Day 12 Evening Update

Couple things going on today...

Sedation:
Scott is off of sedation today. :) This is a good thing, only he's not responding the way they'd like him to. As of last night through this afternoon, he was harder to wake up than he was this weekend. The nurses/doctors said that the increase in his temperature makes his body work harder and that could be why he's not waking as easily. Also, the amount of sedation he was on and how long he was on it could be playing a role in that.

EEG: He was having an EEG when I got there this morning. They want to make sure he didn't have a seizure last night and rule out if that could be why he's a little harder to wake up. The neurosurgeons have to read the results and that could take a little while, so once I know, I'll update.

ICP Sensor: They took out the little sensor/tube thing-a-ma-gig in his head today. That's a good sign that the swelling in his head has gone down. His head even looked more concave than it did this weekend.

Two main things we need for him here:
1. We need his temperature to regulate and be normal. He heals so much faster without a temp.
2. We need him to wake up easier and be more responsive. The neurosurgeons did say they are happy with how he is responding neurologically (pupils reacting good, tracking with his eyes when awake, and squeezing their hand).

One of his best friends from high school, Jake, asked us last night if we get to call him the 'Booginator' now that he'll probably have a metal head. Hmmm...we'll have to see how he likes that. LOL!

~Betsy

Day 10 Morning Update

He had a good night last. His nurse, Jen, said they gave him a 'sedation vacation' for about a half hour last night. This means they lowered his sedation long enough to get him to wiggle his right toes and squeeze their hand. She said the night nurse thought he even nodded to some questions she asked him. This is a good thing. His temp was down again and his ICP was good also. We're heading down there now and I will post later. Like I said last night, the goal today is to just take it easy and heal, heal, heal.

~Betsy

Day 9 Evening Update

Whew...sorry this is so late but we just got home from seeing Booger. I've got quite a list for you tonight. Here we go.

Good News

• His ICP has been low pretty much all day. Fluctuating between 5 and 8 mostly.
• His LP (lumbar puncture) results show NO MRSA or Staph!!! This is very good news for him. (Disclaimer: They have him on antibiotics and wanted to let us know that there is still a possibility and they will know for sure in a week or so....but, I kind of think they just want to tell us that just in case there's the very small chance he does have it. It's pretty important to not let us get our hopes up over anything....more of a hospital liability thing going on here.)
• He didn't have as many vasospasms today. They've been keeping his BP higher on purpose to help with the vasospasms and it's working. Basically, think of his blood vessels as a garden hose. Think about what happens when that garden hose has a kink in it or has something sitting on it, the water doesn't flow as easily. So, if they increase his blood pressure, it increase the blood flow to his brain and helps the vasospasms from happening.
• The doctors started alternating his Tylenol with Motrin. This was something they hesitated about because ibuprofen is not healthy for his kidneys...but his temperature really needed to go down. They took off his cooling devices since they were giving him the chills. When we left his temperature was at a normal level (maybe slightly high...but good). If his temperature stays down, he will heal much faster.
• His chest x-ray looked better. Still has pneumonia and they are treating that...but it is improving.

News we'd like to not hear as much

• He is still very sick. :(
• They most likely will not be able put his bone flap back on. Yes, you read that correctly. That means we're probably looking at a metal plate and he's going to beep like crazy at the airport now. Since they did find something on his flap (Ahem....MRSA), they can't put that back on. Can't risk that. We're obviously just finding this info out...so there will be more details later.
• The ventilator is becoming more of an issue now. They are not designed to be in this long and so we may be looking at a tracheotomy being placed next week. Again, I am just trying to give you as much info as I can and don't have all the details yet.

Overall, today was a better day. We're more positive after seeing him and talking to his nurses today. The goal for the weekend is pretty much the same... keep him calm so he can heal. I asked the nurse if any tests were planned for tomorrow and she didn't think any except the ultrasound to detect any vasospasms.

~Betsy

Day 8 Evening Update

I still can't believe it's been over a week since all this started. Time is a blur right now.



Let's see if I can get all this info that is piled up in my head straight and typed out correctly.



Where do I begin? His ICP has stayed pretty low today, but Diane said she learned that the sensors that are in there are not designed to stay in this long...so, those #s could be off a little bit.



They found Staph and/or MRSA on his bone flap that they took off and want to do further tests on that to get more answers. The LP results take 24 - 48 hours, so once we get those back, we should know if his body has Staph or just the flap. If it's just the flap, well then, that's a whole other issue (umm...cross contamination anyone?).



