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 9 Morning Update

CT and Lung scans are done. He had them done about 1 am, since he was doing good and there wasn't much else going on at the hospital that late at night. Sounds like those came back about the same as last time...not worse. I was hoping to hear that they were a ton better.

They took the cooling system off of him because his body was getting chills and that's not good for him. The doctor was going to look into alternating between Tylenol and Motrin for his fever. The only thing is that ibuprofen is not good for his kidneys, so that's another thing they have to take into consideration.

They are doing the ultrasound scan right now to detect how his vasospasms are doing. I will update on the results of that later.

The staph/MRSA is another thing we're trying to get answers about. Hopefully he doesn't have it and it's just the bone flap that does....then there's the question of how to treat the bone flap before putting it back on.

I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record lately. Mom's on her way over right now with Coby and Cora. They'll be hanging at my house today with either my Aunt Pat or me...we may have to make some cookies. Yum!

~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