Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Us again...
Again tonight we are waiting for another trip to the OR. The imaging showed his heart still looked good but the other one showed fluid on the brain. The are hoping to get his platelets up to at least 100 so they can go in and put a shunt to drain the fluid. His platelets are still really low so they need to rally quick! They are pumping him with platelets and will continue to do so during the procedure but can't risk going in to the OR until then. The risk of bleeding is too high.
A new organ we haven't visited much this last week is his liver. Evidently, it too would like to make the list of issues. He is very jaundiced. They need to look closely at his liver and determine why it is not doing what it should. It has been called on in a big way this last week with all he has going on. All the meds could be the problem but it needs to get figured out.
They told Melissa that they needed to look at his liver and gallbladder and evaluate them. She fessed up that he no longer has a gallbladder. He lost that several years ago - it's not actually lost, it was removed. :)
Still working on that be still and know...
A new organ we haven't visited much this last week is his liver. Evidently, it too would like to make the list of issues. He is very jaundiced. They need to look closely at his liver and determine why it is not doing what it should. It has been called on in a big way this last week with all he has going on. All the meds could be the problem but it needs to get figured out.
They told Melissa that they needed to look at his liver and gallbladder and evaluate them. She fessed up that he no longer has a gallbladder. He lost that several years ago - it's not actually lost, it was removed. :)
Still working on that be still and know...
Sobering...
Today we were only reminded of the unknowns that are ahead as a result of this horrific accident. It is a miracle he is alive when you see the car and so very many things went right in getting him here quickly. We will continue to choose hope since this is so out of our control. The plea for prayers earlier was a result of a visit by some of the trauma team. I was incorrect in saying it was the neuro trauma team. Neuro has not yet seen him but will be able to consult soon. They did a new imaging of his brain this afternoon to gather information and they also did an EKG to look at his heart again since the bottom number of his blood pressure is so low. Again, we are just waiting for their interruptions.
The fact that he was alert and talking at the scene - he recognized Carlson and called him by name. The fact that he told the EMS to help him and was responsive and cooperative with them initially is all encouraging. The fact that he hasn't required invasive procedures to relieve the swelling of his brain is good, in fact the highest reading "frankie" gave us was 24 and that was brief. His pressures were mostly in the normal range. All good signs - we just need to see signs of him waking up. His current state is not medically induced any longer and thus the concern. His brain is dictating things and it needs to get busy. Please pray it will -even if it wants to go slowly at first - a small sign would really settle a lot of anxiety around here!
As I finish I glanced at the time and realized it is Monday at 6:29 pm this time last week life was much different! Almost like getting punched in the gut, it can take your breath away when you realize how quickly your life can change. I can hear Lifeflight landing as I sit here and I know that another family is scared to death and their world has been rocked. I am just so very thankful for the many who are walking down this road with us. You have carried us and we are humbled.
Although, if we keep eating at this rate we may get too heavy and you may have to roll us.
Please continue to pray for healing, for signs of him waking up for peace and patience as we wait. That our thoughts may be filled with truth and hope and the sweet memories we have will give us the courage to put one foot in front of the other. Also for clear minds to process this information in our minds and in our hearts.
BTW.... my Blogging 101 post got postponed. I will try to post that tomorrow or later tonight! It was kind of a crazy day!
The fact that he was alert and talking at the scene - he recognized Carlson and called him by name. The fact that he told the EMS to help him and was responsive and cooperative with them initially is all encouraging. The fact that he hasn't required invasive procedures to relieve the swelling of his brain is good, in fact the highest reading "frankie" gave us was 24 and that was brief. His pressures were mostly in the normal range. All good signs - we just need to see signs of him waking up. His current state is not medically induced any longer and thus the concern. His brain is dictating things and it needs to get busy. Please pray it will -even if it wants to go slowly at first - a small sign would really settle a lot of anxiety around here!
As I finish I glanced at the time and realized it is Monday at 6:29 pm this time last week life was much different! Almost like getting punched in the gut, it can take your breath away when you realize how quickly your life can change. I can hear Lifeflight landing as I sit here and I know that another family is scared to death and their world has been rocked. I am just so very thankful for the many who are walking down this road with us. You have carried us and we are humbled.
