Friday, October 26, 2007

8 PM CDT
David's had an exciting day! When mom went in this morning, she told Christa that his arm felt good (temperature-wise), and he wasn't running a fever. His white blood cell count went down and it looks like the infection is under control! They did a CT scan to see why David's trachea was bleeding a bit, but it came back okay. The doctor's said he'll have it for a total of 4-6 weeks. He was moved to the step down unit around 7pm DC time. Before they moved him, they took him completely off the fentanyl which is his pain medicine. He's been pretty agitated and moving a lot. His heart rate has been up since then, and so they were giving him an EKG when I called. He kicked the EKG machine a few times! Rose said that they're going to up his sedatives a bit to make him more comfortable, so pray for that! She also said that they will be giving him all his meds through his feeding tube. He'll still have the IV for antibiotics.

Movement wise, his eyes are still open when he's awake, and they move a bit, but still no eye contact. It seems like he can see though, because Rose said he took her cell phone out of her hand and put it up to his ear. He broke the boot on his right foot, completely taking the metal boards off the bottom of it (they had to be the hottest things ever! You tell 'em David!), so they are useless at the moment. He's responded to commands today! Mom told him to lift his arm high, way up to the sky, and he did!! TWICE!! I love it when he "obeys" because then it proves that he can hear us, and that he's able to process the command and perform! HUGE! He was also playing with his mustache (Yes, mustache! And it's a little red!) a bit with his right hand. His left side isn't doing much today, it's really tight.

Mom had the video conference today with the entire Palo Alto team and also 2 other families at Walter Reed who's boys will be going there soon. Sounds neat! He may be moved as early as Wednesday! Mom will be able to fly on the Air Vac with David to Travis AFB where they'll stay the night there and rest up. Then they'll put them in an ambulance and drive the 3 hour drive to Palo Alto. The first 1-2 weeks will be tests from all the therapists-speech, neurologists, psychologists, case manager (Bill), ...- and then they'll be able to give us an idea of David's treatment, his goals, and what his outcome might look like. Depending on his needs, he may be at Palo Alto for 2 weeks to 2/3 months. After that they'll re-evaluate and see if he needs more time... It sounds like visitors are okay after the 2nd week, as long as David is okay (not over-stimulated). Apparently over-stimulation is one thing that TBI patients can't handle, so even the doctor's will only work with him for about 15 min. a day at first. Of course that will change depending on David's reactions. They have several diff. types of therapies, including visual, animal, and music. I wish we could bring Chester for him!!! David's case manager is also looking into airline miles that people (military??) have donated to help fly our family out to see him. 3 people can fit in the room mom has. They have been so helpful and make us feel at ease as they take care of my brother and all the details that go into keeping my mom there!

So for prayers, I say we start praying now for those doctor's who will be working with David in Palo Alto. I would love God to be able to show them what He's capable of doing within my brother, so that they could be positive (and honest) when they tell us what they think his outcome may be. Again, we know that God created my brother- brain and all, and so we know that He has the power to fix him 100%. Also pray that David can be comfortable and relaxed now that he's off his pain medicine. He's a feisty, stubborn kid and we see that as he fights right now, giving mom, grandpa and Rose a workout as they try to keep his hands from pulling stuff out, but I hate to think that he's hurting, confused, and probably a little irritated.

Today was a great day! Lots of progress! God is good and He is surely working miracles in David! Thanks again for your prayers, support, and comments! That's what's helping us get through this!

Love,
Laura