Tamara: The Story of the Seizure

You all know my father has Alzheimer's, so when my mom is out of town for her work, she must make other arrangements. Our city is blessed to have a wonderful senior citizens center, which specializes in dimentia and Alzheimer's. My father thinks he's a volunteer there three days a week. This week, however, since my mother would be gone, we planned for him to go all four days of her trip. Monday, I picked him up from the center and brought him home. We ate and he went to bed early. After awhile, he was back up and dressed, so I sent him downstairs to watch football with Cade. However, Cade came upstairs to tell me he was standing in front of the coat closet with the door open, but not doing anything and not responding to him. We called Mom, had Dad talk to her, and she got him to go back upstairs and go back to bed. When I talked to her later, she told me that at times he goes to sleep earlier than she and wakes up thinking it's morning. She usually has to go to bed herself for him to go back to sleep.

So, this morning, when he woke up at 5 AM, I just asked him to get back undressed and go back to sleep. I told him I'd wake him in time to go to work. It took him some effort to undress and lay down, but he did. Then I went to go lay back down--my alarm was set for 7 am. But not a few minutes later, I heard his belt buckle jingling again, and I knew he was getting dressed again. I went in to talk to him, thinking that if he'd rather be up, I could just stay up with him. But as I talked with him, I noticed that he seemed more confused, so I took baby steps. Do you want me to tell you the plan for the day? Do you remember that Mom is in Texas? You're spending the night with me and I'm going to take you to the center when it's time. But as I was trying to help him re-orient, his arms twitched and he let out two weird gurgles. Then he stood up and lurched at me. I'm moved out of his way, which meant he fell head first into the desk where I was sitting. Then he fell to the floor and started twitching. I could hear his watch rattle back and forth on his arm, he was shaking so violently.

I screamed for Cade to call 911, that Dad was having a seizure. There was blood, and I thought he might have gashed himself on the desk, but I couldn't locate the source of the blood. I kept saying the Jesus Prayer over and over, switching up the "have mercy on me" part for "have mercy on my Dad" every so often. After Cade told the emergency operator where to find us, I spoke to them to tell what was happening. By that time, the seizure was over and Dad was breathing heavily, which I've been told is normal for seizures. I think the whole episode must have taken about 3 minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

The EMTs arrived shortly, maybe ten minutes after the seizure started, but it took them awhile to get him on the board to carry him out to the ambulance. He woke up when they started moving him and he was very combative. They had to restrain him, which made it worse for him, since he is claustrophobic (in the lay sense). While they were doing all of this, I tried to reassure him with my voice and words, praying the Jesus Prayer and telling him I was there and I love him. At one point, he looked at me and said, "Father," with a great deal of effort. I immediately said the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father..." Cade suggested that I sing to him, and the only thing I could think to sing was a Psalm "Hear my cry, Oh Lord, Attend unto my prayer. From the depths of the earth, will I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I, that is higher than I." He seemed to search out my voice, but never to see me with his eyes. As he began to speak, the words were prayers. "Oh, help me! Help me, Lord Jesus! Oh, Glory! Halellujah!" He was even praying in tongues in the ambulance, and the driver asked me if he was usually this incoherent. I said, "He's pentecostal. This is normal!" Still, his prayers had a sense of desperation to them, and I think he was very afraid of what was being done to him, and everything worked against him being able to understand. Anyone coming out of a seizure would be disoriented, but the Alzhiemer's and the claustrophobia combined made it so much worse for him.

At the hospital, my sisters met me there, and because one of them works at the hospital, we were able to all three be with him in the ER--against ER regulations. They sedated him, but he still was very agitated. We sang for him, which seemed to help him calm down, but it was several hours before they took him off the board, which freed up his legs to move. Then, hours later, they let him sit up and took of the wrist restraints. Another hour or so later, they removed the neck brace. Not until all those restraints were off of him did he finally calm down. He didn't get admitted until about 11 AM, so all that time he was in the ER. After being moved to the room, he was able to relax and sleep for a couple of hours. Just after he woke up, at around 1 PM, Mom arrived from Texas. Then, he was off for X-Rays and an EEG (which is what my sister who works there does). After that, visitors from their church started coming in to see Mom and Dad. Cheryl and I left for a couple of hours, went back for dinner together, and overall, we've seen marked improvement in Dad's condition. Whereas in the ER, he couldn't remember how many daughters he had or my name, he is now pretty cognizant of everything except for why he's in the hospital. No matter how many times I tell him he had a seizure, he can't remember.

Doctors are enigmatic concerning cause, but the consensus is that he must be on anti-convulsant meds for the rest of his life. He has to remain at the hospital until those new meds are regulated. There is some blood on his brain, but not enough to require surgery, and they said it is possible he will never have another seizure.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I appreciate all of you so very much. It was such a comfort to know I could count on you to lift us up today.

