As most of you know, my mother, Martina Dolan of Williamston SC, was brought to the emergency room the morning of Wednesday, November 13, 2019 by my stepfather and sister. She was informed that she had a heart attack and had several blockages. They took her into surgery, placed two stents, then she coded for five minutes so they did not continue. Later that day, she came to several times and tried to pull out the intubation tube, so they had to sedate her pretty heavily. By Wednesday night she was stabilized, with ventilator, PICC line, femoral balloon pump due to her low blood pressure, and all the other necessities to give her body a chance to heal for a couple of days. Aunt Sue and family had arrived from North Carolina as well.Thursday morning she had an EKG and an ultrasound of her heart. Shortly after that, my son and I arrived from NY. They kept her sedated all day, with the hopes of taking the intubation tube out Friday.
Friday morning they brought her out of sedation and she passed the breathing tests. She started responding, but it was very minimal. By evening she had not improved, and they put her back under to rest.
Saturday morning showed a decline in response, so they put her back under sedation and her cardiologist ordered a CAT scan to check for neurological damage. The results did not show anything, so he ordered an EEG and MRI.
Sunday she had the EEG, and they started weaning her off the sedative.
Monday afternoon she had the MRI.
She was switched from Propofol to a lighter sedative. Monday evening the neurologist called and stated that she had had a mild stroke, but there wasn't any significant damage. That was a huge relief for all of us.
Tuesday morning my stepfather and I went in at 8:00 am to view the MRI results. When we got to her room, she was awake and responding well to the neurologist. They decided to wait one more day to remove the intubation tube, as she was coughing a lot and producing very thick secretions. They started her on antibiotics as they were concerned about possible pneumonia. They took blood for cultures and performed a second ultrasound on her heart.
Wednesday (today) she was finally taken off the ventilator. Her blood cultures showed she has MRSA pneumonia, and they changed her to a vancomycin drip. Her temperature, which had been between 100° and 102° the entire time, finally came down to normal this afternoon. Her congestion is clearing as well. She still can't speak well, but she remembers everything leading up to the surgery, and pieces of the rest the times she was woken up. They are continuing to treat her low blood pressure and diabetes, and still have her PICC line in.
Throughout this ordeal, my family has basically been living in the Cicu waiting room when we are not with her. They haven't worked, and did not open their shop at the flea market this weekend. My sister will be returning to work tomorrow, my stepfather within the next couple of days. My mom has been unable to work aside from running the flea market shop since an emergency surgery for necrotizing fasciitis in her shoulder two years ago. They have pretty much exhausted their resources at this point. Mom was denied medical assistance in the past, the hospital is in the process of trying to qualify her for Medicaid. If that doesn't happen, they are looking at tens of thousands of dollars for medical bills.
My mother is the strongest person I know. She wasn't expected to survive the first day. We are not out of the woods yet, but I believe in the power of positive vibes and prayers. She helped everyone her entire life when it was within her power to do so. So I'm asking everyone to please consider helping if possible, and at the very least share this with others. She deserves it.
Co-organizers (2)
Donna A. Dolan
Organizer
Olcott, NY
Susan Moon
Co-organizer