Please Pray for My Father

Well, I just got home from Kaiser hospital. This afternoon about 3:40, I got a call from my Mother. She thought my Dad was having a stroke. I persuaded her to call 911, as I knew they could get there before me.

Being a nurse, I know that there is only a three hour window for a stroke. The patient needs to have a CAT scan immediately, and if the stroke is not caused by a bleed in the brain, then it is caused by an embolism. To break up the clot, a medication that is termed "clot busters" is given, but it won't do any good if given after 3 hours after the first signs of the stroke. That was the main reason I wanted her to call 911.

I actually got to their house just as the ambulance was leaving for the hospital. Dad was doing better, but still had some slurred speech, but it wasn't very bad. He had been having weakness on the right side, but that was already better, too. After we got to the hospital, it took them FOREVER to get him to CT for the scan. By the time they determined that it wasn't a bleed, (if it was caused by a bleed, then of course, they would not give the clot buster...that's why the CT)Dad's speech was worse, and very, very slurred, and the 3 hours was now up. We made the decision to give Dad the clot buster, even though there is a risk that it will cause hemorrhage and death. We felt that the chances of the stroke worsening were greater than the chances of bleeding.

By the time they got the medication from the pharmacy to ER and they were ready to start it, Dad's speech was better, again. He had no other signs of stroke at this point, and since he was getting better, the decision to hold off on the medication was made. If his stroke were to get worse again, though, he could not get the clot buster. What a decision!!....but I knew that they had prayer for Dad at church, so I felt confident of my/our final decision. I KNOW that God is a God who hears and answers prayer, and is the Great Physician. I thank Him for hearing our prayers one more time!!!

When I left the hospital, Dad was doing great!! No more slurred speech or anything. They were keeping him over night for a 23 hour period, and plan to run a few tests tomorrow. If everything looks good, they will discharge him tomorrow. Please pray that he continues to do well.

Dad will turn 88 on Nov 3, and he isn't very strong since his heart attacks last year, but he is still my "Daddy" and I don't want to see him suffer.

I'm very tired, so I think I'll hush and go to bed. Thank you for your prayers....Gayla