Welcome to our Caring Bridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting, Kathie and Kara As many of you already know, Dad suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke on May 20th. The doctors believe that he most likely suffered a second stroke on the way to the hospital or shortly after he arrived to the emergency room. His stroke is apparently the worst kind to have and the most debilitating. To make matters worse, he was taking coumadin for his heart to treat atrial fibrillation and this blood thinner made his brain bleed much more severe. He did have brain surgery shortly after arriving to the emergency room and they were able to remove much of the bleeding from his brain. We were told that he would have severe impairments most likely paralysis on the right side of his body and that he would not be able to talk again. Dad was placed on a ventilator because the area of his brain that controls swallowing was damaged during his stroke and he was unable to clear the secretions in his lungs. Without the ventilator, he would choke to death. Mom and I had some extremely tough weeks and decisions to make and there was not one doctor that provided us with any hope that Dad would have any quality of life . We just couldn't give up on him even though that was what was more or less presented to us to do. For anyone that knows my Dad, he makes a wonderful patient and his stubborn nature and fighter spirit doesn't like to give in too easy to things. Dad did not have a living will so the decision making was extremely tough coupled with the bleak outcome of what the doctors all cautioned us about. Even though the doctors provided us with a bleak prognosis for his future, they also never could fully commit that they were totally confident that he could never recover to any extent.
Dad did have a tracheotomy surgery and feeding tube while in the ICU. He was able to after four weeks, come off of the ventilator but of course was then unable to talk because of his tracheotomy. Anyone that knows Dad would know that if anyone could be motivated to talk, it would be him. He ended up doing very well off the ventilator and was downsized to another tracheostomy that could allow him to talk if he had the capacity which of course all doctors still doubted but not Mom and I. We could tell through our nonverbal communication with him those many weeks in the ICU that he had some level of understanding. To what capacity, we still did not know but our instincts told us there was more there than anyone expected.
Of course, Covid-19 precautions have added significantly to the level of stress and decision making. Mom and I have not been able to see him for over 2 weeks as of today. When he was in the ICU, we were permitted 1 visitor for 1 hour per day and that was it. Dad was obviously not able to speak to us either because of the ventilator but we never missed a visit. He was discharged from the ICU to the trauma unit of the hospital and that is when they stopped allowing us to visit with him due to hospital precautions for Covid-19.
Dad is now eating, they started with pureed food and now transitioning to more solid foods and yes, he can talk. He still has his sense of humor and actually seems more expressive than he once was. We have been communicating with him through Facetime that the hospital has set up since we cannot go see him. It is not the best set up in his case but anything we can do to be with him, we are open to do.
We now sit and wait for the phone call that he will be discharged to Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital. He is supposed to be transferred there today. He will receive a lot of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. And the greatest thing is that he can have 1 visitor per day from 3-8pm. He misses us so much and we miss him so much. We will continue to keep you updated on his progress and prayers are always appreciated.
Well today was really difficult and feels impossible in many ways. I think I am still in disbelief that my Dad is no longer here in body with us. I truly believe that my Dad was an angel here on Earth and that our world was a better place because he was in it. So many emotions and many things I have to be grateful for because I was loved by one of the most amazing men in the whole world. My Dad always believed in me and made me feel more competent than I probably was at whatever I was doing. Probably one of my greatest cheerleaders. I hope and pray that he knew and felt how much I loved him and how I think that he made this world a better place if you had the chance to know him. There will never be anyone quite like my Dad and I will never ever forget the great life and sacrifices he made and provided for me. May he rest in peace. 🙏
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# 1 Pappy! 🚘