I'm restarting this caring bridge as a continuation of the one from a few years ago. Mom (Chris) is now 73 years old and having new medical issues as will be updated on the site. Please pass this link around to others who might like to be updated. I just left the rest of the story as it was below.
Tom
*** older history below -- see updates for new info ***
Chris, who just celebrated her 69th Birthday last week, has been hospitalized since the morning of 7/28. Her loving partner, Larry, found her on the couch, unresponsive, with very weak vital signs. The root cause of her illness could be internal bleeding that caused a significant loss of blood. Her heart function had severely degraded by the time she was transported by ambulance to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. She has been on a breathing tube since her admission, and the staff have worked to keep her alive and stable while they determine the best treatment plan to get her back to safety. She has been awake and alert at times, primarily struggling to communicate and learning of her medical predicament. Her immediate family have been with her throughout her time at the hospital, keeping her company and advocating for her needs. She presently has a temporary pacemaker, and she's scheduled to receive a permanent pacemaker today (7/30). They will follow this with an endoscopic procedure to find and resolve the internal bleeding problem, and finally remove her breathing tube.
