Robert "Merch" McLaren

Father.Boyfriend.Son.Friend.Brother.

Grandson.Nephew.Cousin.

Robert is young. He is 36 and will be 37 in May. He has 3 young children that are very adventurous and miss their daddy. He has his best friend, sidekick Ali that has been by his side for the last 4 years.

His Story changed drastically!

That has affected those around him --- especially those closest; Ali and the kids.

On February 18, 2023, Paramedics were called when Ali found Robert mumbling incomprehensible sounds, unable to walk, follow directions, or look in her direction. Upon arrival at the Hospital, he underwent a CT Scan where a large intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in the left parietal lobe was found. He was then rushed to the Civic ICU, where they found evidence of septic shock, MSSA- that branched off to his kidneys, liver, spleen and brain (5 mini strokes + ICH). Due to loss of consciousness, he was incubated and remained that way in an unstable, but manageable condition.Upon sedation, he was not following commands. The left side of his body was weak, the right side completely paralyzed. Tests found vegetation on his heart valve, which revealed Endocarditis. Tests also found severe 4+ aortic insufficiency. Heart valve replacement would be necessary.

He failed the 1st breathing tube removal, and hours later had a second one put in.

The next step was a tracheotomy; which allowed him to come completely off sedation, while the ventilator still breathed for him.

Upon waking, he was able to respond YES or NO with left hand squeezes. He winked, could move the left toes, and move his eyes slowly around the room. His next goal was weaning off of the ventilator. He accomplished this by breathing on his own daily, for hours at a time. Eventually overnight , and finally the ventilator was no more . That's the hardest work he's done, I swear ♡ Merch started trying to mouth words, and not one of us in ICU could figure out what it was. He was then able to get a piece on his trach, that allowed air to travel through the vocal chords. The first thing he said was "how long?"

I asked,"How long have you been here?" Merch:"No, til I'm out"

He remained in ICU a while longer, and everyday there were improvements of all sorts. Before leaving, he was was back to a regular diet, and had the feed tube removed from his nose. He graduated down to the Acute Monitoring Area, and we were able to spend our first night together. His vitals were monitored and he learned to eat with only one, non dominant hand. When he was improving, we moved to the ward. Here, Physio came daily to keep him motivated. He gained back some movements in his right side, and was able to sit at bedside. Sitting in a wheelchair once a day, working towards standing. He did stand up for the first time here, and had his first real shower. He had the longest stay in B5. As he was set to transfer to stroke rehab, his heart surgery took priority. The leaky valve caused slight swelling of his heart, and congestive heart failure. This lead him to the heart institute, for 0700 surgery.

Six hours later I got the call surgery went very well, no complications, and he was settled in CSICU. The next few days were great for recovery, and he had his drainage tubes removed. April 16th, he suddenly developed a narrow complex tachycardia. With a drop in BP , he was emergently cardioverted.

Days later, he had more tachycardia periods, managed with IV medicine. This leaves Merch currently waiting for an EP Study. Since being here at the Heart Institute, physio has worked wonders physically for him. He is up to his chair three times a day, stands for the scale, can transfer with two people, and takes side steps. He officially has walked twice, using a high walker. He remains in Cardiac Surgery ICU, and is kicking ass at getting his movements back, and adjusting to hospital food ツ Missing home 65 days and counting.