Well, are you ready for this???? When we arrived today, John had been extubated, (breathing tube removed), and was sitting up in the chair. He is still quite sleepy and not necessarily aware of his surroundings, but he would give us some occassional glimpses of his old self. He pulled his leg up on his thigh, and was sitting just like he likes to sit. He told me he loved me, but then was saying things like, "let's get out of here. I want to go home." I agreed with him. I want to get him home, too, but he certainly is not completely clear headed. This can be due to numerous factors. First of all, he certainly had a closed head injury. That means that his head was hit hard, and things were knocked around in there. That alone takes weeks to months to clear. Secondly, he was under the effect of anesthesia for 12 hours. He has never had surgery before. Thirdly, he has also required quite a bit of sedation and anti-anxiety medication. He doesn't like the sequential devices that he needs on his lower legs. (These are to prevent him from forming blood clots.) We were able to remove them while he was up in the chair, and he was calmer when they were off. He frequently was just dozing off, sleeping. He has numerous lines in him for either intravenous fluids or blood testing. He had a small feeding tube placed yesterday, and was tolerating the feedings today. He is coughing up a lot of thick mucus, which I know is not very appetizing, but just being able to clear his airway, is a great sign. His follow-up MRI was done last evening, and he will be having a CTA (CT angiogram) today because the neurosurgeons want to make sure that there is no hardware near his vertebral artery.
Now, let me just say, I feel like we have been delivered from such an unbearable experience. I cannot even begin to describe the emotions that we have all felt over the past 4 days. I know that we have many more obstacles, but, I feel like we can take a deep breath, for a few minutes.
Love to all. Your prayers have kept us going.
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5 comments:
I just let out a BIG sigh of relief when I read this great, positive news, Sheri. I can only imagine how relieved you and the guys are feeling. Get well soon, Big Guy!
Positive news is always a good sign. I have been where you are when Jeff broke his back. If you need anything call us. We are always here for you.
Love
Jeff and Dolly
Little Dolly and Eric
Good to hear the great news. I am glad they got that breathing tube out. I can only imagine how difficult it was having it in. Looking forward to hearing more positive updates!
Love,
Darren and Stephanie
Sheri and family, my heartfelt prayers are with you all. Thanks for updating us on John's recovery from this horrible accident. Take care and if you need anything, just call...
Love, Vicky
Amy and Family,
We are so happy to hear of your father-in-law's tremendous progress! It sounds like he is a strong man, and we KNOW he has a strong and loving family!
Love,
From your friends on the SGT MSES Program Team
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