Blood Work Drawn

Today Rick was to get blood work done for a Dilantin level. We got up early to get ready to get to the lab and back again before Erin came to take him to the Center. There was a Christian version of Scrooge on TV and at one point Scrooge screamed loudly. Rick wasn’t watching it but heard it. He said, “That is the way I felt.” I couldn’t get anything more out of him about what he was talking about. I did ask him if this was how he felt with his seizure and he said yes.

As we were hurrying to get out of the house, Rick said, “I don’t like this.” Because we were hurrying, I didn’t stop to figure out what he was talking about. When we got into the car he said it again. I asked him what was bothering him. He didn’t answer for a while. Then he said, “You are not listening to me so why should I tell you?” Of course, I said I was listening and that he hasn’t told me anything yet. I told him that I couldn’t help him with anything if he didn’t tell me. He still didn’t respond for a while and then said it again, “You are not listening to me so why should I tell you?” Again I answered saying, “I am listening. You haven’t told me anything yet.” Finally he said, “I just don’t know about Tamara. Why does she want this to happen to me?” I told him that Tamara didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. That she did a wonderful job of taking care of him when he had the seizure. That she has been kind, nurturing and loving. He then agreed saying, “I know.” During this time he was trembling with fear. I reminded him that God was in control and that he wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to him. Then I started having him quote the 23rd Psalm. I would say a line and he would repeat it with me. Sometimes he would actually quote it with me. But then he stopped and wouldn’t complete it because of his fear.

We got to the lab and got out of the car and walked in. Sat down waiting to be seen. He was still trembling but he was calming down. We quoted the 23rd Psalm again and this time he got all the way through it. We repeated the last verse, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” We emphasized Goodness and Mercy were with him.

Before he was called back to get his blood drawn, he was calm and the trembling had stopped. He did fine with getting stuck and he seemed to be fine when he left for the Center.

Seat Belt

Erin reports that while she was driving she noticed that Rick did not have on his seat belt. She reminded him to put it on. He couldn’t find the seat belt. (Remember that he is in Erin’s PT Cruiser and the seat belt is located a good distance behind his right shoulder instead of beside his right hip.) He was looking all over for it including the gear shift. Erin finally had to reach it for him and then he couldn’t figure out how to fasten it. Erin had to fasten it for him also.

Tamara: Some funny things Dad said at the hospital

Me: Dad, did something bad happen to you yesterday?
Dad: Well...I wouldn't....say....it was....bad. What Dr. Pearce....tried to...let me know....tried to intimate to me....was that the science....of what this bag represents (while tapping the empty fast food bag)....what it is showing us...is that we can ..... anticipate....a postive outcome.

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Me: Dad, what happened to your face?
Dad: Oh, I don't know. It must have something to do with one of the springs your mother had going.

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Dad and Mom were sitting in the rocking chairs in the hospital room, and Dad decided he needed to face the other direction. He started turning the chair around while sitting in it, then schooching it forward while sitting in it, until he had it lodged between the foot of the bed and the wall.

Me: Dad, where are you going?
Dad: Well, I guess I can't go any farther, can I?

Then, he couldn't rock, so Mom had him stand up and she readjusted his chair so he was beside her and able to rock. But then, he had to turn his head around to talk with me. So he started moving his chair again, that same schooching motion while seated. He turned the chair all the way around so that his back was facing me and he was looking out the window! So mom had him stand up again, and she moved her chair and his chair so that they were directly facing each other, sitting knee to knee. Then he was comfortable for awhile.

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I was going to make a joke about Dad owing me for the desk he fell on, which isn't really broken.

Me: Dad, I came here to collect the money...

Mom: What money?

Dad: Well, the money she came here expecting to collect, of course!

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Mom and I were talking about how scary it all was. I said that it's good for me to see Dad up and healthy again, because the image of the actual seizure keeps haunting me. She said, "I know, it was scary for you."

Dad (all of a sudden, focusing on what was going on): Did something scare you?

Mom: You did, hon. You gave Tamara quite a scare yesterday.

Me: Yes, I was really scared yesterday.

Dad (with tears in his eyes): Well, if there was anything I said or did to scare you, I'm sorry! I never would want to scare you!

Me: Well, dad, I forgive you (with a laugh). But you didn't do anything to me. I was scared because of what was happening to you. You were laying on the floor shaking and twitching with the seizure, there was blood on your face, on my arm and on my carpet. I was scared for you, not because of you.

Dad: Oh...(still a little emotional, but more confused than anything). Well, I sincerely apologize.