Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Tuesday's follow up

It's 7:00 pm and we're still waiting for the extubation to take place. Apparently a patient must be off all sedation meds, breathing on their own & alert. Dad was ready this morning but then fell asleep. We found out that sometimes, patients that have been sedated for a long period of time become sleep deprived. Today is the first day, I saw him yawn. As a matter of fact, he yawned all day. The doctors have not ruled out the removal just yet. It still may take place this evening. We shall wait and see.

Tuesday May 31

Dad is much more alert and when I walked in this morning, he had his eyes opened. He squeezed my hand and gave me a thumbs up. Mom and Lisa are doing fine and we're making sure Mom is eating healthy and gets her daily exercise.
We just finished a consultation from his pulmonary doctor. His lungs and breathing look good enough to have his vent removed today. So I will post the results once this procedure has been completed. We thank all of you for your support and we appreciate all of your prayers. 

Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day May 30

Well the good news for today is dad's condition hasn't changed from yesterday. He had another great night. According to the doctor's report this morning, his response is the same and his vitals look good and are stable. The doctor did say that it's possible dad will have to keep the drain line in permanently similar to what Gabby Giffords has. He also said that although dad's right side is slow to respond to commands, rehabilitation will take place and we should see great improvement within 8 to 12 weeks. He's still intubated. However, breathing on his own.  Once they extubate him, everything should start to get better quickly. We just have to wait until they decide to remove the tube. All signs look good at this point.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Sunday May 29th

This morning's update from the nurse was very good. Dad had a great night. His blood pressure was down to where they want it and when I walked in he was awake and alert, way more than yesterday. His eyes were open and he was moving his left arm. Yesterday was a difficult day. The nurse had a very hard time keeping his blood pressure below 170/70. Today, it's at around 150/50 and holding. It's difficult to be sitting next to him not knowing what he's thinking. We all just want him to wake up and start talking. God's creation of man is incredibly beautiful and perfect. Anyone who ever goes through this type of trauma learns just how complicated the brain is. Having to find the right balance between medication cycles, fluid intake, when to make assessments is not easy and varies with each patient. So just when dad shows signs of improvement something happens and he takes a step backwards or one doctor wants to flood him full of fluids so his ventricles are hydrated while the pulmonary doctors wants him dry to prevent fluid from getting into his lungs. It's been a roller coaster ride. We must have patience for dad to recover on his own.
It's very comforting to see him move and try to scratch his face and/or get up out of bed which he tries every time he's awake and alert.
His results from the cardio sonogram came back positive. His heart looks like is should for a person his age. His valves and pump rate are normal and his walls look good.
I want to let everyone know that he does have feeling and movement on his right side and will need rehabilitation once he's able and ready to go home.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial day and please take the time to tell your loved ones just how much you do love them and cherish them for being in your life.
Mary Lee, Lisa & David

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Correction

The draining line did not have a kink. The staff turned it off during the night to see how he would respond.

Saturday May 28

The doctors told all of us that when things look good expect something to turn the other way; one step forward, two steps backwards. He's been correct so far.
We came in this morning thinking things would be the same as yesterday with a little more improvement. Today's nurse told us that the draining line had somehow kinked during the night which didn't allow fluids from his brain to drain properly. As a result, a little pressure built up and he's a little lethargic this morning. He will be sleeping for most of the day to keep him comfortable. We're not allowing anyone other than family in to see him today. His heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory is stable and healthy. He's just not as responsive today as yesterday.  We were told yesterday his breathing tube would be removed sometime today. However, that's not going to happen. We would like to mention that the staff here at the Neurological Institute have been excellent working on dad and we can't ask for any better treatment and attention. The facilities are very comfortable but the rooms are so cold. Mom is still holding her own, very strong and healthy. We shall see how today goes. Thank you for your prayers.

Friday, May 27, 2011

One Week

Hello Everyone,
Dad has been in the hospital for one week and doctors say he's doing just great! He had a left side aneurism on Friday, May 20 at 6:00 AM and was responsive up until his surgery which doctor's placed a coil in his artery to stop the bleeding. The procedure took 3.5 hours and was very successful. He's been responsive to the nurse's commands and does have movement on both sides of his body. His right side is a little weaker than his left which is to be expected. But no paralysis.  They tried to remove his breathing tube yesterday. However, he had a little too much fluid in lungs and couldn't cough so they stuck the tube back in. Doctor's will attempt to remove the breathing tube Saturday. They've stopped all sedation medication and when not asleep, he open's his eyes, squeezes his hands, moves his feet and this morning he gave a thumbs up. We appreciate everyone's love, regards and prayers for it has helped all of us. Our mom is doing great. We're making sure she eats and exercises throughout the day. Keep on praying for a speedy recovery and we'll keep you posted.