They have him sedated for the night to make sure he is relaxed enough to have his chest and head scans in the morning. It's important that we get these since they haven't been done since Tuesday morning.



His temp is still an issue. They have a new machine that helps regulate it, Artic Sun they call it (or something like that). I guess they don't have to use it very much so when they do, it's a big deal. :(



Like I said, one step forward and 2-3500 steps to the side!

~Betsy

Day 8 Mid-day update

Just got back from the hospital. Here's a brief re-cap.

Good News:

• The LP went great! He tolerated sitting up (with the help of lots of nurses since he's obviously still sedated) long enough for this to happen. His ICP dropped dramatically as soon as they took some fluid out. Went from being in the high teens to being at a 5 when I left about an hour ago! That's great!! We won't know the results of the LP until tomorrow.
• He's been having vasospasms the past couple days and this was one of the reasons they really wanted the SPECT. But, today showed that the spasms had decreased, so they don't feel it's as urgent to get the SPECT. Since they can really only do one test per day (because that's all he's been able to handle), they will try and get another CT instead.

Not the Best News:

• His lab tests came back on the bone flap they took out. They found Staph on it, which is confusing because how did it get there? Did he have it prior to surgery or did it happen in surgery? Lots of answers still to come since they had just found this bit of info out right before I left. So, this means lot and lots of hand washing and 'gelling' (anti-bacterial gel they've got ALLLLL over the place). No eating in his room and no kids, since it is contagious.
• Also, we've got the issue of bed sores already. He doesn't have any yet...but the specialist noticed areas that look like they will become something. So, they want to switch his bed today to a bed that I believe moves air around to different areas to stimulate different areas of the body. This was just done around 2ish...went smoothly! YAY!
• His temperature is still an issue and that is being constantly monitored with a new cooling device.

My mind is becoming over whelmed with all the information and I find myself forgetting to ask questions that need to be asked. I keep telling people that when we have one step forward, it seems there's always another step in the direction that's not quite as forward...let's say off to the side. Sounds better than saying 'backwards'. :)

~Betsy

Day 7 Evening Update

Here's a quick summary of today. They are still battling his temperature. The nurses have been putting cooling blankets under him because that seems to cool him off the best. These blankets consist of a grid of tubes that water just above freezing runs through. There is a big machine that looks like a portable A/C unit that runs the ice water through the tubes. The cooling blankets are not designed to be layed on, so his weight will stop the flow of water, then they aren't as cold after about 20 mins. But...they cool him off better if they get it really cold, then put them under him. They also will put one on top too. They don't think he has an infection anymore, they think that his 'thermometer' is just off because of the brain injury.

They know what is in his lungs now and they are treating him for it, so that's good.

His ICP has pretty much stayed in the high teens today. They did not do the SPECT today because once again, they didn't want to have him lay flat for that length of time. When he lays flat, his ICP goes up. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, huh?


~Betsy

Day 7 Morning Update

I just got off the phone with Diane and it sounds like Scott's temp was in the 99's pretty much all night, only spiking to 102 once. His ICP has stayed in the higher teens through most of the night. They still want to do the SPECT today but want to wait until his ICP is lower. She wasn't sure if he had a chest x-ray scheduled for today, I would assume he would have one to see how his Bronch went yesterday. Diane said she would try and do a post today, so stay tuned....

~Betsy

Day 5 Evening Update

My last post from this morning talked about how he's got some fluid in his lungs. That has started to be a little more of a concern. They may go in tomorrow and do what's called a bronchoscope. This is where they will heavily sedate him and go down with a scope and clear some of that fluid out. They'll determine that after his chest x-ray in the morning. As of right now, he does not have a CT scan scheduled for tomorrow since they don't think it will show any significant changes. I think now they'll start doing them every other day. His temperature is still there...at 102 right now. The nurse (Heather) just put his cooling blanket on him to try and get that back down. As we keep being told, it's really just one day at a time and it will be a long road.

Right now, it's about keeping him calm, stable and letting the brain heal. There will be times of the day when his oxygen level drops, where he will start having small tremors, where his ICP (inter-crainal pressure) will go up, where his BP goes up. Everything is changing all the time and it really is a true waiting game.

They are going to probably just bath his front tonight so they don't have to move him too much. I'm going to call it a night and be up and ready for the neuro-surgeon's rounds in the morning.

~Betsy