Barb Seguin

Over the past year and 1/2 Barb has endured several trying health events.  It seemed to start with forgetting small things like many of us do as we age.  Later it escalated to events where Barb would get dizzy and fall.  These falling events happened every now and then, unfortunately they ended in her hitting her head on concrete and other hard surfaces.  Multiple concussions would occur preventing further investigation from neurologists as they cannot properly assess other impacts to the brain until after the brain has healed from concussion.

In March of 2021, doctors were able to obtain some good information because Barb happened to have a heart monitor on when one of her 'episodes' happened.  This recorded information to confirm for doctors that Barb needed a pace maker.  Barb went into surgery within a day and had a pace maker installed.  

Unfortunately these 'events' continued happening.  Barb would go into a daze staring off into space and appear to be having a stroke or a seizure.  In July of 2021, one such episode was a confirmed stroke.  She had a stroke many years ago, however now has 2 areas of her brain with stroke damage.

All of these events have resulted in some instability.  Barb completed some physical and occupational therapies to improve upon her ability to be mobile and recover from concussions.  Barb continues to use a walker and has many days with leg pain. 

Over the course of the summer, Barb and Brian decided that they cannot continue to live in the RV in Rice and decided to move to Hastings, MN to be near their daughter Rochelle.  Later a decision was made to sell their place in Mission, Texas.  Planning went into full gear, Barb and Brian moved out of their RV, moved their storage unit to Hastings and moved in with Rochelle in Hastings.  Brian went to work and sold the RV before having to store it for winter.  Brian then traveled to Mission, Texas with a friend to move out their personal belongings.  With the tremendous help of friends from Texas, Brian was able to sell the place in Mission before heading back to Minnesota.  Rochelle and her husband Vijay has purchased a condo in Hastings where Brian and Barb will be moving mid-November.  It will be important to complete this move as soon as possible as a stable routine will really go a long way to helping Barb.

Over the past few months Barb has continued to struggle.  She was evaluated and confirmed to have both dementia, anxiety and severe depression.  Doctors believe the depression is causing other problems like loss of appetite.  Barb does not eat and has lost a considerable amount of weight and muscle mass, in particular on her legs.  Loss of leg muscle mass increases difficulty with moving around, however so far Barb is able to get around.  The new condo is all one level, no stairs, so that will be a very big help.

Over time we have learned that these other 'events' are seizures.  Barb is currently working with doctors to learn how to best treat seizures as we are unclear whether they are caused by dementia or are something else (like an epileptic seizures).  We hope to find the right treatment for dementia and determine whether this will help to eliminate/reduce seizure activity.