For 12 days I now I have been praying for my Dad to open his eyes. And today, he did. He is opening his eyes (although lazily) periodically throughout the day and is blinking normally. His gaze is still very glassy and unfocused and he is not responding to commands, but it seems he is more with us somehow with his eyes open. That being said, my comments from yesterday are still valid today and it is sometimes more difficult to see him with his eyes open. Especially when he is shaking, which happens a lot.
I haven't talked a lot about my Dad's temperature, but it is one of the biggest problems we are dealing with right now. He cannot maintain his own temperature. The doctors are not sure if it is because of a thermoregulation problem in his brain, a side effect of his blood clot, or if he is dealing with an unknown infection. I'm thinking it's probably the combination platter. To deal with the issue, they have applied pads around his back and chest and around his legs and arms that circulate very cold water against his skin. While it is very effective in controlling his fever, it seems super uncomfortable for him and he shivers and shakes so much while it is cooling him. It is agonizing to watch.
During rounds the team informed me that the brain/muscle scan from yesterday is unreliable as the shaking created too much artifact to get a true reading. They are going to send it to a specialist to see if they could discern any useful information. If not, they may consider redoing the test tomorrow. The day is only half over, but things are status quo. Another ultrasound of his leg revealed the clot has not extended, the bleeding in his brain remains stable and he is slowly but surely attempting to crawl out of this coma. Little miracles at a time, right?
Thank you so very much for the update. Now I better understand why people would thank me for updated my Linda's condition on Careingbridge. I remember my wife having that same look once she was able to keep her eyes open and I sincerely pray that your Dad will continue to make these strides, little they may seem, it is going in the right direction. Che', if it is not to much to ask as I know your plate is extremely full, could you let me know who your Dad's Doctors are? My wife's NeuroDoctor was Dr. Schmit. We were very lucky to have some of the best Nurses while she was in the NCCU. Brian was one of theseNurses who would answer any question I had. On the third day after my wife's 9 hour brain surgery and about 3a.m. as I was watching my wife fight for her life, I had so many questions still and Brian could tell I was struggling with things, so he asked me to step out into the hall and for the next hour he walked me through every detail he could to let me know what all took place and what they were doing. You see, the first two days or so were filled with such raw emotions and no sleep that I was in this fog, so I unfortunately did not catch everything the surgeon told me. Your Father is in my opion, the best place. Please stay strong all of you and "Team Crapo" will do this. We all back here in Idaho are praying to give you all the strength to continue this fight, but mostly we pray your Dad will continue to make one little step at a time. Take care of yourselves and please give your Mother our love.
ReplyDeleteYou have a gift for telling the story, I can feel your heart in every word. This blog will be a treasure. I love you, hope to be able to squeeze you soon.
ReplyDeleteI think it's so great you are recording this, Che--even if it's difficult. I also think it's wonderful your Dad is making progress, even if it seems minute, and although there are still other issues to deal with. We continue to send our love, prayers, and faith.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Congratulations on your little squishy! That is so awesome! :)