Lisa Morse Lisa Morse’s Recovery

Summary of Events:
On Tuesday night around 10:30pm, Lisa had a sudden excruciating headache. Leading up to that she had no symptoms or signs that anything may be wrong, just a normal day of gardening, cooking, cleaning, and eating. She mentioned to Todd that it was very severe, and after a short time the pain progressed to the point that Todd and Aaron called 911 and the EMTs arrived around midnight. 


Lisa was transported to the ER at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC and was quickly attended by multiple physicians and surgeons. After a CT scan, it was determined that she had a hemorrhage on the left side of her brain with an unknown cause.  
They proceeded to perform an MRI and a follow-up CT scan. Cora (Daughter), Todd (Husband) Aaron (Son), and a few others were with from the minute she arrived. 


During the night she was not able to see, was having difficulty recalling information, and could only speak in very limited words. Every 30-60 minutes, the nurses ask for her to open her eyes, mover her fingers/toes, and answer questions. By early morning, She was able to responded to a few commands but could not see well or answer simple questions correctly. By this time Lily (daughter), Ava (granddaughter), and Teri (Sister) has arrived at Forsyth.


Late in the morning on Wednesday (12 hours from initial), Lisa began to regress and was not responding to basic commands, but was responding to pain stimuli. They continued to give her medication to reduce the swelling/pressure and try to reverse the symptoms. Throughout the day another CT and MRI were performed and they began to monitor for seizure activity with an EEG.


By the evening, Lisa was not improving and her heart rate was fluctuating from the high 30s to the low 60s. The surgeons decided that the pressure needed to be relieved, so they performed a craniotomy around 11:00 pm. This involves removing a portion of her skull to give room for the brain to swell. Lisa did amazing through the surgery and her vitals were immediately improved. Lisa was placed on a ventilator during the surgery’s day will remain on it until she can swallow and breathe on her own. 


The next morning, the Interventional Radiologists performed a vascular catheterization to try to diagnose the cause of the bleeding. They look at the arteries, veins, and capilaries using contrast and X-ray. The root cause of the bleeding is still unconfirmed, but the the good news is that the bleeding is not active anymore. 


All day Wednesday and into the morning Thursday, Lisa was recovering and had family by her side. She was not responding to any commands, but would move slightly with pain stimuli. She has had wonderful care and the medical team is extremely responsive. Lisa is a tremendously strong woman and is fighting very well. The family is tired, but the love and support we feel from you all has been wonderful.

This should get you close to the journal entries (Day 3 entry 1) 

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Please send encouraging notes to LisaMorseRecovery@gmail.com (mailto:LisaMorseRecovery@gmail.com)