A Quick Hospital Visit

Not that I really wanted to share this but I am going in to hospital this morning for a colonoscopy. Just for the morning. My boys and mark have been making snide jokes about poop etc since last week when I was informed of the date of this procedure *sigh* not funny really. I am so not looking forward to it.
May they never need to take all that preparation stuff the day before and have a colonoscopy. Actually strike that thought. Maybe if they do need to have this done they wont be making any more jokes at my expense.

Hopefully I shall find out if I may have Irritable Bowel Syndrome or not. Not that I need another label to add to my already growing list of conditions. Cross your fingers that all goes well.

Update on Brodie's Epilepsy

Brodie had his 6 month post-op check yesterday. It's more like 7 (well, it will be next week!)

The Neurologist and the Neuropsychologist are very happy with his progress and the fact that he is still seizure free. In fact it has now been 8 months since Brodie's last seizure!

Unless anything changes with Brodie (ie: he has a seizure) they don't need to see him until August, the 12 month mark!

Crochet Bookmarks

When Brodie and I were at the Austin Hospital last week for his tests and specialist appointments I knew I had to take some crocheting with me. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to make initially but then I thought about how nice it would be to try and make bookmarks for all of the sisters in our ward at Church. I had made some previously and handed them out to some of the sisters but I thought it would be nice for those I hadn't had the chance to give them to.

I didn't have a lot of cotton but I began working with what I had.

Thankfully there was a 25% off yarn sale at Spotlight this week. I bought some more blue, two different greens and a purple ball of cotton.

I made 23 bookmarks during the time I was there. Mostly in the evenings when we weren't at the hospital itself. We stayed at the Lions House in Heidelberg. It's a lovely place. Definitely a home away from home.

Angus asked me how long it took to make one bookmark. Funnily enough I had timed myself. It took 18 minutes but I have gotten the time down to 15 minutes per bookmark. Not bad if I say so myself.

I have added to this collection of bookmarks since I got home. I have around 30 now. I'm not sure I have enough for everyone though. But since they don't take too long to make I will whip up some more before tomorrow morning.

The pattern is called Easy Shell Bookmark, It's the same pattern I used before but sadly it isn't available online anymore and I didn't have it printed *sigh* so I went from the picture.

Lions House - Home Away From Home

Before Brodie had surgery last week we needed to visit the Austin Hospital everyday for various appointments from MRI's to Visual Perceptions tests.

We didn't wish to travel back and forth to Gippsland everyday. It's a 101 km (62.7585 miles) trip from our home to the hospital (one way only). Not only is that very time consuming, especially during peak hour traffic, we just couldn't afford the fuel to travel back and forth everyday.

We were fortunate enough to stay at Lions House in Heidelberg. 

It truly was a home away from home. We met quite a few lovely people there.

Brodie has some follow up appointments in September and then a whole series of tests scheduled for November (about 6 appointments over 3 days) . We are going to be booked in at Lions House when we return for the tests.

The room we stayed in.

One of the communal lounge and kitchen areas.

Brodz busy on Facebook.

Update: Brodie's Epilepsy Study Results

BRODIE IS HOME!

After 12 days in hospital for this epilepsy study I have my boys back home! I was able to pick them up on Friday afternoon. Angus was also with him from Thursday morning.

We now know exactly where Brodie's epilepsy comes from. In regards to where it starts in the brain. It's in his right temporal lobe (that's the blue part in the picture).

When Brodie has a temporal lobe seizure that is the only part of the brain that is affected. When he has a tonic clonic it jumps from right temporal lobe to the left and it causes the whole body seizure that we initially saw when he was first diagnosed with epilepsy.

Now that the doctors know this. Brodie was told he is a viable candidate for surgery. This is where things get a little complicated. There is a 60% chance that this will completely get rid of the epilepsy but there is a 40% chance that it will decrease the frequency.

Brodie was sent an email with details about what the surgery involves and the risks that accompany it. There is a 1-2% chance of infection or stroke. If a stroke occurs it will affect the left side of his body and may end up being permanent. There is also a 3% chance that his vision may be impaired. If it is there is a chance that it will be significant enough for him to never be able to drive a car, which is something he is desperate to learn to do. Brodie will still need to be on epilepsy medication, something he would gladly stop if he was allowed to, and he will still need to be on it for the rest of his life. He will also not allowed to be on his own for 6 to 8 weeks after surgery. Something I am sure he will not like. He complains now when I wont let him go for a walk on his own.

One thing we definitely know that will affect Brodie and it's the fact that the temporal lobe handles facial recognition and recall of names. He may struggle a great deal with this afterwards. That being said, we joked, that it may be like making new friends all over again. However, I can see it causing lots of frustration down the road even if he doesn't think it will right now.

