Wow. Really glad the you were with him and you did what you did. Scary stuff. Prayers for Mike and you too in your situation. Thanks for the update!
Quick update.. Thanks Guys for all your kind words.. Yes Chuck, not a bad idea to set up a fund for Mike, while he does have medical insurance, I am sure there is going to be deductibles, not to mention he is not going to be working for a while. I will do that this weekend. Now the update, news is not all good.. This is the latest I know.. will get another update here later today.. When he arrived at Abbott via the chopper it was determined that he had nearly zero blood flow in the Right Carotid Artery, and only about 10% in the Left Carotid. An angioplasty was immediately performed to improve blood flow, but they were careful not to rupture the arteries, and a follow up surgical procedure was planned for Thursday... The high resolution scan was done, and they identified 2 larger clots, and several small clots.. At that time, they elected to put him in the ICU, give him medicine to raise his blood pressure, and continue to administer the drug to attempt to dissolve the clots. No one was allowed to visit him that night, so we don't know how he was, as far as his speech.. it was reported to us that he was sleeping a lot. His GF was allowed to see him Weds, he seemed to be doing better, but the speech issues had returned, and he had lost feeling and movement of his right arm, from the elbow down. Also still had the face droop... She was told that these symptom changes are fairly normal in the process, and they were not worried at that time. They wake him once an hour to do a cognitive check on him.. At the 10pm check on Weds night it was determined that he had another stroke. He was immediately rushed back into surgery to do yet another angioplasty, this time to actually remove the larger clots from his brain. Last I heard, he was doing better, although there is significant delay when you ask him a question, till he answers.. and he is still having issues with his speech.. Some good news is that feeling and function has returned in his Right arm from the elbow down now. He did try and call his Sister yesterday morning, so I guess that is a good sign.. Mary Jane and his girlfriend Jean were very upset that they were not contacted when the incident occurred on Weds night.. apparently those lines of communication have improved now, after one of them read the hospital staff the riot act.. I believe he is scheduled for surgery on his neck this morning, hopefully this artery issue is the cause of all the problems he has had. I should get another update on his condition today. We are all frustrated by the 1 visitor per patient per day policy the hospital has, due to the pandemic, but it is what it is.. JW
Prayers for Mike and family. Thankfully help was immediate. Hopefully your health is also improving. Also; Due to covid19 I have been unemployed since April. You need any help in the shop, please let me know. I would be honored to learn a few more things.
Best wishes for a complete recovery for Mike. He is fortunate that you were with him when it happened, Jim.
Prayers for a full recovery for Mike. Great job by you Jim with the fast acting and getting him to the hospital in time.
Folks - if you are over 60 get your Carotid Arteries checked. They work right up to about 10% flow! Your doc should at least listen to them when you get your annual check up...
I think many of us didn't know about Mike. We really appreciate the work he has done! Set up a fund I am sure the Buick community can help!
Wow, good thing for Mike you were there and knew what to do. Unfortunately it seems he has a long road to recovery ahead of him, I'm sure a "gofundme" page or something is probably a good idea. Wishing you both all the best and hopes for a speedy recovery; - it's because of you both that we are all here.
Ok, here is the latest, and some corrections to previous information.. I actually spoke with Mike on the phone last night.. Because I was getting the information third hand, some of it was incorrect.. so here are the corrections. When he arrived at Abbott Northwestern Hospital on Tuesday night by Helicopter, they identified the reduction of blood flow in his Carotid Arteries, but did not address that with any procedure at that time.. he did undergo a angioplasty procedure to remove the blockages from his brain. The second stroke was caused by new blockages not the original ones floating around. He has Coronary Artery disease, which runs in his family.. he recently had his heart arteries checked for blockages, and they were ok, but a lot of plaque was seen. It is unclear if the blockages he is experiencing are from actual blood clots, or pieces of plaque.. Yesterday Morning he underwent a 3 hour surgery to place a stent in the carotid artery that was partially obstructed.. they won't touch the one that was blocked. The blood flow finds new paths and redirects so it is not required to open both. They also removed all the remaining blockages in his brain. They are watching him carefully for bleeds in his brain right now.. The return of blood flow to arteries and vessels that have been largely inactive, presents a concern that they may not hold up. The 72 hours after the return of blood flow is the most critical time. Also this is the "wait and see" time as to other possible effects that may have occured to to reduced/block blood flow to his brain. Physically it looks good.. he has full function of all his extremities, although he is no where near back to full strength. He has just a very slight slur in his speech, if you did not know him you might not notice it. His cognition is good.. talking to him last night, it was only just a few seconds for him to answer me, I had heard that earlier it was up to a couple minutes.. so that is improving. They had him up and walking in the halls on Thursday, I think they let him rest after surgery yesterday, but I am sure they will be working him out again today. His spirits are good, and he wanted me to pass along his thanks for all your prayers and good wishes. If you know Mike, and have his cel number, give him a call... He told me that boredom is is worst problem now.. While he certainly has a long road ahead, with many possible pitfalls, we are all hopeful for a positive outcome, and happy that finally we have answers as to what has been plaguing him for quite some time now. I am going to go set up the fund here on the board for him.. he will need help thru his recovery, his insurance is only going to cover so much, and he won't be working any time soon. Thanks JW
Hey Jim, First like others have said it is so great that you were there! Mike Bucy... You said many of us would not know his name. Wasn't he big in the GSCA years ago? I know that name for some reason??? Praying for a successful outcome!!!
John, He was a very early GSCA member, still has copies of the GS xtra that were done on a mimeograph machine.. not sure how 'big' he was in the club, I did not know him then.. JW
Talked to him again last night.. only new development is that he has degenerative discs in his neck, that causes the his spine to pinch a nerve. He was scheduled to have disc replacement surgery later this month, and has been getting by on a steroid shot they gave him about 3 months ago. That shot wore off yesterday, or the area was irritated by the surgery he had on his neck on Friday Morning, and the pain came back with a vengeance... so they have him on painkillers now, until they can get a consult again on the issue.. no surgeon will even consider touching him for this procedure for at least 2 months, if everything goes perfectly. We are still in the 72 hour wait and see period, so they are watching him carefully for bleeds in his head. JW
Update: Good news... Mike did good on Sunday, woke up Monday and reported that he felt better than he had in years.. his scans were clear, and they released him from the hospital yesterday afternoon. Only lingering effects seem to be a bit of motor function of his right hand, and a slight slur to his speech.. He is home and getting therapy for both in the coming weeks. thanks everyone for their good wishes and prayers.. they were answered ... this was nearly the best outcome possible from this very serious situation. JW
