I saw Randy today and he asked if I would give you guys the update on his condition:
- He was discharged Teusday and at home. He feels fine, has no physical limititations and is somewhat "chomping at the bit" to be more active but is wisely taking the advice of his physicians, family and friends not to do so. I suspect he may get bored and would welcome visitors. Reading emails may be less effective (see below) - he had an "embolic" type stroke (several tiny clots to the brain) initially producing mental status, speech and visual changes, but no motor defecits (ie, weakness, paralysis, etc.) - he is recovering nicely and the above issues have pretty much resolved. He is thinking clearly and still the same friendly, affable guy we all know and love - he still has a small R. peripheral visual field defecit and some minimal memory and reading impairment which will continue to improve and could completely resolve - the stroke was caused by a small PFO (patent foramen ovale) or "hole" between 2 chambers of the heart that allowed a small clot to bypass the normal filtering mechanism of the lungs and reach the brain. This does not affect the function of his heart, and are often not closed unless something like this happens - he will be consulting a specialist (invasive cardiologist) about the possibility of closing this by a non-surgical (catheter directed) technique - he will, at least temporarily, need to be on coumadin (an anticoagulant or "blood thinner") to prevent this from recurring. - if this is able to be closed, he will not need to take coumadin long term - although he is physically able to cycle, he will not be able to do so as long as he is on coumadin given the risk of bleeding with a crash. It is unlikely he will be back on the road this summer. - he misses everyone, the comraderie, beating up on the young wanabe-studs and still covets your prayers Kevin -- You received this message because you subscribed to the Gyro email group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected]