Brodie will have the opportunity to talk with a patient who has had this exact surgery if he chooses to. I would strongly encourage this. He needs to know exactly what it involves and how it may affect his future. It's a big deal to have surgery let alone surgery on your brain.

For now we will all think about it, discuss it as a family, write down any questions we have, pray about it and talk to our Bishop about it.

Brodie has an appointment to see his neurologist in three weeks time. Hopefully by then we will have made an informed decision. I know ultimately it is up to Brodie. I can only help him work out the pros and cons. He's the one who lives with his epilepsy. Only he can decide.

An Update on Brodie's Epilepsy Study

Poor Brodie, he's been in hospital now for 9 days now and they still haven't been able to get all the information they want about his epilepsy.

He is so distressed most afternoons and is desperate to come home. In fact, sadly enough, he has wished he was dead. Of course when he told me that I phoned the hospital within a few minutes and spoke to someone on the nursing staff on his ward and told them exactly how he was feeling. They needed to know so that they could encourage him, soothe his nerves or whatever else they needed to do to help him.

I'm not too sure how they helped but Brodie has not said anything like that again & that was Saturday afternoon. The staff did unhook him from all the wires for a while and let him have a shower, something he hasn't been allowed to do since Monday morning before he was admitted. I know he felt a lot better after that.

He has all these wired glued to his scalp so that his brain waves can be recorded. He is on 24/7 video monitoring. When he has a seizure there is a box, you might be able to see it on the cupboard behind him with a black button, that needs to be pressed and that time stamps the video. There is also a yellow button on the wall, you can just see it behind all of those wires, it kind of looks like a light switch. You hit that button when a seizure starts as well. It alerts the nurses and within 5 second 4-5 staff members come running in to the room. 

This button is what's called a ceretec button. It's actually the name of the injection that will be given to Brodie BUT only if the seizure occurs during office hours. The reason it can only be done then is it's needed for a SPECT scan. Now the scan can only be done during 'office hours' as there is no staff available before 9 am or after 5 pm. 

The sad thing is Brodies seizures seem to occur any time from 1 am to 6 am. Far too early. The ceretec injection lasts only for 3 hours. You can see the problem now can't you? I am finding it very frustrating that there is no technician on call. You would think that with something as important as this, when you know that seizures are completely random, that there would be someone who can be called in to perform the scan. Seriously I can see how Brodie is as upset as he is.

Poor Brodie has 5 more days before he can come home. I know this may sound horrid, sad, shocking BUT I have been praying for Brodie to have a seizure during office hours. At least up until 4 pm because if it's too late they wont do the scan either AND they wont give the injections on the weekend because there is NO staff to run the scan.  

I feel like I am rambling on here. Brodie wanted this study done. Both Mark and I believed that he didn't need to do it but he insisted. I just hope that the doctors gather enough information. This is all in the hopes that surgery may be an option down the road.

I have to admit though, that we now know two parts of his brain is affected by the seizures. To be honest I cannot remember which ones but I believe that explains why he has two forms of epilepsy. Tonic clonic and temporal lobe. The doctors are not sure exactly where they start from or if one part starts and it jumps to another part of the brain and fires it up.

I just hope that all of this stress and frustration gives the results and information that is needed. My poor boy just wants to be home and I don't blame him!

Epilepsy Video Monitoring

Brodie went in to hospital on Sunday night. Well, to the Medi-hotel on Sunday and he was admitted yesterday for his two week video monitoring study.

They have lowered his epilepsy medication doses in the hopes that he will have seizures and they can inject him with a radio active dye to see which part of the brain the seizures are coming from. The poor thing has had two seizures today. One in the early hours of the morning and the other one this afternoon.

Brodie is very scared about having the seizures. To be honest I don't blame him. I would be concerned as well. That being said I know he is in the best place right now. The nurses will look after him and I am sure the neurologist will visit him again on the ward very soon.

I'll be joining him tomorrow for a couple of days. I just hope that I can hold it together when he has a seizure. I'm not all that good when they happen. I tend to cry a because it distresses me so much when I see them. He needs me to be there for him so I had better be strong.

At The Austin

Wednesday was a very long day. Brodie and I woke up at 6 am because Brodie needed to eat breakfast early due to needing to fast from 7 am for his PET scan at 1 pm.
He also had a SPECT scan at 11 am. Trying to find the places he needed to be was like going through a maze. Up and down different levels and around lots of corners. Thankfully we found them okay. Trying to find the way out was another story.

