Wednesday, April 22, 2009

housekeeping details

For people wanting to visit Mom: at least for the time being, Mom is in the Neuroscience ICU of Fairfax Hospital-- second floor, berth 10. While the intention to visit Mom is appreciated, she remains positive for MRSA (a potentially virulent bacterium often associated with in-hospital infections), requiring a special glove-and-gown protocol. The rules for the ICU also stipulate that there should be only two visitors at a time, so visiting Mom en masse is inadvisable.

Upshot: for now, it might be better to hold off on visiting Mom-- who is currently floating in and out of consciousness as her body processes out the anesthetics-- until she is transferred to the step-down unit (i.e., to non-intensive care).

Those hoping to reach me by email will find my contact information on this blog's sidebar. I have more contact information on Facebook.

Many thanks to Pastor Kim of our church, MVPC, for coming out to visit Mom this morning.

UPDATE, 2:12PM: My brother Sean reports to Dad that Mom is "groggy." Dad and I were home this morning; Dad spent a lot of time making and taking various calls from people, rearranging appointments, running errands, and prepping to pick up my aunt from the airport. I'll be driving up to the hospital separately, as it turns it, but first I need to clean the upstairs floor.

UPDATE, 6:15PM: Mom is awake and very reactive. My aunt is in the ICU with Mom (Dad and I are taking turns, allowing my aunt to stay constantly at Mom's side), and they're talking in Korean. I added my broken Korean to the interchange for a while; Mom even mustered up enough affect to laugh weakly at our joking. Mom's not too chatty, but I noticed right away that her short-term memory had radically improved, and her aphasia seemed almost nonexistent. She doesn't seem to remember the desperate events of Thursday, which is probably for the best.

Sean swung by earlier today and saw Mom when she was asleep; he'll be back at the hospital at 7PM, and will probably be delighted to see how much Mom has improved.


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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kevin, your blog came up on an automated newsfeed I do every day. I am a volunteer brain tumor patient advocate, which means I help patients find the best treatments possible. Usually people in your position are overwhelmed by all the new info, so I encourage you to take advantage of the experience of others...your mom's prognosis may greatly improve if you have an expert help you navigate the treatment options. My help is free and I am not selling anything! You can contact me at "braintmr@gmail.com"
John

augusta said...

Kevin, I have not been checking your blog since you last wrote about wanting to see "DOUBT". I have been up from Florida visiting my husband who is living in Herndon these days..anyways, I will take your Mom's health issue and your family back to my Catholic parish and out you on our prayer network...good call on potponing your walk...you will not regret staying with your family for now!
May our Lord continue to richly bless you and yours!

Kevin Kim said...

Augusta,

Thanks. The walk's probably going to be postponed for a long, long time-- maybe a few years. Right now, things are completely up in the air here.

John,

Surely you must know that the timing of your sudden appearance makes you look predatory, not noble. Thanks, but no, thanks. I suspect that, somewhere along the line, money will be involved, no matter what you initially say. My opinion of you will likely be confirmed when another commenter comes along to talk about "free" patient advocacy. There are a lot of vultures out there.


Kevin

Curtis S. said...

Hang in there Bro'.

It is a good thing that you are there doing the right thing at the right time.

Providence.

Kevin Kim said...

Thanks, Curtis.