Mary Fahlin

Welcome to Mary's Caring Bridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place.  Pat and I will also email  but thought we would put the progress posts here.  We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting. //www.gofundme.com/5j-marys-medical
 Mary's life has changed drastically this summer as many of you know.  August 2016 mom and dad were up for the Tall Ships Festival week, while in Duluth she did not feel great and was having headaches.  Dad took her to the urgent care at Essentia and after they arrived her blood pressure shot up so high they immediately rushed her over to ER.  Several hours later in ER they stabilized her blood pressure and she was released.  Mom & Dad finished out the weekend then headed back to White Bear to schedule follow up doctor appointments.  An EKG found a hole in her heart which we were told not uncommon, her heart muscles have to work a bit differently than a heart with no hole.  Immediately they prescribed coumadin (blood thinner) they felt she was a high stroke risk. 
 September 19th three weeks of coumadin she had a terrible headache called out to Pat to help her call doctor, as Pat approached he caught her before collapse.  Mom was rushed to United Hospital and four hours later they prepped for surgery she was bleeding on the brain and they feel it had just started that day.  One surgery on the right side they removed as much blood as they could, hoped it would not bleed again.  That Wednesday following there was a little more bleeding but it had stopped, kept mom on heavy Propofol sedation so she would be inactive.  After multiple CT scans, MRI's, EEG's, angiograms, tracheostomy all tests were positive and they took her off the Propofol sedation and just had her breathing with ventilator.  The angiogram they did discover cerebral amyloid which is a protein build up in her vessels that was another factor with the blood thinner and bleeding.
October 6th it was time to move her from Neuro ICCU to acute care at Bethesda Hospital which is rated as a first rate and very successful hospital for ventilator weening, occupational, physical and speech therapy for tracheotomy patients.  Now it is all up to Mary she is resting well and working hard we know.

//www.gofundme.com/5j-marys-medical