Update on Martha

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive during this time of our family, and during the challenges my mom faces. For those of you who don't know, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and stroke on the first of December. She's recovering at Intermountain Health in the Neuro ICU and will hopefully be moved to a physical therapy room within the next few days. We have been greatly blessed by your prayers and well wishes and I just wanted to provide a recap of what has gone on this week and will try to update daily with her progress.

December 1st: While attending pilates mom realized something was wrong and told them to call the paramedics while she got a hold of Pat and my Dad. She then suffered a hemorrhagic stroke that morning. She remains in intensive care. She has been administered a drug called Factor 7 (I think) to aid in clotting the blood and stop the hemmorrhage. At this point, they are waiting to see how she reacts to the drug. The stroke afflicted her right side, and there had been a slight improvement since that morning.

Many of you have asked about flowers. The hospital does not allow flowers in the intensive care unit. Once she moves from there and is able to have flowers, I will let everyone know.

December 2nd: Mom had a good night, and there were no signs of further digression. She was scheduled for an MRI later in the day and was starting to get movement in her hand and fingers on the right side. 

The results of the MRI showed a very slight expansion in the brain as a result of bleeding from when she was admitted to the hospital yesterday. However, they believe that may have been during the time when the drug to stop the bleeding was taking effect. She is working with a speech and physical therapist. She is still in intensive care. If all goes well, she may move from there Thursday.

December 3rd: Last night (2nd) she had head pain so severe that she was administered morphine. Today, she was scheduled for a CT scan and a cerebral angiogram. The angiogram will determine with certainty whether or not any bleeding is still occurring. She is responsive and giving a good strong squeeze with her right hand, however feeling hasn't returned to the right side yet. 

December 4th: The cerebral angiogram she had yesterday indicated no further bleeding occurring in her brain. Doctors indicated her stroke was a direct result of high blood pressure. She had a very good night last night, and her coordination and speech are much improved! Perhaps the most positive update is that she is experiencing significant tingling in the right side of her body. She has been cleared to move from intensive care into a rehabilitation unit. Dad will let us know when that occurs. 

They are currently restricting visitors however we want to thank you all for your prayers, support and love at this time. It's amazing how strong and optimistic she is through these challenges and is an inspiration as she work to heal her body. Of you have questions, please direct them to the blog or to me and I'll try my best to answer them. I know my dad is updating Kath as well so she'd be a good person to talk to additionally.