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John F. Johnson, JR - Journal

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Posted 2012-08-17T01:51:44Z

08-16-2012

Sorry for not updating this in a little while, we have been scrambling around a little because on Wednesday they called to say they were going to discharge my dad on Friday from the hospital. All the family agreed that my dad wasn't ready to go home so we were trying to find options and we decided that he should go to Orchard Villa in Oregon for additional rehab so tomorrow he is headed there. We have heard great things about the rehab there so we are really excited. Additional good news is that his blood sugar has gone down so he didn't need insulin tonight so hopefully it will stay that way. Once we figure out his therapy schedule there we will let you know so that whoever wants to visit can. Hopefully he will be continue to make good strides toward recovery.[...]

Posted 2012-08-08T22:19:11Z

8-8-12

Yesterday my dad looked the best we have seen him since he went into the hospital. He even went outside for a little bit in the wheelchair. They are working him extremely hard in therapy. He can now walk to the bathroom in a walker. We made him basic flashcards like his name, where he lives, his daughters names and his grandson's name. He gets them right sometimes and other times he has a hard time but he is making progress. He still keeps asking when he can come home and hopefully it will be soon. He will need someone to be with him 24 hours a day at first which he isn't too happy about but at least him coming home is on the horizon. We want to thank everyone again for all the thoughts and prayers, we wouldn't have made it through as sane as we did without it.[...]

Posted 2012-08-03T02:27:40Z

8-2-2012

Good News, My dad will be moving to the rehab floor tonight, we are super excited and hopefully he will be too. He keeps saying he wants to get out of here and do something, so at the rehab floor they stated they would be working him 3 hours a day. His blood pressure is still high but hopefully its just because he is a little aggitated because he feels like he is just stuck in bed and that will come under control. Hopefully in a few weeks he will start to recognize everyone. We are making flashcards like our mother did when he had his first stroke to help him out. We want to thank the person that cut the Brown Road grass for us. We really, really appreciate it. Thank you for all the prayers, texts and kind thoughts. We are hoping he can have visitors soon and we will let you know as soon as the can. Keep up the positive thoughts.[...]

Posted 2012-08-01T02:01:30Z

7-31-2012

Sorry we haven't updated but we have been waiting, they kept saying that he would be moved to step-down neuro ICU and then Rehab but he wasn't moved, he was finally moved today. They didn't have room in the step-down ICU so they moved him across the hall. We were having difficulty with the nursing staff on the floor so we had to call in a social worker. We hopefully have the problems resolved. He is extremely tired, they are thinking of giving him a stimulant tomorrow in order to kind of wake him up although some of it is an act, we are catching on, because when doctors come in he pretends to not know his name but when they leave and he is awake we ask him and he says his name is John Johnson. We are worried about the type of care he is getting in his new room so please keep up the prayers, he really needs them![...]

Posted 2012-07-28T21:42:27Z

7-28-12

We talked to the neurologist today and he says that my dad will hopefully be moving to a step-down unit tomorrow because his condition is stable enough, after that they will be sending him to either inpatient rehab or another rehab center. They said he would have to be in rehab for many months. His blood sugar was a high during the night so he is on insulin and an ADA approved diet. He keeps asking if we are being taken care of, he still doesn't know names but he know what place in line we are in terms of our birth, so Jamie is 1, I am 2, Melissa is 3 and Lindsey is the baby. He can count to 10 if he is prompted with 1 and the days of week if he is prompted with Monday but if they just ask him to count to 10 he has problems which is part of left brain that was damaged in the stroke. He is extremely irritated and keeps asking how long he has been in here, we just tell him a couple days. He likes to use cuss words and always says "this sucks." He also can't see out of his right eye but we hope it will come back as the blood in the brain is more obsorbed. We are really excited about the progress he is making and hope that we can eventually tell you that he can have visitors. However, at this time no vistors are allowed. [...]

Posted 2012-07-27T16:27:40Z

7-27-12

Yesterday evening we had a visit by one of the speech doctors who had just completed an initial evaluation of my dad. She stated that the left side of the brain was the side that was the most affected by the stroke which is the part of the brain that deals with comprehension and speech. My sister and I experienced this first hand yesterday when my dad was trying to watch a western on television and expressed that he couldn't understand what was going on so we turned it off. (He, like his mother before him, loves westerns.) She stated in the next 3 months provided nothing else medically happens my dad should be able to make significant progress in these areas as long as he has patience with therapy (which is asking a lot because we all know how much patience he doesn't have). They stated they will start working with him each day for a little bit starting next week. Overall, he seems very tired today but we are hopeful he will be out of the ICU by Sunday or Monday. Keep your good thoughts coming![...]

Posted 2012-07-26T16:19:28Z

7-25 & 7-26-12

Good News, this morning my dad was able to eat applesauce and a graham cracker which is good since he has been asking about food since Monday morning. The bad news is he woke up disoriented and pulled out his IVs. He had a CT scan of the brain last night but we are still awaiting the results and they are going to do a speech test today. The doctor still says low stimulation is the best so he can't see visitors but we will let you know when he can. Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers, it truely means a lot and is a great support for us![...]

Posted 2012-07-25T15:36:07Z

7-24-12

My dad's condition has remained the same, his O2 Level is ok so they haven't had to put him on a ventilator yet. His blood pressure was a little high yesterday but they gave him some medication through the IV and it is now back in the correct range the doctor wants it. He still doesn't know his name or any of that information but when one of us is in the room and he is awake, he knows we are his daughters just not our name. He actually said my sister Lindsey's name was Beverly, which is his sister's name. It really is just a waiting game and our family's new motto is "No News is Good News".[...]

Posted 2012-07-24T17:20:32Z

Initial

My dad started to complain of a headache on Saturday night then on Sunday morning he began vomiting while still experiencing the headache. Sometime after 11:30 am, he had a stroke with bleeding in the brain most likely (the doctor said) caused by his high blood pressure. The rescue squad was called on Sunday night and he was taken to the University of Toledo Medical Center (formerly MCO). He is now currently in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. They were able to stop the bleeding in the brain. He is very tired but so far, he is conscious although he is unable to tell people his name or where is he, he mostly when asked says numbers like 22 or 55. The neurology doctor came yesterday and said that most people in my dad's condition are unconscious. He is only of about 5% that is not unconscious, which he made it appear as a good sign. He did say my dad would most likely be put on a ventilator, which is a common procedure for bleeding stroke victims. He stated best case scenerio my father will be in the hospital for 3 weeks. The nurse stated that the most crucial time is 48 to 72 hours after the stroke because that is when the brain would most likely bleed again, if it was going to. That has not happened yet, so continued prayers and good thoughts coming his way are greatly appreciated. The doctor and nurse stated that the most important thing for his recovery is limited to no stimulation and rest; although we want to thank everyone for the kind texts, calls and offers to come in visit or to bring something for us, he is not seeing vistors at this time. We will update if there is any change.[...]