It seemed to take forever before his tests were complete and Brodie could have a snack and a hot drink before we got into the car for the almost 2 hour drive home.

These photos are of the entrance to the Olivia Newton John Health and Wellness Centre at the Austin Hospital. It looks very lovely and peaceful. It looked even prettier at night when Brodie and I walked past it to go to his MRI scan.

We stayed at the Medi-Hotel which is just a minutes walk from this pretty little area. It's on the other side of that concrete wall in the second photo and downs some steps.

I am just so glad that we are home and that is one thing I can cross of my busy (and stressful) 'to do list'. Now all I need to do is survive the next 16 days and I'll be fine!

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off To Hospital We Go

Don't panic it's not a bad thing. Well, it sort of is but it isn't. Ah that doesn't make sense does it? Let me explain ... Brodie has to have three scans done before he is admitted to hospital next week for a video monitoring study of his Epilepsy.

He's having an MRI, a SPECT scan and a PET scan. I'm not exactly sure what the last two are but they are all being done to check his brain. I guess they want a before and after look at his brain after the video monitoring is complete.

Next week when Brodie is admitted to hospital for the video monitoring they will be taking him off his epilepsy medication in the hopes of bringing on his seizures. He needs to have a support person with him 24/7. The support person will need to call the nurse if/when Brodie has a seizure and the nurse will inject him with a dye which will show which area of the brain is affected by his seizures.

This is all being done in the hope that surgery is an option in the future especially if the medication doesn't work as well as it should. Brodie is very keen to be rid of these seizures and wants the operation if he can. In his words "I want my life back!" plus he wants to be able to continue to learn to drive. Something he is not allowed to do because his seizures aren't controlled.

Sadly I am unable to be with him the whole time. Luckily we have volunteers and paid helpers (we need so use some of his DHS disability funding to help us out with that) but we only have the roster filled for the first week *sigh* I don't know what we will be doing for the second week. It's stressing me out big time.

So tonight, Brodz and I will drive the two hours from home to reach the hospital. He has his MRI around 6:45 pm. We shall be staying at the medi-hotel overnight then he has the remaining two scans tomorrow; one at 11 am and the other at 1 pm. Poor thing has to fast for 6 hours for the second scan. He's not very good at fasting. He will need to have breakfast early or he will miss out altogether.

Seriously though. As I mentioned all of this stuff is stressing me out. The neurologist has no idea how much stress he has caused our family with this video monitoring. It's so difficult to do this when you don't have family living in this state. My family, who I know would help out, live 800 kms away. I can't expect them to come over and stay with Brodie at the hospital when I can't. I feel like such a bad Mum being unable to stay with him the whole time but I am Mark's carer and I have to take Angus to an ENT specialist during the first week of Brodie's hospital stay. I need to be home for them as well.

I just want April to be over.

Sleep Deprived EEG

I've actually scheduled this post as I wont be home for most of the morning. I am taking Brodie into the Austin Hospital for a Sleep Deprived EEG. He wasn't too happy about having to stay awake all night. This kid really enjoys sleeping in nowadays. Something he was unable to do for such a long time. At least he has a friend who will be joining us and helping him stay awake.

Anyway, we have to leave before 7 am to hopefully get there for 8:30 am. The perks of living in the country. Just as well it's only meant to be about 1 hour and 20 minutes away. Although I have no idea what the traffic will be like. Thankfully we are going on Eastlink. Perhaps that might make things easier for us. It's a toll road so some research is required on how to pay and the cost. Since it's for Brodie he can pay (yep I am that mean) and he can pay for the parking too (yep still a mean Mum).

Let's hope that this EEG will show the neurologist what is going on in that complicated brain of Brodies. It would be nice to know why he keeps getting these facial spasms. The Neurologist said that it might be Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. It will be nice to know if that is what it actually is. Poor Brodz suffers a lot when he has them. 

Wish us luck with the test and the travel. Oh and finding parking!

Dad's in Hospital

I missed a phone call from my sister Julie this morning. I was at Church and had my phone on silent. I phoned her back as soon as I saw the message that she had left for me. I also phoned Vicki once I got home.

It turns out my Dad is in hospital again. He's bleeding from the bowel. Since it is the weekend there isn't much they can do as far as testing is concerned. They need to wait until tomorrow before they can check everything out properly.

They have him on a liquid diet at the moment and he is NOT impressed. I don't blame him actually. I would be unimpressed too. It makes it harder that he has dementia and really isn't coping all that well with being in hospital and being confined to bed. He likes to get up and walk around at home and potter about, check the letter box, sit on the veranda out the front, go out into the back yard or into the garage. Being stuck in a bed, let alone a hospital bed, would drive any one a little crazy.

