Mom Update, June 1, 2010, Tuesday

My God...help us. Mom had a cerebral aneurysm that burst today. We all had been upstate this past Memorial Day weekend. It was a great time. We kids came home on Monday, Memorial Day, but Dad and Mom stayed until the next day, today, Tuesday, June 1. They stopped in New Jersey on their way home to pick up Aunt Sophie. Once they got home, Mom unpacked, started the laundry and dinner, and phoned Aunt Carol about going to Curves the next day (this was about 5:10 p.m.). She had also called me about 8 times on the way home from upstate today, which was strange for her to do. About 10 minutes after her call to Aunt Carol, she was at the dining room table with Aunt Sophie and Dad eating dinner, when she complained suddenly of a really, really bad headache---she asked Dad to get her something. Before Dad could leave the table and go down the hall, Aunt Sophie yelled that mom had fainted. Aunt Sophie caught mom (mom was in a chair sitting when she fainted---Aunt Sophie is 93), while dad phoned 911. They both brought her to the floor. Dad called Claudia and John next. When they arrived, John went in and would not let Claudia go in because mom had a seizure. The ambulance took her to our local hospital. Claudia tried to reach me but couldn't because I was just leaving the SJC graduation at the Nassau Coliseum when this happened. I rushed to the hospital after receiving her messages. We don't know much yet. The aneurysm burst. Mom was sent to North Shore University Hospital late tonight. We arrived there at 9:30. Mom can still speak and answer questions but it's not clear if she knows who we all are...When asked to name the day, date, month, year, her name, the President's name, and where she is---she could do all that. She never lost consciousness. The doctors did CAT scans and see the exact location of the burst (just behind and between her eyes) and they feel she can wait until tomorrow for them to operate. They will go in initially through her main artery and up into her head to assess what is fully happening. Once there, they will decide if they can COIL the area or if they need to open her head and perform more extensive surgery. Tonight, they put in a drain at the top of her head to relieve pressure from the bleeding. They explained that pressure in the head between the brain and the skull pushes the brain down onto the spinal cord at the neck area and this is dangerous---it can result in severe brain damage or death. So far, they feel a drain will do the job---they don't think they need to open her cranium (remove a piece of skull at the top of the head) to relieve the pressure. She is scheduled for the operation on Wednesday, June 2 at 8 a.m. or so. Please pray for mom....tell everyone you know to pray...Watch for more e-mail updates. Love Kath