Hubby in the Hospital

[OldBroad]

Now that @DianaCox's and my mom is on the mend (she will probably go home next week from the nursing home), it's hubby's turn to be the patient. Duncan woke up this morning with a headache on one side of his head and severe vertigo. I made him grimace at me (to check the symmetry of his facial muscles) and grab both my hands and concluded he wasn't having a stroke. I was right about that.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean that all was well. We were advised by the Blue Cross nurse to call 911 anyway. Duncan got an ambulance ride, and I followed in my car after I got dressed and took my vitamins with me.

After several tests, they concluded that he had a vertebral artery dissection. That sounds horrible, but is less scary than it sounds. He has a small tear inside one of the arteries that leads to the brain through the neck. There is a loose flap of tissue that was partially obstructing the flow of blood to a portion of the brain that regulates balance. However, there was no clot and no bleeding, so no stroke.

He's being kept in hospital for a couple of days to get IV heparin treatment while under close observation. I'm packing up right now to go back and spend the night with him, mostly for emotional reasons. The cats will have to manage without us tonight, but I doubt they'll notice much as long as there is food in their bowls.

My biggest issue right now is how many electronic devices to take with me for one night. Can I live without my laptop for a 15 hours? Will my little Google Nexus 7 suffice to keep me entertained? Stay tuned for the next episode of Hamlet Family Hospital

 

[southernlady]

Rachael, I am sorry...please keep us posted. Hugs to both of you.

 

[DianaCox]

I was wondering if we were going to get away from our house without some drama at our end too - but we safely arrived at our first stop of a three week RV trip already. First is was Rachael's and my dad having a disagreement with his ladyfriend about his memory that sounded like it was going to end with her sending him back to live with us (which would be fine with me), then woke up to hearing from Rachael about her husband - we Googled our way through the differential diagnosis, learning as we went.

(We told Dad to feel free to come down to our house while we are away, and take a break if necessary.)

 

[Yvonne]

Because I'm coming in late. Have a great trip. I didn't realize you were from San Jose. I'm from San Leandro. Lived in the Bay Area most of my life from 1yrs old to 16 yrs old. Hope your trip doesn't have too much drama to deal with.

Yvonne

 

[newanatomy]

I hope all goes well with your hubby! Try and rest yourself.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Oh boy, that does sound scary. Sounds like you handled it very well and had the clarity to take care of yourself as well, so bravo to you! Hope he's better very soon!

 

[hilary1617]

I say, one device per night. Mix it up! Wishing Duncan a speedy recovery!

 

[OldBroad]

Thanks everyone for your good wishes. Duncan is doing pretty well today. The headache and vertigo have mostly gone away. He's still labeled a falling risk, so he has to get a nurse or aide to help him up from the bed. The heparin dosage has been cut back twice now because his readings were getting too high. He's going for an MRI of his head and neck to make sure that there is no bleeding or clot formation.

It wasn't a restful night for either of us. He was getting blood drawn every few hours and vitals checks even more frequently. I did fall asleep quickly after each interruption even though the guest "bed" was too hard and narrow for me.

Right now, they are planning to keep him until Tuesday, but he may be discharged tomorrow if everything is going very well.

 

[brooklyngirl]

@OldBroad happy to hear about improvements! May I ask why/how something like this happens?

 

[OldBroad]

The number one cause of dissection of the vertebral artery is trauma. Duncan hasn't been in an accident. It may have been caused by jerking his head during a bad dream yesterday morning (that's how he remembers it coming on). The ER doctor did give the stink-eye to Duncan's visits to a chiropractor, and especially to the fairly violent manipulation of the neck that his chiropractor would routinely do. Since Duncan's last adjustment was two weeks ago, it's not possible to draw a straight line between that and the onset of this problem.

 

[DBmom23]

Chiropractor and yoga are 2 unrecognized causes of vertebral artery dissection but it's still very rare. Probably have to have a predisposition and then get unlucky.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Scary stuff. I hope Duncan is on the mend and glad you took this stuff seriously and didn't mess around

 

[aaa]

Sorry to hear what's happened. Glad you went to the hospital and they're taking care of him.

 

[robs477]

I will be wishing for the best for all of you, especially your hubby.

 

[OldBroad]

Update: Duncan is home now, not much worse for the wear. He will be taking some new drugs (Plavix instead of baby aspirin, Lipitor instead of Lopid) and changing up the antihypertensives he was already taking. It looks like this was a bullet he dodged, and that he will benefit from having this warning to take attend to these particular health problems.

Now I just need to get back into my routine and keep taking care of myself.