[sarahsweets]

I am sorry if this is in the wrong place, I couldnt figure out where it was best to put it...

My 22 year old son had a stroke on Black Friday- yes you read that right. Turns out it was a PFO and he had a heart surgery to repair it. Below is a pic of the screen they put in between the valves (its so cool, had to share)


Well he goes for a follow up with the cardiologist this morning and we need to talk to him about am incident where he came out of the shower and had his heart racing an shortness of breath. My brother and mother are ICU nurses and consulted with the cardio's they work with and they said he needs a loop recorder to monitor things. I am not sure what that is or what it does but I hope the cardio doctor doesnt give me any trouble or I will have to take him somewhere else to get it done. I hope this doctor isnt offended that I will be walking in with an agenda but I have to protect him. If he goes into afib even once it only takes 5 minutes to form a clot that could go to his brain. It was the scariest thing I have ever been through. Imagine your child sitting up with weakness and not being able to see, talking gibberish ( he said" truck book poop I know that toothpaste will go") but he said it just like you would if you were having a conversation. He has made real progress and he really is a walking miracle but I am so scared. He is going back to college to his apartment on saturday and I worry about him being alone if it happens again. If anyone is familiar with this procedure, a PFO or stroke recovery please chime in. I would love to hear your thoughts.

[MickeyCheeky]

Unfortunately i can't offer advice, sarahsweets, since I have never experienced this. But I wanted to let you know that I'm so sorry that you and your son are going through this. I hope and pray that everything will be OK and that there will be no problems. You're both in my thougths and prayers. I hope everything will go well. Keep writing here if it helps. We're here to support you. Let us know how it goes. Sending many hugs to you and your son

[Travelinglady]

I'm sorry and understand why you'd be concerned.

[healingme4me]

So sorry that you are all going through this. Of course you are being an advocate for him with his doctors, what mom wouldn't? Please keep us posted

I don't have any advice but I'll keep you in my thoughts if that matters.

P.S I just found this thread by accident. Sorry I didn't reply sooner.

Hope all is better!

[possum220]

ICU nurses really do know their stuff. If the doctor is a good one he shouldnt have any issues with what your son needs. You gotta get done what needs to be done. It's your son's quality of life that is at stake.

[Open Eyes]

(((sarah))), witnessing a stroke is scary and I know what you mean when you describe the way he talked too. I witnessed my mother have a stroke and we got her to the ER as quickly as possible. I was so scared and my older sister came storming through the doors and in front of everyone yelled at me and told me my mother's stroke was my fault.

I will say prayers that your son gets the care he needs and deserves and recovers so he can be healthy. Nothing wrong with asking questions and making sure he gets all the right care.

[healingme4me]

How'd your son's first week back go? Were you able to set up a plan in case of further health complications?

[sarahsweets]

Originally Posted by healingme4me

How'd your son's first week back go? Were you able to set up a plan in case of further health complications?

Thank you for asking. It went ok he said. He is trying to be very focused with getting his work done. His classes started Tuesday. He already has adhd and has been diagnosed since he was 4 and now with a brain injury its even harder to focus. He had a 4.0 last semester and got incompletes for his classes and has turned in all the makeup work. He has two finals to schedule. I feel like that even if he doesnt do stellar on his finals that his teach.ers will be liberal with their grading because he had straight A's and they know about the stroke. He got A's on the makeup papers. He reached out to his new professors before the semester started to tell them about his situation and that he has a 504 and and talk about accommodations. I am really proud of him. He used to get accommodations for the adhd in high school but he refused to accept help in college to prove he "could do it himself" so I am glad that he is comfortable reaching out.

Its so hard to see him like this. Not that it is so different per se but he feels so different because there is some residual damage and he feels just different personality wise. I cant remember if I mentioned this but his GF of two years broke up with him a month ago. This was actually good because she has her own mental health issues that he was being responsible for and her family was all too happy for him to be in that role. Even though she knew he had to protect his heart and not get stressed she was being selfish and mean. He knew he had to break up with her but the way she broke up with him just wasnt what he expected. Then she has texted him and called him a million times saying she needed help. He finally answered her text and told her that he views the break up as permanent and that she broke up with him and he cant be tossed aside and then picked up because she needed him. Well then she got venomous and spiteful and said she found someone else, he was replaced, blah blah- all the unstable crap you can imagine. Thanks everyone for listening. I am gonna try and keep writing here because I think its good for me.

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

Thank you for asking. It went ok he said. He is trying to be very focused with getting his work done. His classes started Tuesday. He already has adhd and has been diagnosed since he was 4 and now with a brain injury its even harder to focus. He had a 4.0 last semester and got incompletes for his classes and has turned in all the makeup work. He has two finals to schedule. I feel like that even if he doesnt do stellar on his finals that his teach.ers will be liberal with their grading because he had straight A's and they know about the stroke. He got A's on the makeup papers. He reached out to his new professors before the semester started to tell them about his situation and that he has a 504 and and talk about accommodations. I am really proud of him. He used to get accommodations for the adhd in high school but he refused to accept help in college to prove he "could do it himself" so I am glad that he is comfortable reaching out.

Its so hard to see him like this. Not that it is so different per se but he feels so different because there is some residual damage and he feels just different personality wise. I cant remember if I mentioned this but his GF of two years broke up with him a month ago. This was actually good because she has her own mental health issues that he was being responsible for and her family was all too happy for him to be in that role. Even though she knew he had to protect his heart and not get stressed she was being selfish and mean. He knew he had to break up with her but the way she broke up with him just wasnt what he expected. Then she has texted him and called him a million times saying she needed help. He finally answered her text and told her that he views the break up as permanent and that she broke up with him and he cant be tossed aside and then picked up because she needed him. Well then she got venomous and spiteful and said she found someone else, he was replaced, blah blah- all the unstable crap you can imagine. Thanks everyone for listening. I am gonna try and keep writing here because I think its good for me.

Didn't see this thread until today. My heart goes out to you. Sounds like your son is making good decisions. With time, I hope he recovers physically and regains mental focus. Be patient--time can mean two years though since he is young, he may heal faster than older stroke patients. What does the doctor say? Or are they afraid to make a prediction? (I think sometimes they avoid saying how much someone will improve because they don't really know!)

[MickeyCheeky]

I wish the best of luck to you and your son, sarahsweets. I'm so sorry you both have to go through this. Please don't give up. I hope things will get better soon. Keep writing here if it helps. Feel free to PM me anytime. Let me know if I can do something to help you. Wish you good luck! Let us know how it goes. Sending many hugs to you and to him

[possum220]

Good on your son for standing up for himself.