgett so much that she almost threw up.  The gal apologized, but that doesn't help much.  In fact, one of the first days we were there, the therapist put an older man on a slant board/leg press and walked away from him.  The man fell off the slant board onto the tile floor.  I was aghast!  I thought to myself that I was so glad that I was with Bridgett all of the time.  This man's family wasn't there and I'm sure no one volunteered that information that he was hurt during therapy and it was their fault.  Mark was with me too and I wished that I had written down the date it happened and maybe even tried to see who the man was.  We were so new and everyone there (there were a lot of people there) just returned to their work or to their family member like we were supposed to ignore it.

Day 78 - Thursday March 1, 2012

Some days just seem so long and today was one of them!  All day Bridgett had no appetite and it was very difficult to get her to eat anything.  She had a few little baby bites of different things and hardly drank anything.  She keeps saying her stomach hurts.  Tyler and I took her to the hospital for the CT scans.  She was very weak and walked very slowly and using little tiny steps.  Several people offered to get a wheelchair for her, but I figured it was good for her to walk a little.  She did just fine with the CT's.  The technician gave me a shield and let me stay with her for the whole thing.  They did one set of pictures without contrast, a second set as soon as they gave the contrast, and one about 10 minutes after the contrast had been given.  She had the normal reactions--metallic taste in the mouth and the sensation of heat.  They told her it would feel like she wet her pants, but she wouldn't really.  That made her a little nervous, but she was just fine.  When they were done, her right hand (this is the arm they put the contrast in) was twitching every few seconds.  It hurt her, and she said ouch every time.  He assured me that this was not a normal reaction and he had never seen it before.  He also assured me that he had placed the IV correctly, etc.  I said we would remain at the hospital until it stopped, just in case.  When we helped her out into the waiting room, she said her left knee hurt really bad as well.  Again, not one of the usual reactions.  We waited in the hospital for an additional 15 minutes, and then the twitching subsided.  The knee still hurt, but by the time we got home she didn't bring it up again.  She was very nauseated on the drive both there and back, but didn't throw up.  When we got home she just rested and continued to say that everything in her body was hurting, especially her kidney.  I called the doctors office in the afternoon and they said that the techs told them it would be noon tomorrow before they had any information.  Bummer!  Then, just before the office closed they called and said they had just got the report.  Everything was normal with the CT's just like the blood work--no kidney stones, no cysts, no tumors etc.  Also the urine culture turned up negative.  That's all good and fine I said, but then why is she so sick and miserable.  They said that Dr. Hafen was referring us to an endocrinologist to see.  I felt very frustrated.  She is so miserable, she even said this evening that maybe she should go back to the hospital.  We did everything we could think of to get her to eat or drink.  Aunt Debbi showed up and tried to help as well.  She finally ate a few bites of pudding and then threw up.  I gave her some Zofran and actually would have earlier but she never said she was nauseated. (note to self--when she complains that her stomach hurts, specifically ask if she feels like she is going to throw up) Later on she felt a little better and finally had a yogurt and finished her second six ounce cup of water (for the day).  She slept fairly well, but awoke about 3:30 and I talked to her for a while until she finally slept again.  I'm not getting too much sleep these days, worrying about her and trying to figure out what to do.  I will try for a nap today when Arrianne gets here after school.  Jenn went to the brain injury support group for Provo tonight and got a lot of good information.  I hope to be able to attend next month, and if possible have Bridgett with me.  It's a support group for the injured person and their caregiver(s).

Day 77 - Wednesday February 29, 2012

I am not panicking about what is causing Bridgett to faint--I just want to find out what is wrong and treat it.  Most of the scenarios of what could be wrong are not serious if treated.  I am more worried about something being serious, not diagnosed and left untreated.  I think most of us agree--the unknown is what is scary.  However, at this point it seems that we should be able to get to the root of the problem.  If Dr. Hafen does not find anything I will talk to Dr. Speed (rehab doctor) about the patch behind the ear thing, or any other suggestion that he has.  Today we had a fairly good day.  Bridgett did rest up a lot and she seems a little stronger. I think this whole thing has just wiped her out for a few days. We started off the morning with a bang when she got out of bed and went to Stephany's bed and tried to move the covers and get in.  Bridgett's bedding is on Stephany's bed right now and she recognized it and knew it was her bed.  Also, that bed is adjusted to the highest height (so you can store things under it) and Bridgett is used to having her bed high.  Naturally, we don't want her up that high, especially now while she is unsteady.  Stephany woke up and told Bridgett that it was her bed, etc.  I woke up and helped get Bridgett back in her bed, somewhat reluctantly.  She continues to hum and la-la around the house, which is a good sign to me.  We did some work with coins.  She could name what all of the coins were worth and find the right coins to make the correct change.  She couldn't always separate the coins correctly when we were sorting--vision related??  She played cards tonight--three/thirteens.  We only played the hand of three's and four's in order to get it cemented in her mind. In these hands you can get a set or run of three and she did well.  The other hands change all the time so we will wait until tomorrow to do those.  We also had her add up the points that we got stuck with and she did good on that too. I spoke to the doctors office and they said that all of her blood work came in normal.  They were going to do that test for the three month blood sugar--the A1c test.  I don't know if they did or not and I'm fairly sure that it wouldn't show low blood sugar, just an average.  I will have to ask more about this.  Anyway, they said that her blood sugar was 95, fine.  All of her electrolytes were appropriate.  I need to ask what specific tests they did--just for curiousity really.  However, I'm sure the doctors next week will want to know (we have appointments with the rehab doctor and neurosurgeon).  Dr. Hafen will be waiting for the CT results that will be done tomorrow.  They will hook her up to an IV and do a contrast test (with dye).  We have to be at the hospital at 10:00 a.m. for the procedure.   

