Recent Improvements

Abbu is gradually improving. He started eating solid food, and is able to sit on the bed. On Saturday, the doctor's will try to see if he can walk. Abbu is taking baby steps in the path to recovery.

Update: Abbu has walked around his room at the hospital and has also walked in the hospital corridor with the help of nurses. He is  still very weak, and doesn't have much strength in his legs. The doctors have told him to simple exercises in his bed, in order to improve blood circulation.

Abbu transferred to Cabin

Abbu has been moved to a cabin from ICU. His condition is stable and he is able to speak freely.

It turns out that Abbu does not remember anything that happened during his last day at Bogra. Abbu was acting irrationally during that day as he was refusing to seek medical help even though he fell at the restroom. He also had verbal arguments with the doctors at Bogra. It turns out abbu does not remember anything from that day. Brain hemorrhage can affect normal brains function, so it is important for the people around the patient to identify the symptoms of stroke and take action immediately. We owe a huge debt to our relatives in Bogra (Akhter Nana, Ripon mama, and other relatives), for their timely action.

Please review these two links, before you leave this page.
Here is a list of symptoms for stroke: [LINK]
Quick 3 step-test to identify stroke patients: [LINK]

Abbu will be released from ICU within 1-2 days

The doctors confirmed they don't see obvious neurological problem with Abbu. Their only concern is that the heart is not 100% efficient yet. They will most probably release Abbu from ICU within 1-2 days (based on consent of cardiologist) and then keep him under observation for a couple of more days. Let hope and pray for a speedy recovery.

Update: Changed the blog title at the request of my niece, Fahmia. Both fahmia and farhan were very worried about how I am going to celebrate my birthday, since Abbu is sick. Thankfully, we got some good news about Abbu's recovery on my birthday and Farmia/Farhan felt relieved for me.

Abbu spoke a few words!

Doctors finally took off the ventilator (life support) during morning hours. All vital signs are stable and abbu regained consciousness, in fact, he spoke a few words with the doctors.

Bhaia is waiting to see if he can meet abbu.

Update from Rakhi Bhabi @12:15pm BDT: Abbu spoke with Modhu khalu. He is feeling fine, except a mild headache.

Update from Emon bhaia : Just spoke to abbu and ma. Khalu is recovering very well. He is completely off of life support and is speaking normally. He even wanted to call the doctor in Bogra to speak to him on the mobile, but the doctors and nurses didn't allow it. He is also moving his hands and feet normally. Swelling on the face is gone and is normal. He said he had a little headache, but overall seemed to be in good spirits. Doctors are very happy with his recovery rate. They will keep khalu in ICU for some time to be extra careful and not move him into a cabin right away. Doctors didn't give any timeframe as to when they will ove him to the cabin. Khalu's heart is still weak given the stress it had gone through. Doctors said it will take a little time for it to regain its strength. Pressure also seems to be normal. Overall all good news :)

Abbu's health is gradually improving

The doctor's are using life support (ventilator) again. The doctors are taking steps to gradually remove the life support again on Monday morning. Overall, abbu's blood pressure is doing much better and his health is gradually improving.

Doctor's Report @ 10am, August 12th.

Doctors are about to begin procedures to gradually remove the ventilation device (life support). This definitely shows an improvement, because I don't think the doctors would remove ventilation device unless abbu's condition (vital signs) was somewhat stable. Let's hope that Abbu responds positively without ventilation support.

Update from Emon bhaia @11:30am BDT: "Doctors are still monitoring Khalu closely. His blood pressure was fluctuating earlier, but now it seems to be getting better. While it's still not fully normal, it's better than before. The doctors said they will take him off life support this AM and see how he responds." 

Update from Rakhi Bhabi @ 4pm BDT: Ventilator removed completely and blood pressure is holding steady.   

And, Chanchal Bhaia is going home to take some rest. Will come back to hospital after dinner. 

Waiting for morning check up

Abbu's condition is very critical. This what we know so far:
Before operation Abbu's heart was at 40% efficiency. In the order to reduce pressure on lungs, a non-invasive ventilation device is being used to reduce respiratory load on the lungs. We don't have an estimate of the current efficiency of the heart, but it should be close to 40%. Blood pressure is still fluctuating. There is no problems with other vital organs.

I will update this post, once we get the doctor's report.

Post Operation Update

Abbu is still in ICU and his condition is still considered as critical for 48 hrs. They have taken of the ventilator and abbu is able to move his hand and feet. All good signs. However, Abbu's face is slightly swollen and he is looking very weak and blood pressure is fluctuating a bit. Nargis Apa was the only one to see abbu inside ICU, she reported that there is some water in his lungs.

Chanchal bhaia is currently staying at the hospital for the night. No more updates will be available until morning (Bangladesh time).

Last updated @ 3:23pm EST

Request to relatives: Post updates

If you access to any recent info that has not been reported earlier, please write a comment here so that the rest of us can be in the loop. I will try to compile them, and report it here.

-Ujjal

Surgery at 2pm

The surgery is scheduled at 2pm.

Update: Surgery is complete but abbu is in ICU. The doctor is pretty happy with how the surgery went. However, Abbu is having breathing problems, so they are using a ventilator to help with breathing. He has not regained consciousness yet. The main concern at the moment is that if Abbu develops any heart related complications due the shock that the body experienced because of the surgery, then treating that ailment will be hard.

Diagnosis at Apollo

The stroke occurred at least a couple of days ago, but abbu apparently did not feel anything. The hemorrhage, on the left side of the brain, got worse with time, and the symptoms only became clear yesterday. The fact that Abbu was taking aspirin (blood thinners) for his heart problems most likely worsened the hemorrhage.

Immediate surgery is recommended as bleeding from the hemorrhage is creating pressure on the brain and blood supply to the brain is reduced. Also, Abbu's sensory organs are not at 100% efficiency anymore, so the doctors does not want to wait anymore.

The surgery is scheduled to take place in a couple of hours. The operating procedure is to drill a small hole in the head an then drain/pump blooded out of the affected area to relieve pressure on brain. The procedure is not too complex, but abbu's diabetes and previous consumption of blood thinners increase the risks associated with this operation. The operation will be conducted by Dr. Mathew Chandy. He seems to have a good track record.

Please keep our father in your prayers.

Abbu is Sick :(

On the morning of August 10th, Abbu was feeling light headed and fell, while he was in restroom. Our relatives at Bogra, wanted to take abbu to hospital right away but abbu was reluctant. Then, they informed amma and bhaia at Dhaka about the incident, and they literally forced Abbu to go to a local clinic. At that time, Abbu's speech was slightly impaired. At the clinic, they conducted a CT scan and the doctors recommended immediate surgery. The doctor at Bogra gave abbu an injection of phytonadione, which is used to treat certain bleeding or blood clotting problems.

Abbu left Bogra at around 11pm in an ambulance and came straight to Apollo hospital at 4am, August 11th. The diagnosis of the doctor at the emergency room is that abbu would need surgery but first they will try to stabilize his condition (control diabetes). Otherwise, Abbu is under observation and waiting for diagnosis by their senior Neurosurgeon (Dr. Mathew Chandy).