Although, if we keep eating at this rate we may get too heavy and you may have to roll us.
Please continue to pray for healing, for signs of him waking up for peace and patience as we wait. That our thoughts may be filled with truth and hope and the sweet memories we have will give us the courage to put one foot in front of the other. Also for clear minds to process this information in our minds and in our hearts.
BTW.... my Blogging 101 post got postponed. I will try to post that tomorrow or later tonight! It was kind of a crazy day!
Please God, please...
If you are reading this please stop and pray that God will choose healing for John's earthly body. Specifically that He will heal the injuries to his brain. The neuro trauma team came by and are very concerned that he is not waking up at this point. His head injuries are severe and they are hoping to do another imaging scan to better understand them but we need prayers in a big way that John will begin to show signs of waking up. It sort of feels like the nightmare we lived on last Monday is back for a second showing...
Good-bye Frankie...
Good morning! Well I was happy to share that John had an uneventful night until I just answered the phone for another update...mom said that his blood pressure has been an issue through the night. We assume he is fine unless they come out and get us during the night but that doesn't mean they are just sitting there playing solitaire as he sleeps. He is a constant balancing act for them. So today's to do list: prayer that his blood pressure will stay steady at a healthy rate. This 123/47 trend is not what we want. The lower number needs to be in the 70's. He was born in the 70's so he should sport that in his blood pressure - as well as for other medical reasons! I somehow forgot to share with you that "Frankie" the brain pressure measuring bolt was removed yesterday too. It was nice to have him but I can't say I will miss him too much. Lots of material there for future use when he is up for some ribbing.
Also wanted to tell you that BLOGGING 101 will be posted soon. I love this tool as a way to get out updates and to ask for specific prayers in a timely manner. Some of you have asked how to post comments so I will walk you through that and a few other handy ways to use this tool. Thanks again for following along with us on this journey and we look forward to the day that we can look back on this experience and not feel the pain of it but only see the blessings that came from it! For today, please partner with us in praying boldly and specifically for his blood pressure to go up and stay steady.
Be still and know...
Today's hot topics in Rm 12-
Platelets- dropped to as low as 12 but rallied back to the high 40 range. Fluids are still a balancing act with his blood pressure being so low. They have significantly decreased the pain meds and he is not on any sedation meds. The circulation to his fingertips is still being promoted with warm blankets but they continue to get poor circulation as a result of the all medicines still in his body. It was explained to us that when your body goes into shock and has as much trauma as he has the body goes into survival mode to protect the vital organs - which is why the poor blood flow to his fingers. They did mid afternoon bring the OR to his room. They closed his abdomen as well as wash out and repack his left arm. He remained stable through the surgery and it was done at the bedside because of full OR's not because he wasn't able to make the trip. They were not able to put the temporary cast on earlier but plan to do that during the night sometime. He is less reliant on the ventilator for his breathing than he was yesterday. He still is not stable enough for an MRI so lots of unknowns remain but we will go with it because that is our only option for now.
Each time I saw John today I was reminded of Psalm 46:10, "be still and know that I am God." I have repeated that to myself over and over today. I know God, I know that He is good, I know that He is able, I know that He is with us, that when we see Him nothing else will matter but on this side of heaven this is hard to process! I miss John and I don't like not knowing the end of this story.
I made an interesting discovery today - his hair is starting to gray - I hadn't notice before I had hours to stare at him. So looking forward to bringing that up to him as he approaches 40. Another updated I am excited to share- they brushed his teeth. It was way past time for that to happen - tomorrow it will be a week!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
1-1-11
Today would be such a good day for something big to happen as even the most calendar challenged would remember the date, 1-1-11. Being that there is no big news here to report - I feel led to make an announcement of some sort so this is what I came up with....
Drum roll please...
A new jewelry line is being launched to spread awareness and support of John!!!
Yes, it is true. Most will prefer to call them wristbands but technically that would be jewelry. I am sure they will have a very masculine look for the men but what a cool idea-not sure who's idea but I like it. Just another thing to add to the, "tell John" list. I know I will be wearing mine with pride. I don't know any details about the look or where we get them but will share when I do.
