Family Affair: The Story

So this post is long overdue. I had intentions of writing this story when these events started taking place. However, I got busy and distracted with life. At this time, I was expecting my first child and working.

I am going to try to recall the details of this story to the best of my abilities but as I stated above, it has been awhile. So let me take you back to December of 2012.

Back in December, prior to going on Christmas leave, I received a call from my mom telling me that my uncle, my dad’s brother, was in critical condition with an infection. I knew my uncle had been sick and not feeling well as he had been suffering from colon problems. I spoke with my uncle a couple weeks prior and he had explained to me that he was going to have a colonoscopy to figure out what the problem was.

My uncle had found out from the colonoscopy that he had a blockage in the colon. Rather than do an immediate surgery, the doctor put it off for several or more days. Before the weekend was out, my uncle became severely sick and had his ex-wife take him to the emergency room. Turns out the blockage in his colon had caused his colon to rupture. As a result, everything that is supposed to pass through one’s colon was going into his chest cavity causing a major infection. The stuff that was leaking into his chest was getting on his lungs making the infection worse and breathing an issue. He had to be put on respirators and strong antibiotics.

Even after being on antibiotics for the first few days, he wasn’t improving the way the doctors would like to see. At this point our family was really worried about what the outcome would be. I really couldn’t do much since I was still in Hawaii.

My husband and I arrived in Utah in mid December for leave. My uncle had been in the hospital for a couple weeks at that point. Well on the day we arrived my uncle had suffered a major stroke. Initially we were told by my uncle’s ex-wife that the stroke was minor. Unfortunately, she was wrong. Part of the confusion I think is due to the fact that she didn’t understand what was really going on. Due to my father’s experience, we were more educated on how bad a stroke could be. My mom was able to reach a doctor at the hospital who explained to my mom that it was a major stroke. The doctors found that my uncle had the same hole in his heart that my dad had, causing a clot to pass through the hole and reach his brain. When we asked about what his prognosis would be, no one could give us an answer because he still had the infection. We were told that even if the infection subsided it would be hard to tell what his condition would be until rehab.

Following the stroke, my uncle was paralyzed on the left side. He also couldn’t talk but we aren’t sure if that was due to the stroke or the respirators. Eventually he would gain back his speech and mobility. However, I am told that he doesn't have feeling in his fingers. Once his infection turned around, he went into a rehab center to get back to where he needed to be physically. 

One day I was at a retreat in Waikiki with my husband when I received a phone call from my uncle. He never randomly called me. When I answered the phone, I had never heard him so happy. He was asking me so many questions and just wanted to check in. 

That following July, we came to visit. My family got together so they could meet my daughter. He seemed great when I saw him. Unfortunately, my uncle couldn't go back to work. Due to the stroke, he wasn't allowed to drive for awhile and he was a truck driver.  He decided to sell his townhouse and move into an apartment.  About a year after his stroke, he chose to distance himself from the family. I have not seen him since that July. My other uncle sees him when he visits my grandma. My other uncle has to tread lightly because anything can set my uncle off. It is common for there to be personality changes in a person when there is trauma to a person's brain. As sad as it makes, me I understand that it is due to the stroke. I hope that it will not continue to be this way forever. I want my daughter to have a relationship with her great uncle. I am just grateful that the outcome for my uncle was not worse.