Day 76 - Tuesday February 28, 2012

I called the doctors office early and explained the whole situation. I told them that I really needed to find out why she is fainting and so we can do something about it.  We need to get to the bottom of this!  So, anyway, the gal talked to the doctor who said he wanted to see Bridgett and exam her; so, we set up an appointment for 3:30.  I asked them to switch the CT scans they had ordered to Mt. Timpanogos hospital, as I recently learned that they are in network.  We will go there from now on if there is an emergency.  The doctors office gave me the scheduling number to call and get the appointment set up but when I called they said they can't make the appointment until the insurance authorizes it but they said we could make the appointment for Thursday or Friday as it surely will be authorized by then.  So, I made the appointment for Thursday.  I carefully monitored what Bridgett ate and drank and then at 2:50 Tyler and I loaded her up and headed for the doctors office.  We made it with about three minutes to spare!  Bridgett kept saying all the way in that she was about to throw up, but she made it.  We had to wait about 10 minutes at the doctors office.  I asked if they had a place she could lay down.  They got a room ready, but only about 1-2 minutes before they would have had it ready.  I took her in and she laid down on the examining table--not real comfortable, but better then sitting up when you aren't feeling good.  The doctor examined her and ordered a urine test, which came back showing infection.  He gave us a prescription for an antibiotic.  Also, I talked to him and said I didn't want to give her the Vicodin because of the whole issue with nausea and dizziness.  I said she's taken Lortab before without any problems, can we do that again.  So, I got a prescription for that.  Then we discussed the whole issue of the elevated DHEA and also why is she fainting.  He ordered a bunch more blood work and said he'd have the results on that tomorrow (Wed.).  I said, she never fainted before and it's been 11 weeks tomorrow since the accident, so you'd think that it's something else besides the brain injury.  He said, that makes sense but it's a very complicated issue so hard to know.  Anyway, I guess we are doing what we can to figure it all out and that's the big thing.  Bridgett made it home without commenting once about being nauseated.  It was at rush hour, so I went home via State Street.  So, all the way from American Fork to Provo to our apartment--we only had to stop at five red lights--can you believe it!  And actually, on the drive there the freeway had pretty light traffic.  So, we notice small blessings where ever we find them and very much appreciate each tender mercy.  During this time period since Friday afternoon--Bridgett's mind has been a little muddled in regards to her memory.  This evening she lay in bed with all of us in the room and she remembered all kinds of things that she hasn't remember yet--the names of our horses (we used to have) and random stuff like that.  It made us all feel so much better!  Jenn told me tonight that her friend Bree (with the past brain injury) said that she was fainting and was dizzy so had to wear a patch behind her ear after her injury, so maybe this is all related to the brain injury.  I need to find out who her primary care physician is as he apparently has experience--even if he gained it all while working with her.  That's a huge thing--someone who's dealt with these things before.  On the insurance front--Mark is dealing with people at our company trying to get them to relent and work with us.  He has now started dialog with the supervisor of our case manager and hopefully we can get somewhere without having to involve a lawyer.  It seems like they must realize that it's better to work things out peacefully first--better for all of us--especially for Bridgett.  We are just trying to do the best things for her and trying to help out all we can.

Day 75 - Monday February 27, 2012

Most of the day Bridgett rested.  She started feeling nauseated in the afternoon and I gave her one of the Zofran tablets.  Her primary care physician office (Dr. Hafen's) called to say that she had elevated DHEA levels shown on her blood tests and that they want to schedule a CT of the pelvis and adrenal gland.  They said they would let us know when it was set up.  I explained about the weekend and said that she was still nauseated.  They talked to the doctor and said to continue the Zofran until she felt better.  Bridgett seemed a little foggy in the afternoon and unclear about some things.  In the early evening she got up to go to the bathroom, after sitting for about 15 minutes, and she again collapsed, but this time onto the couch as we were still standing by the couch.  She was "out" for about 20 seconds.  But, she started talking and seemed OK.  I took her blood pressure--which was normal.  She wasn't dehydrated--she had been drinking and peeing normally.  So then I thought low blood sugar--which Tyler and Arrianne thought at the same time.  She hadn't eaten much because she'd felt nauseated.  We gave her yogurt, a fried egg and one of the Boost drinks.  I figured we could always go to the urgent care if necessary.  After two hours I went and bought a glucometer.  Her blood sugar was 84--so low for after eating.  We had her eat more and by this time she was actually hungry.  She had some applesauce, then peanut butter on toast and finally some macaroni and cheese (used to be my favorite food when I was a kid and is one of her favorites-although I know not too healthy).  After eating her blood sugar was 117--so still low.  But, at least she had protein to eat and some carbs.  I watched her through the night and only woke her once to talk to her.  This morning (Tuesday) I looked up info about high DHEA levels and it says this can cause Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (they already wondered if she had this because of the cyst problems she's had in the past), insulin resistance and Addison's Disease.  The insulin resistance can cause low blood sugar among other things.  The Addison's Disease says that it is frequently undiagnosed until someone has an accident or requires surgery--which makes the disease advance quickly.  I will definitely be calling the doctors office this morning.  We need to find out about this quick, because Addison's Disease can be very serious.