Paige’s Stroke, Here’s what happened….

The week of June 25th, 2012 Paige was admitted into UCLA-Santa Monica Orthopedic Hospital complaining of pains in his abdomen. It was discovered there, he had a virus or infection in his blood attacking a heart valve and creating blood clots throughout his body.

I spoke with Paige on June 26th and he told me he was going to be hospitalized for the next 6 weeks fighting this virus/infection. I told him I was coming to see him the next day.

At 4:00 am the morning of Thursday, June 27th I received a call from one of the doctors at the hospital saying that Paige’s condition had worsened. One of the side effects of the blood thinning drugs prescribed for him was any internal bleeding could be fatal.

Apparently, the infection had move into an artery in Paige’s brain creating a bleed. He was in danger surviving this condition and there was no Neurosurgery department at UCLA-Santa Monica Orthopedic Hospital so they needed to transport him immediately to UCLA-Ronald Reagan Hospital in Westwood.  Time was not on Paige’s side. The bleeding was so bad by the time they got him to the hospital in Westwood for a Cat Scan to see what was happening, they had to rush him into surgery to save his life.

Reed and Logan were with me in the surgical waiting room for 3 hours on Friday the 28th awaiting his condition. That day was touch and go for Paige. The doctors told us they did not know how much damaged had been caused to the brain by his bleeding stroke and hoped he would survive the next 48 to 72 hours.

We could only see him for a minute long enough to tell him that we loved him and were praying for him as he lay in a drug induced coma. His skull had been cut from ear to ear in the back of his head and they slit his scalp to open him up to get to his brain to relieve the pressure caused by the bleeding. He was on a breathing machine and fighting for every breath as if it were his last.

Needless to say, the last few days have been critical. His survival hinged on little things like, would he open his eyes? Yes, he did on Saturday. Would he hear and follow simple commands? Yes he did on Sunday! Today is Monday, July 2nd and he was awake and breathing on his own. He even spoke on the phone with Dennis Lindsey, Reed and his son Wes! God is answering the prayers of family and friends. We thank you and we thank God for the progress he’s making. Not by any means is he going to walk out of there tomorrow or even next month, there’s a long way to go from here. He’s still not moving the right side of his body. He’s recovering slowly but, he is getting better.

I know a lot of you have been trying to contact me to get updates on his condition or even just find out what happened.  I’ve been spending so much time on the phone when I can with concerned family and friends and it’s just been wearing me out both physically and emotionally.  If you don’t mind, this blog will be the method of communicating his status to you all on a daily basis. I see Paige every day and promise to update this blog with his condition when it seems worth mentioning. I know most of you understand why this is so much easier, probably for all of us.

We’re still asking that only family be admitted to see him for just a few more days. He said he’s not ready for visitors yet but I’m sure most of you understand that as well and will come and visit him as soon as he’s ready to have you. I’ll be posting his visiting information on a blog to follow soon!

Please continue to pray for Paige to have a full recovery and get back on his feet soon. Again, we can’t thank you enough for your prayers and concerns with offers to help. We’re asking that God is with you and guarding over all your families as well.

Take care and God Bless you,

Wright