AudreyNicole
Well-known member
My mom started to call my Nana at 9am yesterday morning because she had a 10am doctors appointment to get ready for. Well after she didn't answer for about a half hour, my mom started getting worried and her and my dad headed over to her apartment. When they got there, they found her on the bathroom floor unconscious. They called 911 right away, and when the paramedics got there, they said that she was so dehydrated that they couldn't get any veins for and IV, and her blood sugar was only 21. Apparently a normal blood sugar level is around 100-108. She was completely unresponsive, but her heart beat was still strong. They finally got an IV into her at the hospital, and as she started getting the glucose water, she started to come around. She is still very confused and doesn't know where she is, but knows her name, her age, and what year it is. She can recognize her family, and asks for us when we aren't with her. I was at the hospital for 8 hours yesterday and only saw her for about 10 minutes. They have her in ICU. The doctors are very concerned about her kidney and liver function, and they also determined that she is bleeding internally, but they can't find a source yet. Nana was in perfect health until about 2 days ago. My mom saw her Sunday morning and she was acting fine, and said she just felt a little sick in the stomach. The next morning they found her. She must have known something was wrong, because she had unlocked the chain lock on the front door and had the phone and the card with all of our numbers on it with her in the bathroom. She just didn't have the strength to call. Things are still very touch and go, and she may not survive this. If you could please spare some extra thoughts and prayers for her, they are greatly needed and appreciated. Nana will be 85 next month, and we are not ready to lose her. My boys adore her, and Joshua especially has been asking for her alot. We are very close, and my heart is breaking. I will update as I know more.
UPDATE - Wednesday, August 23 9:10am
DH and I were in to see Nana last night, and my mom and aunt were with her all day yesterday. She is in ICU. They said that the internal bleeding has stopped, and her vital signs are good. Her kidney and liver function are still very low. They are in shock, and the doctors are trying to jump start them. They got her sugar levels back to normal, and have hydrated her (so much so that she is REALLY puffy). If her kidneys don't want to work on their own, they are confident that they can put her on dialysis temporarily to get them back working correctly, but if her liver doesn't correct itself, the outcome will be grim. She has been producing a tiny bit of urine, which is a good sign, but not as much as they would like. Her color is good, and she seemed very happy to see us. She taked to us for about 15 minutes and then said she was tired so we left so she could get some sleep. This is going to be a long road, and we are by no means out of the woods. The doctors are saying this could still go either way, so your thoughts and prayers are still needed. I know they are being heard, because she is fighting. I will update again soon. Hugs to you all...
UPDATE - August 25 - 8:15am
Thank you all so much... Nana is still with us. They did surgery on Wednesday night and removed 1-2" of oher small intestin, 1-2" of her bowel and 2" of her rectum, so she has a permanent colostomy bag now. All of the stuff that they removed was dead tissue, and they wanted to get that out of there. Her kidneys and liver still aren't functioning, but they are starting dialysis this morning to see if they can get the kidneys jumpstarted. If they can, they are confident her liver will follow suit. She is on a respirator temporarily because they don't want her to have to use her energy to breathe. She has no fever so there is so signs of infection which is good. She is hanging in there and fighting hard, but it is still very much a one day at a time situation. The doctors aren't optimistic, but they aren't giving up either. They told my mom and aunt that if they didn't do the surgery, she would pass withinn 24 hours, so they went ahead. So far, she is still with us. Thank you so much for praying for her and sending your thoughts. They are being heard, I know. I will update more if things change...
UPDATE - August 29 - 4:45pm
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers! Nana is doing MUCH better. The surgery was a success. Her liver is repairing itself and she is having kidney dialysis 3 days a week in hopes that her kidneys will straighten themselves out! They have weined her off of the respirator, and are planning to give her some solid foods this week! Today, they got her out of bed and pur her in the chair in her room. She will probably be in ICU for a few more days, and then they will move her to a regular room. I believe that Nana has been given a miracle. At nearly 85 years old, she has fought through an illness that has taken so many other lives at a much younger age. Her strength, will and faith are truly amazing. We are just at the beginning of a very long road, but her progress in the last week has been outstanding, and the doctors are very optimistic. GO NANA!
