Mom was getting weaker on Friday and Saturday and was quite sick by Sunday morning. She stayed in bed most of Sunday, sitting up only to eat and take meds. She had no signs of a cold or flu. Heidi and I took her to a previously scheduled appointment with Dr. Miller, a pulmonary specialist, yesterday. There are several issues with her lungs including volume loss on the left side. The loss may be caused by a blockage in the airways which provide air to the lower portion of her lung.

There is also mild to moderate fluid build-up in her lungs which is relatively new. There are many things that would cause volume loss and fluid build-up, including lung cancer. Dr Miller does not recommend invasive testing to find something we wouldn't treat. Mom is too fragile to survive surgery or chemotherapy, so we will not test for cancer. The fluid build-up could be caused by heart failure. It could be determined through a painless ultrasound and managed with medication, so we will move forward with that.

Mom also has a 4.7cm thoracic aorta aneurysm. The doctor did not seem concerned about it, even though mom was pressured to have it operated on two years ago by her Marinette doctors. Unlike an abdominal aortic aneurysm, there is no data to suggest it will burst when it reaches a specific size. The surgery to correct it is risky even for young and otherwise healthy patients. Dr Miller said no doctor would perform the surgery, which involves cracking open the chest, on mom. The aneurysm will most likely never burst.

The speech therapist does not believe mom will continue to improve. Most people with the type of brain damage that mom suffered plateau around two to three months after the injury. Mom's last seizure happened 12 weeks ago Monday. Physical therapy is waiting another week before they determine if she is continuing to improve. Once mom plateaus we will get her a fitted wheelchair that will be more comfortable for her.

We'll continue to work with mom, of course, every case is different.

She had a good night and morning, she was funny and alert and had a healthy appetite. She was surprised that she was too weak to stand now that she feels better.