Dad is going to be reassessed while he is in hospital. Vicki is terribly concerned that they wont let him come home and will want to send him to a nursing home. Both of my sisters are concerned that if Dad was placed in a nursing home he will give up and his health will go down hill if he wasn't able to stay at home. I think Dad just remembers what it was like when Grandpop (his Dad) was in a nursing home in the 1970's. Grandpop hated it and grumbled quite a bit. I am sure that Dad thinks it will be exactly the same for himself. Both Julie and Vicki agree that it wont be good for Dad and I can see my sisters point of view. It would do him more harm that good, right now at least.

Vicki is quite happy to keep helping Dad out as much as possible so that he can remain at home. As long as she gets the help she needs then that's okay. She needs to ask about respite and see if she can receive any extra assistance that is available. There will be a social worker coming to talk with her and Dad tomorrow. I hope Vicki remembers to voice all of her concerns and remembers to ask all the questions that she needs to. I hate to say that she stresses out a lot and gets flustered easily. Maybe I should have reminded her to write everything down before she sees them.

Now I just wait and I'll phone Vicki late tomorrow to find out what happened with the social worker, the assessment and the tests they will run.

I've Had Wrist Surgery Today

I had surgery on my wrist this afternoon. I had to be at the hospital for 11:30 am and I got home around 4 pm. Day surgery is a good thing! Especially when everything goes well.

I thought I would've been given a general anaesthetic but I wasn't. I was hoping for a nap because I didn't sleep very well last night. Instead I was given something to make me drowsy while I was given a local in my wrist. The weirdest thing was I was awake for the whole procedure. I even felt a bit of pain so I was given another local (which hasn't worn off yet).

I'll be out of action for a few days. At least while I have to use the sling and keep my arm elevated. I wont be crocheting for a while but I did buy myself a crossword book to fill in the time.

Men Can Be So Stubborn

What a week! Last Sunday night I had to take Mark to the hospital because he was suffering from severe abdominal pain. The thing is he had been suffering for ten whole days before he even told me about it *rolls eyes* typical bloke, right?  He had been suffering from this while the boys and I were visiting family in Adelaide and he never told me. I could've kicked his bottom for not telling me. It turns out that he may have gall stones and the pain is in the area where his liver/gall bladder is. We went to see one of the doctors at our clinic on Monday morning to get a referral for an ultrasound. He is now booked in for one next Tuesday. We go back to the doctor on Friday to get the results.

That little white dot in the pupil is the aluminium fragment.

On Monday night Mark was working in his shed grinding something with his dremel. He had been wearing safety glasses. He took them off to examine what he was working on when he saw that there was a small piece that needed to be removed. So he got the dremel and began working on it. This time however he did not put the safety glasses back on. You can see where I am going here, right? You got it. The piece of metal flew off and got him in the eye. In the pupil to be precise *OUCH* Guess what?!?! We had another trip down to the hospital.

Thankfully the rest of the week was uneventful at least on the medical front. Knock on wood that there are no more 'emergencies' coming up!

Date For Surgery

Mark recieved a phone call from the hospital this morning in regards to the surgery for my carpal tunnel. It's all set for July 23rd.

I am in shock. I was told it would be three months which would have made it September. I guess being country has it's bonus.

Carpal Tunnel Surgery

I just got back from seeing the surgeon at the hospital. He's checked out the results from my nerve conduction test and agreed with the neurologist who performed the test. I will definitely be having surgery on my left wrist.

He explained what is involved in the surgery, which I knew because lets face it Google can answer pretty much anything, and got me to sign a form for his records. I was also given another form to fill out, for the hospital this time.

I asked how long the waiting list is and I was told that it's about three months at this stage. It is also done as day surgery which is good. At least I now know that I can visit my Dad and my sisters without the worry of the hospital trying to contact me while I am away. It also means I should get as much crocheting & knitting done while I can before I need to take a break for a while. Plus I'm not in a hurry to get this done. I've had it this long a few more months wont hurt.

My Dad is in Hospital

Dad when he was almost 82. He is now 86

Early yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from my sister Julie to let me know that Dad has had a fall and Vicki found him on just before lunch lying on the floor in his bedroom. Vicki had phoned for an ambulance and was waiting for them to arrive.

I phoned Vicki to see how she was. She gets very stressed, very easily and I knew that she would need to hear some calm reassuring words. She was waiting for the ambulance and was worried that they hadn't arrived yet. Vicki had phoned for the 20 minutes earlier. I let Vicki go so that she could wait for the ambos and check on Dad. His Anglicare worker who comes over to cook Dads lunch was there talking to him while Vicki was on the phone with me.

