Before I begin, I want to let you know not to worry. Mom is now home and improving at such a quick rate the only way we can tell she was injured is because we had to cut her hair from it being matted in the hospital bed, the scar on her head and the walker she uses while she gets her leg strength back. Breathe with me, everything will be okay.
On April 21st my mother, Patty, was out in the back yard helping my father with chores when she unexpectedly tripped and fell on her head. The fall put her in the Wake Med ICU almost immediately with what the doctors thought was just a severe head injury. CT Scans showed that there was swelling and bleeding as they suspected and after almost a week in the ICU they decided to move her out into a regular room. She was still sleeping almost 24/7 at this point, and as far as the doctors were concerned, she just needed more time to rest until the swelling could go down and the blood could reabsorb.
After being in a regular room for less than 48 hours with no improvement the doctors started to consider other options. This meant we needed to run more tests. We ran an EEG test and an MRI to try to figure out why she wasn't waking up. They moved her back into the ICU. The doctors pieced together that the fall triggered a small stroke and the swelling and bleeding was not getting worse, however, her condition still was not improving.
On April 30th she was still asleep in the ICU. After more EEG tests and MRI's the doctors still had no answers, but after consult by the neurologists they thought she might be leaking spinal fluid so they decided to transfer her to Duke in order to do a special procedure that would fix any leaking that may have been occurring.
Dad was always learning how to read all the machines so he could keep a close eye on her <3
On May 3rd I walked into the hospital to speak to the nurse about mom's condition. As I spoke to the nurse I looked over at my mother and not only was she awake, she was looking right at me and waving at me with her little tied down paw. (Her hands were tied so she didn't rip out her breathing/eating tubes and IVs) It was everything I could do to keep from bawling on the spot. She was awake and her nose was itching and she wanted me to scratch it. We even came up with signals for her to talk to us until she got the breathing tube out. It seems as though the procedure was a success!
On April 21st my mother, Patty, was out in the back yard helping my father with chores when she unexpectedly tripped and fell on her head. The fall put her in the Wake Med ICU almost immediately with what the doctors thought was just a severe head injury. CT Scans showed that there was swelling and bleeding as they suspected and after almost a week in the ICU they decided to move her out into a regular room. She was still sleeping almost 24/7 at this point, and as far as the doctors were concerned, she just needed more time to rest until the swelling could go down and the blood could reabsorb.
After being in a regular room for less than 48 hours with no improvement the doctors started to consider other options. This meant we needed to run more tests. We ran an EEG test and an MRI to try to figure out why she wasn't waking up. They moved her back into the ICU. The doctors pieced together that the fall triggered a small stroke and the swelling and bleeding was not getting worse, however, her condition still was not improving.
On April 30th she was still asleep in the ICU. After more EEG tests and MRI's the doctors still had no answers, but after consult by the neurologists they thought she might be leaking spinal fluid so they decided to transfer her to Duke in order to do a special procedure that would fix any leaking that may have been occurring.
On May 1st they moved mom to the ICU at Duke Hospital where they did another MRI and a 24 hour EEG to check her brain function. She was scheduled for two procedures, one to drain the fluid in her brain and the other to repair any spinal fluid leaks. They told us if the procedure worked we would see her condition improve in a little over 24 hours. This procedure was on May 2nd.
Dad was always learning how to read all the machines so he could keep a close eye on her <3
On May 3rd I walked into the hospital to speak to the nurse about mom's condition. As I spoke to the nurse I looked over at my mother and not only was she awake, she was looking right at me and waving at me with her little tied down paw. (Her hands were tied so she didn't rip out her breathing/eating tubes and IVs) It was everything I could do to keep from bawling on the spot. She was awake and her nose was itching and she wanted me to scratch it. We even came up with signals for her to talk to us until she got the breathing tube out. It seems as though the procedure was a success!
