Events Leading To Jack’s Hospitalization on 8/22/2007

Many of you have inquired as to what Jack’s symptoms were that led us to MGH on August 22, 2007. (Jonathan’s birthday was 8/22).

In retrospect, Jack has had several incidents the last 2-3 months that none of us would think anything about except there were several of them.

The first incident happened when he was giving our little garden pond a spring cleaning. He was standing in a plastic liner with rubber boots on. He slipped and fell, hitting his face near his eye on a tree branch.

The second incident occurred in a law office. He was attending a meeting. He decided to leave early. He did not see that where he was exiting, there was actually a glass wall. He bumped the left side of his head on it and got a very bad black eye.

I told him after these two events that I was going to be arrested for domestic abuse.

Then one month ago last Sunday, Jack decided to hike in the Winchester Fells. He chose a 7 mile hike. Half way through it, he tripped on a large outcrop of rock; fell flat of his face. He said that he jumped up; finished hiking the last 3.5 miles and thought – “Wow, I am in great shape; I didn’t break any bones. He not only sprained his left wrist but got a huge, black bruise on his chin. I said “ok, what are you going to say now.” He said he was going to tell his colleagues that he had figured out how to protect his eyes from my abuse but I got him on his wrist and chin. I tried to get him to go to the Dr. but in general he seemed ok, so we ultimately thought it wasn’t necessary.

The following week, we went to Block Island for the weekend. When we returned home, a storm window above the sink had fallen. Neither of us could get it to stay up. Jack climbed upon the countertop; feet in the sink and sat on the countertop edge. I told him I couldn’t watch and left. The next thing I heard was a big crash; he had fallen on the floor; hit his head on the island. He really sprained his left wrist this time. The wrist became very swollen and painful. Again, I suggested having a visit to the Dr. Again, there was no pressing need.

We went to dinner on August 18. He had difficulty getting his wallet out of his pocket to pay the parking attendant. He was awkward. He said since the falls that he had lost some of his ability to use that hand. I said that he should go to the Dr.

On August 20, Jack took a long walk. I found out when he was near home that he tripped and fell. Still, his health was strong enough and his body solid enough that he did Nordic Track on Aug 21. Megan, Jonathan’s wife, called me on August 21. She said Jonathan had thought he was slurring his words. I had not noticed that at all. It made me panic. I tried to call him unsuccessfully.

•••

Jonathan insert:

I spoke to dad on Sunday the 19th in our usual weekly recap of our lives, work and the Red Sox. His voice was deeper, slower and a little slurred on some words. I asked him if I had woken him from a nap and was surprised that not only had he not been asleep, but that he was completely alert and felt fine. He mentioned that he had noticed since his falls that sometimes it would take him longer to get an idea from his brain to his mouth.

I told dad to get examined by a doctor, because his symptoms indicated there was something wrong with his brain, potentially some swelling or bleeding due to his falls. From my brief stint boxing, his voice on the phone sounded like a punch drunk fighter. The fact that his fall in the woods had been on his chin was especially disconcerting. A bad knock on the chin can jar your brain severely enough to knock you unconscious.

After some reading online, I honestly thought he might have had a minor stroke as a result of the first fall. Megan and I made a point to check in mid-week to make sure that he had a doctor appointment.

•••

Back to Carolyn:

On August 22, I was at work and Jack called saying he had driven to the Medical Dept. He said that he began to feel very anxious. He had 2 large meetings to attend and worried that it would be difficult to speak which he had observed was becoming increasingly difficult. So he decided to go to the Dr. thinking it could be his blood pressure.

They immediately sent him to MGH for some tests. I arrived at the hospital at 10:30 AM. By noon, Jack was having a CT scan; by 1:30 PM, we were being told that he had a subdural hematoma.(brain bruise that appeared a few weeks old – remember the fall on the rock?) and a mass in his brain. They sent him to have a MRI. By 7 PM, he was admitted for further tests.

The Dr. told us that it is common to have a jarring fall to trigger symptoms like Jack was experiencing. I later found out that he had been unable to use his left hand on the keyboard of his computer for a couple of weeks.

There have been almost no other symptoms besides what I’ve mentioned here. There have been no headaches (for which I am thankful). It suddenly appeared and our lives are forever changed.