Saturday, August 2, 2008
Good news, he is unhappy
David pulled on his breathing tube, tore off some tape covering his arterial insert, and was combative---all great news!! It means he is recovering quickly and feeling pain and discomfort. They had stopped sedating him for a few hours but had to restart when he did this stuff.
Better
It's 5 am and David has gotten a lot better through the night. He was very unresponsive on his right side (from the grid being on the left brain) and just slightly responsive on the left side. Now he has been able to look at me and nod when I ask him questions. He is tired and not in pain. He could feel the breathing tube that is down his throat so I explained that. His hands are restrained so I had to explain that too. I read him some bible verses and he liked that.
His nurse thinks he will recover slowly and be in the ICU for 3 or 4 more days. Thank God he is gradually but definitely getting better.
Diagnosis update: Dr Maleeva said that they still couldn't quite distinguish frontal vs temporal lobe from the seizure data the grid picked up, BUT she thinks she could have if she could have done the brain stimulation. (That is sending impulses through the wires to the brain to see what happens. He needed to be alert for that and never was.) She said this is not the end and we can keep on if we want to, to try for David to be cured.
We love the guestbook entries. Please sign if you haven't yet. I will read them to David.
His nurse thinks he will recover slowly and be in the ICU for 3 or 4 more days. Thank God he is gradually but definitely getting better.
Diagnosis update: Dr Maleeva said that they still couldn't quite distinguish frontal vs temporal lobe from the seizure data the grid picked up, BUT she thinks she could have if she could have done the brain stimulation. (That is sending impulses through the wires to the brain to see what happens. He needed to be alert for that and never was.) She said this is not the end and we can keep on if we want to, to try for David to be cured.
We love the guestbook entries. Please sign if you haven't yet. I will read them to David.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Early morning cat scan
Really early tomorrow David will get a cat scan to see if the swelling has gone down. If it has they will try to wake him up and see how normal he is.
Dr Maleeva (neurologist) thinks he is not having any ongoing seizure activity so that is very positive.
This is the end of the fourth day.
God bless you, David.
Dr Maleeva (neurologist) thinks he is not having any ongoing seizure activity so that is very positive.
This is the end of the fourth day.
God bless you, David.
Sedation
The plan is to keep David sedated for two days so he can recover. They will be able to wake him regularly to check him so I will post updates.
Out of Surgery
David is now out of surgery and back in the critical care room. Nurses told Beth that he 'looks good.' We are thankful that he went through the surgery well. Will keep you posted after we get to see him.
Emergency Surgery
David's condition took a turn for the worse this morning as he began to become very congested. The neurosurgeon just a few minutes ago told Beth that he is worried and is going to operate on David right away to remove the grid. They are putting a breathing tube in him as of this moment. Given his condition the past day or so, it is not for granted that this will necessarily restore him perfectly, so please pray that he recovers. He was very brave about this and did all that could be done, but it appears we have reached a stopping point for now. The Lord knows what he is doing. It is for us to trust and be patient. Thank you for staying with us through this.
Better but still not great
This morning David is much better. He now can open his eyes, respond to questions, and move his arms and legs. He still can't speak, but when he was asked to he thought about it and groaned as a way of saying 'no'.
Last night he was given some medicine to reduce the pressure which sounds like a kind of diuretic. We don't yet know what to expect with his condition for today. They do plan to move him back to the regular room. He had great care in the ICU with a nurse all to himself. Bijan said Nurse Sue was fantastic, very focused.
Thank God, David had no seizure. Dr Ross was concerned he would have a really bad generalized one which could spread the epilepsy in the brain as well as making the pressure and swelling worse.
His issue over the last 24 hours has been swelling which is blamed on having the grid inside his head. His brain seems to be reacting by producing a lot of fluid, which starts shutting it down as far as being alert and responsive and being able to speak and move. He doesn't have a problem with bleeding which would be very bad.
Please pray with us for wisdom today and for David to be safe. Dr Maleeva was going to do the stimulation testing today to see if the bad spot can be safely removed, but David needs to be responsive and able to speak for some parts of that. So it may be on hold for a while. Anyway it is not very important right now compared to what else is going on.
Last night he was given some medicine to reduce the pressure which sounds like a kind of diuretic. We don't yet know what to expect with his condition for today. They do plan to move him back to the regular room. He had great care in the ICU with a nurse all to himself. Bijan said Nurse Sue was fantastic, very focused.
Thank God, David had no seizure. Dr Ross was concerned he would have a really bad generalized one which could spread the epilepsy in the brain as well as making the pressure and swelling worse.
His issue over the last 24 hours has been swelling which is blamed on having the grid inside his head. His brain seems to be reacting by producing a lot of fluid, which starts shutting it down as far as being alert and responsive and being able to speak and move. He doesn't have a problem with bleeding which would be very bad.
Please pray with us for wisdom today and for David to be safe. Dr Maleeva was going to do the stimulation testing today to see if the bad spot can be safely removed, but David needs to be responsive and able to speak for some parts of that. So it may be on hold for a while. Anyway it is not very important right now compared to what else is going on.
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