Each day after she woke up she would get a tube removed, first they removed the tube from her head, then her breathing tube, then when she was strong enough to cough they removed her feeding tube. When she spoke she was herself, she remembered nothing about the accident but she remembered us and had all her memories. She was improving so quickly, even the doctors and nurses were impressed with how fast.
On May 11th we moved her to rehab so she could "learn to walk" again. She was bed ridden from April 21st to May 11th and was so weak she could barely use her arms and could not stand up. Every day she worked hard with therapy to walk again. We could see a light at the end of the tunnel, everything was looking up. On May 31st mom was finally home in her little nook crocheting in her rocking chair. The cover image was the image that dad had sent my sister and I to let us know she was home safe. (I told you it had a happy ending :)
Mom is the one in the blue shirt, they were releasing balloons into the air for a reason that I don't remember. They all went into the tree to the left, it was amusing. Mom's shirt says "Mom Hair Don't Care" She spent Mother's day at the rehab center.
On May 11th we moved her to rehab so she could "learn to walk" again. She was bed ridden from April 21st to May 11th and was so weak she could barely use her arms and could not stand up. Every day she worked hard with therapy to walk again. We could see a light at the end of the tunnel, everything was looking up. On May 31st mom was finally home in her little nook crocheting in her rocking chair. The cover image was the image that dad had sent my sister and I to let us know she was home safe. (I told you it had a happy ending :)
Mom is the one in the blue shirt, they were releasing balloons into the air for a reason that I don't remember. They all went into the tree to the left, it was amusing. Mom's shirt says "Mom Hair Don't Care" She spent Mother's day at the rehab center.
The hardest part is over, but we still have the fun part of all the medical bills! The total cost so far for the hospital visits is close to 300,000 and their insurance will cover a good portion of it, but there are still so many things that insurance cannot help with. To start with the rehab center tried to fight us on the insurance, telling us first that it wasn't going to cover the entire stay, then backtracking by saying that she wasn't bad enough off to need professional help. (Dad is working on trying to appeal this, as she could not even sit up in bed without help when she arrived.)
We just found out that Duke Hospital is an out of network provider and the insurance my parents have may not cover a lot of the Duke portion of her hospital stay. We are anticipating a 40k hospital bill that we'll have to pay out of pocket. There are additional costs that insurance just does not cover, every day life things that we just didn't anticipate... all of the work dad missed to come stay with mom in the hospital, the gas money driving back and forth an hour both ways to the hospital, the money we spend for parking, modifications to the house to accommodate mom when she came home and to top it all off their air conditioning unit broke the day mom left the rehab center.
I have faith that we will get through all of this, mom is alive and back home and already worried that she didn't finish crocheting my birthday present on time, haha! But sometimes we could all use a little help and this is one of those times. My parents are extremely hard working people and it isn't fair that they're getting bombarded with bills because the insurance they pay for is so unreliable.
All donations are going directly to my parents to help them get back on their feet. If you would like to help and you can't afford to donate please help spread the word, also my parents would ask you to keep them in your prayers if you would like.
We just found out that Duke Hospital is an out of network provider and the insurance my parents have may not cover a lot of the Duke portion of her hospital stay. We are anticipating a 40k hospital bill that we'll have to pay out of pocket. There are additional costs that insurance just does not cover, every day life things that we just didn't anticipate... all of the work dad missed to come stay with mom in the hospital, the gas money driving back and forth an hour both ways to the hospital, the money we spend for parking, modifications to the house to accommodate mom when she came home and to top it all off their air conditioning unit broke the day mom left the rehab center.
I have faith that we will get through all of this, mom is alive and back home and already worried that she didn't finish crocheting my birthday present on time, haha! But sometimes we could all use a little help and this is one of those times. My parents are extremely hard working people and it isn't fair that they're getting bombarded with bills because the insurance they pay for is so unreliable.
All donations are going directly to my parents to help them get back on their feet. If you would like to help and you can't afford to donate please help spread the word, also my parents would ask you to keep them in your prayers if you would like.
Organizer and beneficiary
Joe Briles
Beneficiary