Barring any unforeseen complications, this will probably be my last caringbridge post about Eric’s brain hemorrhage—which is really good news!

After politely hounding the neurologist for weeks, we finally got a reply from his office. The words used were different, and the actual conversation was careful and measured, but what my brain heard was something along the lines of “Why are you calling? We found no source for the bleed, and we don’t need to see him anymore…call us if he has any new symptoms. Oh, and no restrictions (other than those imposed by pain).  I’ll message the cardiologist but your PCP can just read it in the chart.”  Not exactly what she actually said, but from my perspective that was the gist of the conversation. Um, thanks…but could you have told us this about a month ago?

Eric already had an appointment set up with our PCP a few days later, where we addressed any remaining concerns with him.

-The doctor is beginning to wean Eric off of some the remaining BP and pain meds, and Eric’s BP is holding steadily low. We are concerned that Eric’s feet and ankles swell alarmingly during the day, but only some days. It’s hard to tell if it is related to the heat, or how much time he spends standing, or even what he eats. Apparently, one of the BP meds has swelling as a possible side effect, so we’re hoping that will resolve itself since he has never had this issue before.

- He is ordering a sleep study. Eric constantly checks his O2 saturation levels during the day. He is now able to go without oxygen during the day if he is awake, doesn’t exert himself, stays cool--and remembers to breathe deeply. He still uses it at night and when he takes his long nap(s) during the day. His smart watch checks his O2 every 5 minutes while he sleeps at night, so we know it is still dipping far too low even with supplemental oxygen. Some of this could be caused by the remnants of the pneumonia, but the doctor suspects sleep apnea. We don’t believe Eric had apnea before this, and since there was no evidence of it during his first week at the hospital while being monitored in real time around the clock this seems to be a new development. Again, maybe it will resolve...or maybe it won't.

-The doctor is encouraging Eric to begin to ramp up his activity levels, including aerobic, to rebuild his physical and cardiac strength. Eric is free to use his pain levels, fatigue, and self-measured O2 levels as guides for his activity level. He also has me constantly watching and warning him not to overdo things. I feel like such a nag.

-No less importantly, Eric is cleared to drive, fly, or go wherever he wants. Since he is still limited in just how hard he can work, it would be a great time to take a little vacation…but I am still somewhat hesitant to get too far from assistance, should the need arise. We’ll have to work on that a little bit at a time.

Words cannot express the magnitude of our gratitude to our family and friends for their prayers, concern, and care of all kinds during what was a pretty difficult time. Knowing that so many people were sharing our burden by earnestly praying for Eric gave me unbelievable peace—and stamina—during those weeks that he was in the hospital, and we believe that God heard and answered those prayers in a mighty way. People provided us with meals, trimmed trees, moved cows, paid for coffee, fixed fences, brought groceries, dealt with clients, fed animals, sent cards, and SO much more. We have been truly humbled and blessed to be on the receiving end of such an outpouring of support! Thanks again to everyone, and if you want to know what is going on beyond this post, feel free to contact us directly.