Brain damage part 2

Tweet

Not me this time, the ex. He's been incredibly forgetful, and last January I got a freaked out call from my daughter that he wasn't acting normally, and could I come home. He had picked her up,and they were picking the twins up and getting lunch, and he was repeating himself, and garbling words and acting strangely. They were at Subway getting sandwiches when she called, so I had her put him on the phone, and all he said was "yes, I'll get you a sandwich". Hm. So I told her not to let him drive, and call me when she got home and let me know how things were. Well she got as far as the high school, and said to please come home, things were not right. So I called my boss, "personal emergency" and left. Got halfway home and she called again. "Yes, I'm on my way already." And then I got two streets away from home, and he called and said that as soon as he ate his sandwich he was fine. I said I was almost there, so I might as well keep on going. So we had a conversation, and he seemed perfectly fine. He had me convinced it was a blood sugar thing or something, since he was fine after he ate. I suggested he call his doctor before he left, and he did that, but they couldn't give him an apppointment, because their computer was broken, so he said he'd go by there in the morning. All is well. And then it started again. He kept repeating, "I feel absolutely better", garbling words, using words out of sequence, etc. That's when I said, "you're coming with me", and drove him to the emergency room. The girls came too. In triage, the doctor had him make two fists, then the doctor put his thumbs inside them, and told him to squeeze. He apparently couldn't, and the doctor ordered an immediate cat scan and whisked him off. I was convinced he was having a stroke, When he came back, they said it wasn't a stroke, that there was a mass on the side of his brain, and that he was having focal point seizures. For months he had been acting a little off, but he had convinced everybody that it was his gout medication. They transported him to a bigger hospital with a MRI, and a few days later they did surgery to remove the mass. He was their miracle poster child for quick recovery. Since then, he needs to be reminded of things constantly like his memory is sometimes off. Two weeks ago he scared me with his disjointed responses to some questions I asked him, and he insisted it was his thyroid medication. He had forgotten to take it for a few days, and then got back on it. I hope that's all it was. Now he told me that the "not tumor" (it was benign, whatever it was, and had been inside his head for over 20 years) was pressing on a part of the brain that controls his memory, speech and emotions. After the surgery, people asked me, did I think this growth could have contributed to the behavior that basically led to the divorce. I don't really know that it did, although I have to say that in counseling he seemed not to get things that were repeated over and over again for months. So maybe it did, but as I am in a happy relationship, I can't really beat myself up over what I did not know at the time. I feel bad, but I can't change the past. Tony was not happy with Dearra calling me or with me taking him to the hospital. He felt she should have called 911, but I just chalk that up more than anything to him disliking the ex (the ex went off on me in front of Tony when we were moving). Anyway, other than some short term memory issues, he seems fine now. Much as I appreciate the help with the kids, I hope he is able to find a job. 2+ years out of work are too much.