Morning everyone,
This is our last day at Red Roof Inn in Rockville; we're moving to a relative's house today and are pretty excited about that. I'll post the address soon.
Yesterday was a big day for Steve. Dr. Daza (the original trauma surgeon who saw Steve when he was brought in) put in a trach and a feeding tube. After Saturday's nightmarish events, we were told that those two things would have to wait; however, since the swelling was brought down so well by the Mannitol, the original plans ended up only being delayed by a day. Now Steve is breathing through a hole in his neck and is being fed through a tube connected directly to his stomach and small intestine. His mouth is now free of tubing, which is great because (a) it's a lot more comfortable for him, (b) it eliminates another possible source of infection, and (c) it means that as he wakes up, he won't choke on the tubing, so they can keep his sedation lower.
As my mom said, Steve is beginning to blink. At first it was just as though he was squishing his eyelids together; he didn't really open his eyes. However, Danielle told me yesterday morning that he had opened his eyes a bit, and so I got really close to his face so I could watch for it to happen. All of a sudden he opened his left eye about halfway and blinked both of them together. I was so startled by this that I actually yelled "Holy crap!" He did this many more times throughout the day and has been opening his left eye wider and wider. Kira and my dad report that last night he actually opened his left eye all the way. We were told to expect progress in his right eye to be delayed some because Saturday's stroke (and the original injury) occurred on the right side of his brain, and that's what we're seeing; however, he is still trying to blink that eye.
The other thing that Steve did a lot yesterday was to yawn a lot and stretch his limbs, just as you or I might do in the morning. He has had a lot of Propofol (a sedative), but they have really turned that down; at one point the dosage was 70 mcg/kg/min and now it is 5 mcg/kg/min. This should make it much easier for him to wake up. He is still not tracking our movements with his eyes and cannot respond to commands, but he is definitely making strides in the right direction.
We'll let you know if there's more progress today.
Thanks so much again,
Beth
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5 comments:
Morning All,
What a great way to begin the day! This is such good news, thanks be to everyone out there praying for Steve, and especially our Lord! I continue to pray for you all, and look forward to seeing very soon. Love Always, Uncle Don & Aunt Gail
Dear Percha Family
Just embrace the good news and each and every moment. Talk to him, sing to him, and most important hug him. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Elaine Conroy
I was so happy to read about Steve's progress!!! That is such great news!
Great going Steve! These are wonderful steps twoards your recovery. We are praying for you and your family.
The Smiths
Commerce, MI
Dear Steve,
I am so sorry about what happened to you, I miss you very much, and I hope that you get much better very soon. My dad has been telling me about what happened and how you are getting better evey day. I hope to come to Michigan very soon to see you once again.
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