Sometimes life really smacks you upside the head. Sunday November 21 was definitely one of those times. Chris was in his recliner settling in for the abject soul crushing disappointment of watching the Washington football team play when suddenly he became dizzy, unstable, and exhausted. All at the same time. Clearly something nefarious was afoot! I made the command decision to head to the emergency room. Halfway down Plank road things got worse as nausea set in. We called 911 & drove across 29 to the North Garden fire department and let the experts transport him the rest of the way to UVA!

In pretty short order the ER doc contacted the neuro team who rushed him off for a cat scan. Results were not what we feared (heart attack) but somehow even worse. A brain bleed in his cerebellum!?!

He was admitted to the neuro surgical ICU for observation. A second cat scan 6 hours later was identical to the first, meaning no continuous bleed. It was a “one and done”. Small and quickly over, but scary as hell!

What followed was two nights camping in his room in the neuro surgical ICU. His room only had folding chairs for guests but I spied a recliner in a hallway at 2:30am which I quietly commandeered! We needed his blood pressure to remain below 160 to prevent further bleeding. At 6am they took him for an MRI so I popped home to deal with poor Rex.

Tuesday afternoon Chris was discharged with sprained ankles that he neglected to mention… But that is a story for later. Meanwhile in Florida, Tavish underwent surgery to repair his wandering kneecap. Mission accomplished with the addition of a cadavers ligament(?!?). Zombie!!!!

Chris wobbled over to Josh & Mels for turkey day, his feet becoming more painful & less usable as the days go by. Jack dressed up as a tyrannosaurus rex for him as he knows grandpa loves big lizards!!!

Did I mention “sprained ankles” that Chris forgot to mention to the ICU docs? Well, they’re baaaack! Actually they never left but the pain has been increasing, as has the swelling. His ankles were hot to the touch. As things were getting worse instead of better we opted on Saturday morning November 26 for yet ANOTHER (pre-dawn this time) trip to the ER. Chris’s ankles & feet are ridiculously swollen & his feet are too painful to walk on.

Side Note: Office chairs can be used as slightly unruly home wheelchairs to get someone who can’t walk transported to the car… By unruly I mean it was a challenge when the chair wanted to follow the slant of the driveway down into the abyss (the drop off beside the drive) – especially as hubby is a big guy (6’4) and I’m a petite 5’4 who weighs less than half what he does. But love & panic gave me the strength of ten Grinches this morning – so, success!

At UVAs ER they ruled out deep vein thrombosis & congestive heart failure. (Thank goodness!) Seems the extreme swelling in his ankles & feet is crushing the nerves so they are irritated & inflamed . Started him on anti-inflams, pain stuff & hot water epsom salt soaks alternating with ice & elevation. He needs to move his toes, feet, ankles & legs even tho it hurts in order to start getting the fluid to move out. He is NOT a fan. But at least we now know what’s going on!

On the brighter side! Carys had her picture taken as an utterly adorable fairy! If that doesn’t bring a smile to your face then you must be the living dead (looking at YOU, Tavish!)

Finally, a serious Question: Are the squirrels hiding in the bushes watching me as I plant spring bulbs? It FEELS like the squirrels are hiding in the bushes taking notes as they watch me through their tiny squirrel binoculars. Because I’m sitting here watching the squirrel surgical strike team taking out one tulip bulb after another. Little scoundrels!!!