Category: Brain Injury

Update 3.24.18

Good morning and happy Saturday! I took a full day break from the hospital to deal with more critical spinning “plates” and I came back to visit refreshed and renewed last night. We had a great visit and he’s doing well. He very purposefully scratched his nose but is still not awake and is still not responding to commands. Those are his next steps of progress. They’ve been adjusting his oxygen percentage levels on the vent and he now wears boots a few hours at a time to stretch his tendons so it will be easier for him to walk when he wakes up. His state is not considered a “coma” because there is no response to stimulus when in a coma. He’s still responding to stimulus and moves more and more. Keep praying. My updates will be few and far between because there’s really not much to update on his progress. But WHEN he has his eyes open and responding to commands expect the updates to be fast and furious! Our love to you all. Thank you for your prayers and continued support.

Update. 4:30 pm 3.22. So sometimes no news is good news. Sometimes no news is no change. Bobs drain was removed from his brain this morning. There was no swelling so it was important to remove it to cut down the risk of infection. For my “This is Us” fans, he looks a whole heck of a lot like Toby (and I think he’s adorable). I’m working on getting him an iPod to play music for him. He’s listening on his cell phone now, but when I leave I’m taking that with me. When I started Brad Paisley, he bobbed his left shoulder up one time. Which for those who know him well, realize that that’s the extent of his dancing. 😊 He also used his right index finger to wipe a bead of sweat from his nose. I see that as purposeful movement, even though it wasn’t on command. They repositioned his breathing tube bc it was comping out and put a teeth separator in there bc he had been biting down on it. He has had a few more fevers. Could be that the temperature regulator part of his brain is damaged or that he has a sinus infection. He’s been giving amatadine which is used to wake people from comas. Dr. Ali (trauma doc) told me this morning “this type of injury is extremely difficult in our microwave society. All we can do for him now is to provide supportive care and watch and wait”. I’m having a hard time with that. He also told me to take care of myself so I will be sleeping in a house with a bed tonight and might even get to see my son for a little bit. I’ve been working hard to keep all of the “plates” spinning. Advocating for Bob, finding care for Michael and the baby, paying bills, managing bobs computer business, worrying about a flooded basement since we lost power, insurance and car rental, work, etc. but my brother in law pointed out “Remember some of those plates that you’re juggling some of them are Styrofoam some of them are paper you don’t have to keep them all in the air. Some of them can fall and theyll l be completely fine we can pick them up later. You stay strong take care of yourself so you can be there for Bob. Whatever you need we are here. I love you and tell Bob I love him.” We’re gonna be ok. It’s been a life changing 48 hours. We can do this. Bob is strong and he’s a fighter. Please keep praying. All our love, karen and bob

Update from around 4 pm. Met with the neurosurgeon. He has a DAI to his brain which is causing him to continue to sleep. DO NOT GOOGLE THIS. I just did and it was a bad bad bad decision. 😳 His age and the fact that he fights like hell with his arms when he’s agitated are both positive signs. They are currently putting a drain in his skull to reduce any swelling. They don’t believe that there is swelling but the risks to not drain are worse than just draining. He’ll have a bald spot, an incision and drill in his skull to place tube. If he doesn’t start to breathe on his own they have discussed a tracheotomy. But no decision has been made in this area yet. Terry found the van after an extensive search. Social worker just left. I only cried twice. Just trying to keep our lives and his business running like it was before. But that’s just impossible. Please keep praying.

Please respond to me outside of the group text since I keep adding people and not everyone is completely up to date.

Good afternoon.

MRI results are back. His neck results are clear though we are waiting for a result from the CTA vessels in his neck. If there was damage to those the concern would be stroke. But the MRI doesn’t show any sign of stroke. Bob has an injury to the neurons in his brain. Which is essentially a few bruises to his brain. It is not something that surgery can fix. There will be a neurosurgeon consulting today anyway. He will be in ICU for a period of time. Then a step down unit in the hospital. He will then need rehab in a facility that handles brain injuries. He is still on the ventilator and is not yet awake. Please keep praying for him.