John began the new year just layin' low. He doesn't normally require much sleep but he is snoozing and catching up on some of that lost sleep from years past. No big changes since the last post except that they delayed his surgery until tomorrow. He was surgery free today so that gave his body additional time to heal. They were able to get color back in his fingers today with warming blankets to promote better circulation. Still lots going on but we are thankful for the boring day that allowed him to recoup from the violent trauma he has endured. In an effort to celebrate the new year I made a few recommendations to him for his 2011 Resolutions and set a few goals for him. This is the first new years ever that he has just listened and agreed with me. I know he may make a few minor (or major) amendments to the ones I chose for him but I know the big one we agree on is, "Getting out of here restored".
So this place is seeming really familiar. Not sure comfortable is the word I would use but it is certainly more familiar to us than at the beginning of the week. Several new families have come in tonight. Strange how life gets paused when you are up here. During the day there is a lot of officer talk that goes on to pass the time and we all enjoy visiting. As I sit here tonight in this waiting room I need to report several civilians (including myself) are victims of the noise pollution ordinance. I have discreetly videoed the subjects as evidence because there are no words that could accurately describe these sounds or the severity of the violation. I am a little concerned that I violated their right to privacy by recording them so I decided not to post the video. I will share the mug shots of the offenders so that Melissa and my parents will know who to avoid when they are here for the night shift if they plan on sleeping. Although, they may be avoiding each other! This lingo is just so helpful in remaining neutral and unbiased - I just stated the facts.
For tomorrow, we ask that you pray specifically for his fluids to decrease, for his lungs to stay clear, for his levels to improve, for his arm to remain free of infection as the address the injuries and for peace and perspective on this situation. We are thankful he is here, for his progress, his trauma team, our friends, our family, the encouragement and support that surround us and for a God that loves him even more than we can. On a personal seemingly shallow note - I am thankful to a have a sweet hubby that does not snore! How do these people live with these noises every night???
Drum roll please...
A new jewelry line is being launched to spread awareness and support of John!!!
Yes, it is true. Most will prefer to call them wristbands but technically that would be jewelry. I am sure they will have a very masculine look for the men but what a cool idea-not sure who's idea but I like it. Just another thing to add to the, "tell John" list. I know I will be wearing mine with pride. I don't know any details about the look or where we get them but will share when I do.
John began the new year just layin' low. He doesn't normally require much sleep but he is snoozing and catching up on some of that lost sleep from years past. No big changes since the last post except that they delayed his surgery until tomorrow. He was surgery free today so that gave his body additional time to heal. They were able to get color back in his fingers today with warming blankets to promote better circulation. Still lots going on but we are thankful for the boring day that allowed him to recoup from the violent trauma he has endured. In an effort to celebrate the new year I made a few recommendations to him for his 2011 Resolutions and set a few goals for him. This is the first new years ever that he has just listened and agreed with me. I know he may make a few minor (or major) amendments to the ones I chose for him but I know the big one we agree on is, "Getting out of here restored".
So this place is seeming really familiar. Not sure comfortable is the word I would use but it is certainly more familiar to us than at the beginning of the week. Several new families have come in tonight. Strange how life gets paused when you are up here. During the day there is a lot of officer talk that goes on to pass the time and we all enjoy visiting. As I sit here tonight in this waiting room I need to report several civilians (including myself) are victims of the noise pollution ordinance. I have discreetly videoed the subjects as evidence because there are no words that could accurately describe these sounds or the severity of the violation. I am a little concerned that I violated their right to privacy by recording them so I decided not to post the video. I will share the mug shots of the offenders so that Melissa and my parents will know who to avoid when they are here for the night shift if they plan on sleeping. Although, they may be avoiding each other! This lingo is just so helpful in remaining neutral and unbiased - I just stated the facts.
For tomorrow, we ask that you pray specifically for his fluids to decrease, for his lungs to stay clear, for his levels to improve, for his arm to remain free of infection as the address the injuries and for peace and perspective on this situation. We are thankful he is here, for his progress, his trauma team, our friends, our family, the encouragement and support that surround us and for a God that loves him even more than we can. On a personal seemingly shallow note - I am thankful to a have a sweet hubby that does not snore! How do these people live with these noises every night???
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