He has a contusion on his brain and possibly a shear, nine broken ribs, a punctured lung, broken cheek and multiple contusions. He is stable and when they bring him out of sedation he grabs for the tubes down his throat which is a great sign. We won't know anything until he quits fighting when they bring him out of sedation and they can start asking him to respond.
Please pray for him to heal that spot on his brain and for a complete recovery.
Thanks very much,
Tycer
Update 12/22/2011:
Joe opened his eyes today and is moving a bit. I got a good Masons' pass grip from him, however he is not yet able to respond or act on commands. They are going to remove the tubes and give him a tracheotomy and a stomach feed tube so he'll have all those tubes out of his mouth. The bruise on his brain is pretty big and is draining properly.
http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/theonet/Joe/
Update 12/31/2011
Hi all,
Well it's almost midnight and Nancy and I just came from visiting Margaret and Joe. He's still at Mission and today was a good day on the way to a better new year!
Joe has licked that UT infection so his fever is down and he was awake most of today which is a first. He is in the step-down unit and has been since earlier this week which is great for Margaret as she can visit whenever and as long as she wants. He still has the tracheotomy, feeding tube and catheter and is obviously in a lot of pain from the broken ribs and trying to cough all the phlegm from the lungs due to the puncture and such.
Keep praying for his brain to rewire fast and for his lungs to clear. I'm really looking forward to hearing his voice soon and your thoughts and prayers are much needed to make that happen!
Update 1/7/2012
Unbelievable. I think that's the word the speech therapist used after her first session with Joe and comparing it to his charts. I have a better word: Prayer. Thank you all, keep it up!
It started Thursday the 5th when Margaret demanded the hospital stop giving Joe sedation. Until the speech/physical therapists could give the OK, Joe could not be moved to Care Partners and with the sedation, Joe was always knocked out and the therapists could not test him. So Margaret said stop and they did. And Joe woke up, saw the therapists and moved to Care Partners on Friday. They have changed his tracheotomy tube from plastic to a smaller metal one which allows air in and out the mouth also.
Today was a miracle day. Not only was Joe awake, but he rolled himself in a wheel chair a few feet, took a half dozen or so steps and spoke. SPOKE. I have to say it one more time: spoke.
During his session with the speech therapist Joe was able to identify flash cards with the days of the week, organize them (with a bit of help) and say the days aloud. The therapist showed him a ball and he told her it was a tennis ball (it was a rubber ball), a sqirtgun was a "toy gun", a spoon was a "container for scooping", a pink toothbrush was a pink toothbrush.
When I got there this afternoon he was asleep, worn out.
He woke briefly early in our visit and said (said, like, with words!!!) "Bless your hearts, bless your hearts, I love you all, tell everyone I say hi and I love you all" . Later I was able to tell him about Lamar and the degree and he smiled and said "really" and "is that right".
Keep up the prayers and pass this around.
