Yesterday afternoon David seemed pretty groggy. One of the doctors was checking him out and saw that David was really focused on her. So, she started to play peek-a-boo with him and he smiled! Not a huge one, but very sweet and he was obviously entertained.
Then last night we were able to Skype between home and hospital and the kids had him smiling really big! It makes my heart smile.
I'm waiting for morning rounds, but I think they will probably move him to a regular hospital room today. I'll update later.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
More ninjas and a new idea
So, here's the latest news on David. He's still got sub clinical seizures going on. The seizures aren't happening all the time, just now and then, but it's important to stop them. They don't wan to do regular seizure meds because They are sleepy making and he's still barely awake!So they are going to try a course of steroids. Are steroids the cure for anything? They keep coming up with last ditch efforts. At least this one is easy, and maybe it will work.Anyway, it's 2-3 days in the hospital for that, and dare we hope to go home then?So they'll start the steroids tonight. They're going to continue the EEG so they can watch and see if it's working. If David continues to breathe well on his own, we should move out of the icu to a regular room soon. That will be nice!
The tube is out!
As of about 9am today David's breathing tube is out! He's doing well breathing on his own!
Is today tube day?
So, last night David was as awake as I've seen him since Wed morning. His eyes were blinking and I'd like to think he made eye contact. :) I got out his iPad and played an episode of Super Why. He seemed to be watching it, but he couldn't follow it with his eyes when I moved it, which I think is a sign of how doped up he still is.
It looks to me like a bit of a battle between waking up form the coma and the sedative effect of the new seizure meds. And then there's the coughing and the tape. Part of waking up froma coma apparently involves lots and lots of coughing. Full body shaking racking coughs, that are sadly silent as they wheeze through the tube. And if you have a cold like David, coughing involves a lot of mucus. A lot.
So at 3pm yesterday they gave David some pain meds to allow them to remove the tape beard that holds the breathing tube in place and put a new and clean one on. After he woke up from the tape meds David started coughing and drooling, and by 8pm, the entire bottom of the beard was loose. At 4am they gave more pain meds and replaced it again. Hopefully he'll wake up enough today to get the tube out and avoid a fourth tape beard.
It should be a good day!
It looks to me like a bit of a battle between waking up form the coma and the sedative effect of the new seizure meds. And then there's the coughing and the tape. Part of waking up froma coma apparently involves lots and lots of coughing. Full body shaking racking coughs, that are sadly silent as they wheeze through the tube. And if you have a cold like David, coughing involves a lot of mucus. A lot.
So at 3pm yesterday they gave David some pain meds to allow them to remove the tape beard that holds the breathing tube in place and put a new and clean one on. After he woke up from the tape meds David started coughing and drooling, and by 8pm, the entire bottom of the beard was loose. At 4am they gave more pain meds and replaced it again. Hopefully he'll wake up enough today to get the tube out and avoid a fourth tape beard.
It should be a good day!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Not quite as planned
So... Not all the doctors agreed it was a good idea to remove the tube while David was still sedated. Most importantly, the doctor in charge is a wake-up-before-we-take-the-tube-out kind of guy. And since he's still not conscious... The tube is still in. They say it should come out tomorrow.
There are good signs. He raises his arms up every time they try to suction him. His eyes have been fluttering. He's doing some of his own breathing. He coughs on his own. And it was probably a good thing he was out of it today. They had to retape the tube around his mouth. (thats removing he old tape and putting newvstuff on, all while holding your mouth and the tube very still. They also started a new IV and removed the central line. These are all hings that are easier when you're not awake enough to hurt or fight them off.
The fever he's had could be caused by a UTI, they confirmed today, so I see some antibiotics in David's future.
There are good signs. He raises his arms up every time they try to suction him. His eyes have been fluttering. He's doing some of his own breathing. He coughs on his own. And it was probably a good thing he was out of it today. They had to retape the tube around his mouth. (thats removing he old tape and putting newvstuff on, all while holding your mouth and the tube very still. They also started a new IV and removed the central line. These are all hings that are easier when you're not awake enough to hurt or fight them off.
The fever he's had could be caused by a UTI, they confirmed today, so I see some antibiotics in David's future.
It's a good day!
I have talked with some of David's doctors this morning and am waiting for the rest to come on rounds. So far it's good news.
David is still not conscious, but showing more and more signs of coming around. He's initiating all his own breaths now, and will probably get the breathing tube pulled later today.
The biggest news is that he's been seizure free for 24 hours just on his seizure meds. They will likely disconnect the EEG tomorrow. They say it's very close to David's normal EEG from last year. That is GREAT NEWS!
There are other little details. I've started talking to the doctor about how we will know if this is happening again in the future. What if he continues to have losses even with the seizures under control? I felt like we had a good start to that conversation.
David did have a fever last night and they drew lab work to see if he has an infection, especially an infection of his central line. The fever is down, but the lab results take 24 hours.
Some of you may have been aware (via Facebook or email) that the hospital's wifi had blocked my access to this web page this morning, citing "mature/adult content" (what blog are they reading?) my thanks to them for restoring it quickly at my request!
David is still not conscious, but showing more and more signs of coming around. He's initiating all his own breaths now, and will probably get the breathing tube pulled later today.
The biggest news is that he's been seizure free for 24 hours just on his seizure meds. They will likely disconnect the EEG tomorrow. They say it's very close to David's normal EEG from last year. That is GREAT NEWS!
There are other little details. I've started talking to the doctor about how we will know if this is happening again in the future. What if he continues to have losses even with the seizures under control? I felt like we had a good start to that conversation.
David did have a fever last night and they drew lab work to see if he has an infection, especially an infection of his central line. The fever is down, but the lab results take 24 hours.
Some of you may have been aware (via Facebook or email) that the hospital's wifi had blocked my access to this web page this morning, citing "mature/adult content" (what blog are they reading?) my thanks to them for restoring it quickly at my request!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Medicine makes me sleepy
So, it looks like increasing David's seizure meds may have slowed down his return to consciousness. He is coughing and taking some breaths on his own around the breathing tube, but he's not responsive yet.
I had a great evening with the older kids. We didn't take them in to see David because we think it would worry them too much. I ate with them in the cafeteria, though. We played some Pokemon there and then walked to some of the cool spots in the hospital. It was so nice to see them again!
Tomorrow will bring more trying to wake up, and a new neurologist on rotation. The good news is that it's David's neurologist, so he knows David well and has been directing things behind the scenes. I'm curious to see if HE will train me toread the EEG, but I'm guessing he'll be vague and avoiding like today's neuro was. (I mean, that's probably the right call, because a little information is a dangerous thing, but that doesn't mean I don't want it! Don't force me to get a google degree in EEG reading!)
I had a great evening with the older kids. We didn't take them in to see David because we think it would worry them too much. I ate with them in the cafeteria, though. We played some Pokemon there and then walked to some of the cool spots in the hospital. It was so nice to see them again!
Tomorrow will bring more trying to wake up, and a new neurologist on rotation. The good news is that it's David's neurologist, so he knows David well and has been directing things behind the scenes. I'm curious to see if HE will train me toread the EEG, but I'm guessing he'll be vague and avoiding like today's neuro was. (I mean, that's probably the right call, because a little information is a dangerous thing, but that doesn't mean I don't want it! Don't force me to get a google degree in EEG reading!)
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