I phoned my niece, Kylie, (Vicki's daughter) and she had just arrived at Dads place a few minutes earlier. She told me that the ambos thought Poppa (my Dad) was okay and that they didn't want to take him to the hospital because he would only be sitting there for hours waiting.

I phoned Vicki again about 20 minutes later to check on everything. She said she was going to give Dad something to eat and would be taking him to his GP just to be on the safe side. I also spoke with Dad who didn't make all that much sense. I guess it rattled him a bit and he just kept changing the subject and spoke about other things. It was almost like he was behaving like it hadn't happened. He didn't seem able to answer simple questions about himself. He just said that he had the sniffles and asked about Mark & the boys.

Late last night Julie sent me a text saying the GP send Dad and Vicki to the hospital because he didn't like Dad's irregular heartbeat. Dad had been admitted to hospital. He was dehydrated but that was all she knew at the moment.

I phoned Vicki this morning mainly to check on how she was. She told me that Dad had x-rays yesterday and he has pneumonia in his right lung. They put him on antibiotics. The doctor who assessed Dad has said that he doesn't want Dad to live on his own. Vicki is really distressed over this at the moment. She thinks that she wont cope if Dad had to come and live with her. I asked her if she had spoken with a social worker yet. I told her that when she does she is to tell them exactly how she feels. I made Vicki promise to look after herself. There is no use in her getting sick on top of all of this.

Vicki was waiting for Julie to arrive so that they could go to the hospital together. She said she'd send me a text to let me know when to phone her to find out what's going on because she didn't have much credit left on her mobile.

After I had spoken with Vicki I phoned the hospital to have a chat with Dad. The poor dear. He has no idea what is going on. He thought that Vicki and Julie were picking him up today to take him to lunch in Gawler and that he needed to meet them out the front of the hospital. I explained that they would be there later and that they would come to him. Dad thinks that he will be released from hospital today and he will be going home. I doubt very much that he will be discharged today at all.

Now I just wait by the phone to hear some news.

The Things You See In The City

I took these photos on the tram ride back from the Dental Hospital to Flinders Street Station. I needed proof that I actually went into Melbourne.

Room for flowers in the city

Part of a Church

The Anglican Church on Swanston Street.

I loved seeing this in the city! There were two horse drawn carriages "parked" there.

Everything went well at the dentist. In fact it was easy peasy. No surgical procedure needed at all. Thank goodness. I did learn something about my stubborn molar and that was two of the roots were fused together. I'm thinking that's what made the extraction difficult when I saw my local dentist.
All I can say now is I am glad that is over and when the pain is gone things will be even better.

Dental Hospital

I'm off to the Dental Hospital in Melbourne today. I need to be there for 11:30 am (in three hours time). Mark and I will be travelling by train and tram to get there. I've never been on a tram in the city before. A new learning experience, right? 

I am so not looking forward to my hospital visit though. It makes me wish that the local dentist had been able to get that bothersome tooth out when I saw her a few months ago. Tatiyana (the dentist) did warn me that they will most likely need to cut my gum and maybe even some bone to get the tooth out. I am hoping that it is the worst case scenario. Darn those long roots.

Please send some good thoughts and wishes my way. Especially for the trip home. I have thoughts of feeling quite yucky on the way home with a sore and bloody mouth. I am hoping they send me home some with some good pain killers. 

A Quick Update

We're finally home! We got in about an hour ago. Mark is in bed resting. It turns out that it was not a heart attack, thank goodness. The enzyme that they look for that indicates heart attack was not present in the blood.

The doctor there seemed to think that it could be a bad reaction from nicotine withdrawal. Mark has cut his smoking back dramatically & the doctor said some people sometimes get really bad chest pains when trying to quit. In fact sometimes they feel really bad for quite some time. It explains a bit. I'm not entirely sure with his diagnosis but it is very plausible.

I just hope that Mark doesn't feel as bad as he did this afternoon. It was a bit scary for a while there.

I'm off to get some sleep. Even though I haven't really done anything today I'm feeling really tired. So off to bed I go. *yawn*

Guess Where I Am...

I am at the hospital with Mark. The poor thing has chest pains again. He's hooked up to a monitor with all these leads attached to various stickers all over his body.

Hopefully the Doctor wont be too long. However saying that I know Mark will be here for several hours yet due to blood tests that are required & that need to be repeated around 6 hours after the initial pain or from when the initial bloodst are drawn I can't remember which.

I'll post an update once I get home. You know, I never thought I would be emailing another post from the hospital. I know I needed some excitement to spice up my day but I certainly don't need it to be something like this *sigh*