Alice Casias

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Alice took a fall on Sunday, November 5, 2017 per Ron.  I went to her house late Sunday, November 5th to take her some medicine and Gatorade and food.  She could hardly stand; I made her stay on couch.  Monday, November 6th, Allison called her and and Alice never answered call.  Allison then stopped by shortly after noon.  Allison found her on the floor in her bedroom.  Alice said she had been on the floor for maybe half an hour.  Alice put a pillow on the floor in case she fell out of bed.  When she got up, she stepped on the pillow and fell.  Alice said he hit her head on the bedside table, but not hard. 

I (Patty) had Allison call Kaiser.  Allison transported Alice to St. Joseph's Hospital and I met them there.  Alice had a CT of her head which showed bleeding on both sides of her head, the right more so than the left.  Alice was not able to hold her left leg up in the air, but she moved her left hand, was able to answer questions, etc.  Although she could not sign the Admission sheet.

DIAGNOSIS:  Subdural hematoma

Because Denver Health is a Level I Trauma Center, the neurosurgeon (NSS)  at St. Joseph's decided it was best for Alice to be transferred to Denver Health.  After evaluation, the team decided to wait until Tuesday to perform surgery (Craniotomy).  Of course, had Alice shown any signs of declining, they would have performed the surgery upon admission. 

Tuesday morning at 6:30 a.m. I received a call from the NSS at Denver Health that Alice would be going to surgery at 7:30 a.m.  I was able to see and talk to Alice Tuesday before surgery.  She said she was nervous and I was proud of her for telling the anesthesiologist to watch her because of past history with anesthesia. 

Alice's surgery was performed on the right side of her head; she has a stent in place to drain the blood.  Of course she had to have that side of her head shaved; she has a large incision with staples.