Category: Brain Injury

Bobs vitals are stable. He used his right hand to pull on the side rail to help the staff turn him today. When I got here tonight, he had his right leg flipped out of the bed and on the floor OVER the side rail. He has had the restraints removed. He has lost almost 30 pounds. He seems more and more lucid every day. Even though he does yell for Alexa. A lot.

Conversation about the “it’s not a bill” statement from the ICU:

K: guess how much 8 days in the ICU costs?

B: $10,000

K: add a zero

B: $100,000

K: and multiply by 2

B: $200,000

K: $211,000 and change

B: that’s ridiculous. It’s robbery. I’m glad I work and we have insurance.

I was very happy that he was doing the math correctly. Then he asked me for mayonnaise and said we need to bring the staff here a fruit basket except Kathleen (one of the nurses) and he wanted me to scroll down his pants and give him some underwear.

I told him that he’s leaving on Tuesday for a rehabilitation hospital.

B: they’ll find some excuse to keep me here.

K: nope. We’re going to Philly.

B: I don’t need rehab. I’m good.

Well babe, you DO need rehab and I NEED you to be good. When I was at our house yesterday grabbing suitcases and all of his gym clothes and sneakers it occurred to me that we weren’t coming back here as a whole family for awhile. And when we do, Bob will be a different person walking in the door than the last time he walked out.

We took Michael and the baby for pictures today. Since we’ve had kiddos in the house and had pictures taken (except for the surprise Father’s Day ones I had done) Bob and I have always been in pics with the kids. It was a little sad to not have him there today.

Funny stuff during the nightly shift change quiz…

K: where do I work?

B: Northfield

K: what do I do for work?

B: you babysit children (he smirked and smiled – I haven’t seen his smile in almost a month).

He kept smiling when he said “you’re a teacher”.

This Tuesday will be four weeks since the accident. I am looking forward to this next step and I can’t wait to have my hubs back.

Like father, like son with their “cheese” faces.

4.12.18

Funny stuff tonight…

B: I just want some grape jelly.

B: What happens if Mr. Feeny falls asleep in class?

B: Where is the knife? The one for the condiments?

Cute stuff…

When I FaceTime with Mikey and he sees the blue gown on me he immediately yells “I see Dada!”

Heartbreaking stuff tonight…

K: I’m gonna go home. I love you.

B: I love you too. I want to go home too. Take me with you.

K: Babe, I can’t. You’re not ready to go home yet. You still need to get better.

B: But I’m ready to go home. Please take me home with you.

For those of you who have visited and have heard his voice, you know it’s innocent and childlike. So of course I’m crying. But I can’t take him home. And my heart shatters a tiny bit more because I can’t help this helpless man whom I love and adore and give him one tiny thing he wants right now. Home.

And we took a backward step with Speech today. She feels he is too tired to participate in eating by mouth so that’s on hold. I’m ok with one tiny step backward. We’re ready to step forward by leaps and bounds.

I am beyond excited to make our rehabilitation choice tomorrow and announce it to all of you. I just want to sleep on it. I can’t wait to see what he is going to accomplish.

All our love, Karen and Bob

Update 4.11.18

Houdini is now Bob’s nickname. Today, he was somehow able to maneuver himself to remove his entire trach! Mind you, he has the socks. And mitts. AND RESTRAINTS. I was at a doctors appt for myself when I got this news from his respiratory therapist. They were taking my blood pressure. It was high. He’s killing me. 😡

His bed was a wider model so that it was also longer because he is so tall. He was able to slide and shimmy down to his right side and get his right hand up to his neck. He then spun his mitt around and pulled out the trach. When the nurse did her next check, he had the trach in his mouth chewing on it. Never yelled. He didn’t desat. No blood. So no one knew. They kept it out because his O2 is around 94-95% so he is doing well maintaining his own airway. 🤦‍♀️ So the trauma team in ICU telling me two weeks ago that the trach would be in for 2-3 months had not met my conscious, stubborn, willful, and determined husband. He is now hooked up to very few monitors and also got his beard trimmed last night. He has two new scars in his head from the head laceration from impact as well as the drain. He is looking better and better. He yells at me and curses at me a fair amount. And he doesn’t remember that iced tea is my favorite drink. He’s just frustrated and confused. I am too most days. 🙄 I’m also a bit bummed that neither PT nor Speech came to see him today. He keeps bugging me for something to drink. He can’t have it without the speech therapist to monitor him. So he was talking to me about where to get food for him…

B: Try the cafeteria. If you’re not gonna try it you’re just wasting my time.

I love him. I do. He also told me we could go on vacation wherever I want when he’s all better. I didn’t record it. You are all my witnesses. 😘 All our love, Karen and Bob xoxo