UPDATE - September 7th - 10:30am
Sorry I haven't updated recently... Nana is doing wonderfully! The doctors are amazed at her progress! She is now out of ICU and eating regular foods. Her liver has completely returned to normal and the doctors told us that she has a 70% chance that her kidneys will return to functioning and she won't need dialysis. They are looking better than they were, but she is still doing dialysis 3 times a week until further notice. She can't live alone anymore, so we are clearing out her apartment, and her lovebug of a cat has taken up new residence with us
They are starting her on physical therapy to strengthen her, and anticipate she should be out of the hospital in a few weeks! Her birthday is the 18th and we are planning to make it extra special for her since we didn't think she'd see 85 years old... Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. I know they were heard. We all appreciate it so much!
UPDATE - Wednesday, August 23 9:10am
DH and I were in to see Nana last night, and my mom and aunt were with her all day yesterday. She is in ICU. They said that the internal bleeding has stopped, and her vital signs are good. Her kidney and liver function are still very low. They are in shock, and the doctors are trying to jump start them. They got her sugar levels back to normal, and have hydrated her (so much so that she is REALLY puffy). If her kidneys don't want to work on their own, they are confident that they can put her on dialysis temporarily to get them back working correctly, but if her liver doesn't correct itself, the outcome will be grim. She has been producing a tiny bit of urine, which is a good sign, but not as much as they would like. Her color is good, and she seemed very happy to see us. She taked to us for about 15 minutes and then said she was tired so we left so she could get some sleep. This is going to be a long road, and we are by no means out of the woods. The doctors are saying this could still go either way, so your thoughts and prayers are still needed. I know they are being heard, because she is fighting. I will update again soon. Hugs to you all...
UPDATE - August 25 - 8:15am
Thank you all so much... Nana is still with us. They did surgery on Wednesday night and removed 1-2" of oher small intestin, 1-2" of her bowel and 2" of her rectum, so she has a permanent colostomy bag now. All of the stuff that they removed was dead tissue, and they wanted to get that out of there. Her kidneys and liver still aren't functioning, but they are starting dialysis this morning to see if they can get the kidneys jumpstarted. If they can, they are confident her liver will follow suit. She is on a respirator temporarily because they don't want her to have to use her energy to breathe. She has no fever so there is so signs of infection which is good. She is hanging in there and fighting hard, but it is still very much a one day at a time situation. The doctors aren't optimistic, but they aren't giving up either. They told my mom and aunt that if they didn't do the surgery, she would pass withinn 24 hours, so they went ahead. So far, she is still with us. Thank you so much for praying for her and sending your thoughts. They are being heard, I know. I will update more if things change...
UPDATE - August 29 - 4:45pm
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers! Nana is doing MUCH better. The surgery was a success. Her liver is repairing itself and she is having kidney dialysis 3 days a week in hopes that her kidneys will straighten themselves out! They have weined her off of the respirator, and are planning to give her some solid foods this week! Today, they got her out of bed and pur her in the chair in her room. She will probably be in ICU for a few more days, and then they will move her to a regular room. I believe that Nana has been given a miracle. At nearly 85 years old, she has fought through an illness that has taken so many other lives at a much younger age. Her strength, will and faith are truly amazing. We are just at the beginning of a very long road, but her progress in the last week has been outstanding, and the doctors are very optimistic. GO NANA!
UPDATE - September 7th - 10:30am
Sorry I haven't updated recently... Nana is doing wonderfully! The doctors are amazed at her progress! She is now out of ICU and eating regular foods. Her liver has completely returned to normal and the doctors told us that she has a 70% chance that her kidneys will return to functioning and she won't need dialysis. They are looking better than they were, but she is still doing dialysis 3 times a week until further notice. She can't live alone anymore, so we are clearing out her apartment, and her lovebug of a cat has taken up new residence with us
