On the morning of Friday March 19th 2021, Greta went to the ER because her left hand wouldn't play piano. Through a CT scan and MRI, it was determined that she had two blood clots in the back of her brain. She was transferred to North Memorial Hospital that Friday and promptly started on blood thinners. On Saturday, a CT scan revealed leaking in her brain from the blood thinners. She was taken off the blood thinners, but experienced episodes where she lost function and control and feeling in the left side of her body.
On Sunday, doctors from North Memorial started collaborating with specialists at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis to find a course of action. Greta experienced some intense and severe episodes on Sunday, and on Monday was taken via ambulance to Abbott Northwestern, where she was immediately prepped for a procedure to put catheters into her brain to help the clots dissolve. This procedure was successful, placing 3 catheters in her brain. Greta was in the Neurological ICU after the procedure.
On Tuesday, the doctors went through the catheters to look at the progress being made of dissolving the clots. While in this procedure, Greta experienced a small seizure. After the procedure, she started having seizures with increasing frequency. Because of this, the Neuro ICU doctors made the decision to intubate Greta and place her on a ventilator. She was placed in a medically-induced coma during this time.
Greta spent all day Wednesday on the ventilator, with the procedure repeated to look at the clots progress. The clots were found to be fully dissolved, so the three catheters in her brain were removed on Wednesday afternoon. Because of this, Greta was gradually weaned off of her sedation and on Thursday morning was taken off the ventilator. Thursday afternoon she had her feeding tube removed, and was moved to the regular Neurological unit instead of the ICU.
From Friday until Tuesday, Greta improved, gaining strength, appetite and memory back. On Tuesday March 30th, she was released from Abbott Northwestern. She was taken home and will be continuing to recover in the privacy and comfort of her home.
We're thrilled that Greta is home! She's been through a lot, but we are hearing very encouraging things from the doctors. The next 3-6 months are imperative, as Greta will need to take time for her brain to heal. Follow along with us as we walk this journey with her.
