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Corinne Wells

Day 3: A Fever

We were warned day 3 might show some regression due to an increase in swelling. We did see some of these changes but overall she is progressing in her alertness. This has us feeling hopeful and determined to keep supporting her progress.


As a summary for the day, Ronda’s left eye is very swollen so she can only open her right eye. She had to be given a unit of blood and she battled a fever most of the day. Her blood pressure varied throughout the day but spiked again in the evening. We’re feeling grateful that these little changes are being monitored and addressed so closely in the ICU.


She is consistently most active in the afternoon and is responsive to most commands during this time. At one point a nurse asked her to open her eye and she refused but opened it when Mike said he was going to lunch. She also looked at Christi and waved at her and smiled at Mike. She communicated that she was getting cold when the nurses were trying to get her temperature down, and she communicated that she wanted to keep listening to the Les Mis soundtrack Sarah turned on. She’s also made it pretty clear that she likes having us there and doesn’t like it when we leave.


She is getting feisty with the neurological checks the nurses do every hour. At one point a nurse asked if she could nod her head and she shook her head no. Then the nurse pinched her and Ronda swatted the nurse and kicked before she could pinch her feet. This is great progress! In case you’re wondering, the nurses occasionally need to check for responsiveness to pain. Sometimes patients don’t respond to commands because they just don’t feel like it. Other times they are not conscious so checks require a small pinch to assess responsiveness.


We are getting a little more information about what the long road might look like. After Ronda’s stroke, she had a partial craniectomy. They removed a portion of her skull to allow room for her brain to swell. We don’t expect this to be reattached for 2-3 months. She will probably be in the hospital until this time. After that, she will likely move to in-patient rehab, maybe with a helmet to protect her skull. We expect there to be at least some permanent deficiencies, but we won’t be able to assess this until she wakes up and we can see what is working and what isn’t. Right now we can see that her right side works much better than her left. She is left-handed but she has not moved her left hand much.


Ronda’s sister-in-law and friend of 45 years, said,


“This is one tough, determined, competitive woman and when she gets to the start line for rehab... get out of her way. She'll be the poster child telling everyone how it's done. I have full faith in her. All of you as the cheerleaders will watch in awe. A struggle? Yes. But rewarding in the end. Should I get my pom poms? Go team Ronda! Positive thinking is the name of the game!”



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