A Rapid Turn for the Worse

Last night at midnight, Janette woke me up to say she had a horrible headache. Soon after we were sitting together, she had a seizure. We took her by ambulance to Mease Dunedin Hospital, (727) 734-6228. Her potential condition was routed to Dunedin rather than Morton Plant, the closer hospital. She had one more seizure with the paramedics present, another in the ambulance and another much later in the ER.

We spent the rest of the night in the ER trying to get the seizures and her blood pressure under control and stable. A CT scan showed no signs of hemorrhage or stroke in the brain, the seizures were not due to a spike in her blood pressure and not due to a reaction to the new chemo. She is scheduled for an MRI this afternoon to be sure, but the theory is the cancer had also metastasized to the brain. We will have more information this afternoon when all the doctors have a chance to look at her and her test results.

Janette had difficulty breathing on her own during the crisis times. She is on a ventilator for now and heavily sedated. Ventilator = heavy sedation. In the ER, she had many "aftershocks," little, mild seizures. Once she was admitted to the critical care unit (rm 16) at 8am and settled in she seemed much more comfortable and relaxed and seemed to be resting peacefully. Seizures are exhausting.

Janette has been unresponsive after her first seizure at midnight. Before, she was in physical crisis; now she is sedated. I don't know yet how aware she is. I will know more when we go back to the hospital this afternoon. Aunt Elizka and I came home at 9am to rest and wash up.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I haven't slept. Please do my work for me and tell the folks you think need to know. I may not be able to update the blog right away; I have a felling I'm going straight to sleep tonight. But I really will try to keep this current and you informed.