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Close friend found on ground, a bit confused, motor difficulties
Hi All,
This is a bit off my usual topics on this forum.
This was four nights ago - a close friend, 70 yo male who lives about two hours away in a very rural farming community was found on the ground by his wife after not coming to bed - he had been sitting up late, outside. She helped him to bed, but thought his speech sounded slurred - he had been drinking, but apparently, not much. She did not mention any issues with facial paralysis or body numbness.
The following morning and since then he has been sluggish, sleeping most of the day and is a bit confused, but has resisted going to the ER. She texted and asked me to call him to see what I thought - he has never sounded crisp, but did seem a bit slower and would drift off. He runs a farm and is building a house/barn on the property so is very active - I asked if she thought he could safely drive and she said no. She said he seemed stable but just wanted to sleep.
I urged her to take him immediately to closest hospital - about 45 minutes away.
During the discussion I found out he stopped taking hypertension meds "awhile back" - didn't take statins - didn't get annual checkups. He is about 50 pounds overweight, uses a CPAP machine.
Sorry so long - does this sound like a stroke - TIA? Anything else obvious it could be?
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mayoconnectuser1 (@mayoconnectuser1)
Definitely needs to go to ER. Longer he waits, harder to treat. Do not let him drive. Call 911 if necessary.
Even if not stoke, something happen that caused these changes, it could be heart related seeing he is not taking is medications.
Do they have kids that can intervene and connivence him or help mother get him to hospital.
Signs of stroke:
Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
Laurie
Thanks, Laurie.
I'm getting info only from his wife - she took him to ER yesterday, four days after the event. He was confused on/off. Brain scan with and without contrast - she said neurologist said nothing clearly noted, but he assessed based on interview with him that had a small stroke.
They admitted him, we think.
I can't get a consistent story from her re his current bp, but she thought she saw 170/100 ... more this morning.
BP is back down, but still elevated - I've attempted to motivate her to motivate him to restart lisinopril (hypertension - ACE inhibitor) and get into cardiologist soonest, but to review lipids to see if statins warranted (they are, but will let them sort). He needs a stress test with echo, maybe a heart calcium test, and certainly advanced lipids workup (something like Cardio IQ).
Not sure on release - took him for another brain scan a little while ago.
My husband had a bad pain in his back but continued working. Refused to let me take him to the hospital. This went on for a week until he could barely walk,would not eat and looked like death. Finally I got him to emergency. He had a massive heart attack seven days earlier and also had a major infection from diverticulitis which he is on morphine for. Of course his heart was damaged for refusing to do anything. He has blood clots in his heart which he is on medication for . They don’t know the extent of the damage yet . He is not out of the woods yet.
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2 ReactionsUpdate - confirmed stroke left side, hospital doc wanted him to stay for heart echo, but said no and is checking himself out. Scripts for Plavix, Lisinopril, a statin, no drinking or smoking. We'll see.
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1 Reactionmayoconnectuser1 | @mayoconnectuser1
Thanks for update,
Laurie
Update. Touch and go. Large ulcer was found in his upper intestine that is leaking out fecal all over his body. Now he has sepsis and is on heavy antibiotics. Blood clots in each ventricle of his heart, His kidney function is gone and on dialysis. On life support right now while Drs are deciding to go ahead with surgery to remove all the fecal matter from his stomach and repair intestine. 70% chance he won’t make it 100% chance he will die without it. Will keep updating.
MEN!
They don't want to see a doctor and if they do they won't take their meds or follow the diet that has been recommended for them. We just can't get them to take care of their bodies. Where did they get the idea that they could do anything/everything they wanted and would live forever? We should get them to write a will now, updating it every year, but they won't. We are the ones that have to do their bidding, we can't live with them and we can't live without them. Isn't it fun being a woman! Good luck, ladies.
mlmcg
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1 Reactionmlmcg,
I agree ... immaturity is, for some men, more than a lifetime.
Visited with this fellow and his wife for a few hours today. I tend to put numbers to things - even without a known scale ... he was 95% of normal cognitive and maybe 90% motor skills, mainly his right leg.
He'll start therapy next week. BP down now - taking meds now.