WWTBAM Bored

I don't think he stops by here much any more, but I know Calvinator would appreciate good thoughts and prayers sent his way. I can't say more than that without his permission, and he's got his plate full right now.

I'm on Facebook but apparently I'm not connected to him, so I don't know what's going on. But this sounds grim. Sending thoughts in his direction, and hoping they help. --Bob

Done - thanks, Mr. K

Mrs. Cal, Calvinatorette II, and I are at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

Calvinatorette III collapsed at school today. We original thought she had suffered a head trauma, but CT scans revealed it is an Arterial Venous Malformation. Daughter was
Care-flighted from Casper to Greeley, CO and then transported by ambulance. They couldn't fly into Denver because of the weather. Wife was able to fly and ride along. My 15 year old and I packed bags and hit the road in high winds.

Right now, we are awaiting brain surgery.

TheCalvinator24 wrote:Mrs. Cal, Calvinatorette II, and I are at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

Calvinatorette III collapsed at school today. We original thought she had suffered a head trauma, but CT scans revealed it is an Arterial Venous Malformation. Daughter was
Care-flighted from Casper to Greeley, CO and then transported by ambulance. They couldn't fly into Denver because of the weather. Wife was able to fly and ride along. My 15 year old and I packed bags and hit the road in high winds.

Right now, we are awaiting brain surgery.

Best wishes to her for a complete recovery. --Bob

So glad it *wasn't* head trauma, & is something they can fix. Best wishes that everything goes well & she is back in health very soon.

That's scary. Wishing only the best to you folks.

I'm sorry to hear about this. Best wishes go out to you and your family, Cal.

Good vibes to your daughter and family.

Thanks for taking the time to post, Cal. I hope I wasn't out of line. I know there are some caring people here who don't necessarily see FB.

Many recent events have found me closer to prayer than I have been in many moons. I will say a prayer for your daughter and your family. I hope for all good outcomes from this.

mrkelley23 wrote:Thanks for taking the time to post, Cal. I hope I wasn't out of line. I know there are some caring people here who don't necessarily see FB.

Many recent events have found me closer to prayer than I have been in many moons. I will say a prayer for your daughter and your family. I hope for all good outcomes from this.

Quite okay. I changed my privacy settings on FB for posts about Sarah to Public instead of Friends Only.

Many prayers from here for her Cal.

Sending all good thoughts and best wishes.

Hoping for good news.

For anyone interested in updates:

https://www.facebook.com/Love4SarahS/

I don't know if I'm going to try to post on Calvinator's facebook account for his kid, I guess I should because he'd the one most in need of this advice now:

He says in one of his posts that Sarah was taken off the respirator & is OK without it, which is great, & that she's agitated, "which is to be expected".

Some links follow about a syndrome that develops in people in ICUs, generally those on respirators (i.e. tubes down their throats) & under sedation:

Generally, this syndrome is more likely in older people, &/or in people on ventilators for long periods of time, but it can happen to anyone, & they can't predict who. Once word of advice on how to potentially avoid or at least mitigate it is to have a family member/friend present at all times to assure the patient that the family member/friend is there & to remind them of what the reality of the situation is. Some sources advise family member/friend keeping a journal of comings-&-goings into the room so that when awake, the patient can compare notes as to what really happened & what was really part of a nightmare.

The links, taken from a letter I just wrote to a friend:

This is the most important one, because its a 1st-person account by a Canadian philosophy professor (who is referred to in many of the other articles), who can't be brushed aside because she isn't old & she is a respected professor, but you'll have to download it because its a download, not a link:

And what's worse, I can't seem to give it *as* a link, so you'll have to google

(cheryl misak + icu)

& pick the choice that says

ICU Psychosis and Patient Autonomy; Some Thoughts from the Inside
citeseerx.ist.psu.edu > viewdoc > download

Other papers: just cut & paste these links into your browser:

http://news.nationalpost.com/health/blo ... octors-icu

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... -danger-of

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/2 ... -c-u/?_r=0

The 1st article I found on the subject now cannot be gotten by its address for some reason, but *can* be gotten if you google

"John A Hartford" + nora + "postoperative confusion";

the article to click on is "Confused About Postoperative Confusion"

The most important parts of the articles that have "letters sections" are, in my opinion, the letters written in by people recounting their own experiences & saying "oh thank you for printing this; I thought it only happened to *me*"

The info I get from all these articles is they're not sure if the problem is caused by the sedatives used, the mysterious & scary things going on in the ICU, or both; I think its a combo of people going into & out of a sedated state with all these horrible (to them, while still sedated but somewhat conscious) things going on.

They can't predict who this will happen to, except that the older you are the more likely it is. Also, the longer you are sedated.

ICU personnel are in general very familiar with this phenomenon; medical people outside of that area of expertise seem totally unfamiliar with it, & evaluate the patient as though the patient came in to the hospital with this syndrome, not considering it was brought about by being heavily sedated & ventilated in the ICU.

Thanks for the resources, ghost.

I already had some familiarity with the experience with my dad a few times in the year or two before he passed.

I'm so glad you're not mad at me for posting the refs. I sure wish I'd had them before my brother's recent emergency surgeries. That you're assuring (per your blog) there is a 1-to-1 person attending Sarah in the ICU, & probably beyond, & that the hospital allows this, is the best thing you can do for her beyond the actual medical care.

Don't be surprised if she's very weak when she's finally off all machines & sedation, even at her young age, but her youth will definitely be working *for* her.

calvinatorette III was released from the hospital today. She will come home tomorrow because Mrs. Cal didn't want to have to drive home from Denver in the dark.

Daughter will still need to have radio-surgery at some point in the near future to treat the AVM.

Yay! I hope this is indicative of a complete recovery.

This is terrific. Best wishes for the radio surgery to wipe out the AVM with time.

Good news!

You all might want to view this:

Realized I never finished this story for folks on here.

When Calvinatorette III left the hospital the first time, they told us she might have permanent speech issues, and would not be able to retain new information going forward. A few months later, we took her back down to Aurora for targeted radiation on her brain because the malformation was in a tricky location for traditional surgery.

After that, and before her next scheduled checkup, she was referred to speech and occupational therapy. After one session, the therapists said she didn't need any more. Jumping ahead a few years, she wound up graduating as Valedictorian of her High School class (very small private school). She then completed an Associate's Degree in American Sign Language at the local community college.

Now, back to 2017. At her scheduled check-up, at first, the Neurosurgeon said everything looked fine, but after more detailed scans, they discovered an aneurysm where the AVM had been. They now concluded that the AVM hadn't ruptured, but that the aneurysm had bled out into the brain and had refilled in the meantime. Another surgery was scheduled. This time, they were going to do an embolization with a glue-like substance to choke off the aneurysm. The surgery was scheduled for 6 hours, and one of the surgeons was the Dr. who had developed the procedure. We were waiting in the hospital cafeteria, when we got a phone call after 2 hours telling us they were done, and that she was fine. When we met with the surgeons, they said, "When we got there, the aneurysm was just gone." The older surgeon (the one who pioneered the procedure) said, "It's a miracle."

Calvinatorette III is now 21 years old, living outside the home and holding down a job. She has a boyfriend and is thinking about doing an online program to get her 4-year degree in ASL so she can get certified as an Interpreter.

I have no idea why I haven't posted to you on this. All God's blessings for her and y'all.

Wow. How I could I be completely unaware of this? Perhaps this during my 1 year absence?

I said a quick prayer about 7 or 8 posts into this thread, then realized it was all 6 1/2 years old. Then I see your update from today. Hallelujah for prayers answered retroactively.

I was still on fb in 2017, hope I did...