January 13th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 1:46 AM. Danny has been here for nearly ten Days. Paul, the nurse, just made us laugh as he applied chap-stick to Danny’s lips saying, “that’s the stuff!” Paul is awesome. Polly, you on the other hand are going to make my hands fall off. I’m getting to work on your seven hats. Thanks for the kick in the butt! Hope you enjoyed my previous post. I like reporting positive things on here, but sometimes it’s hard given the situation. I promise to not skip a beat though when there is something positive to report. Danny’s windowsill is now complete with a solar powered dancing flower, two little stuffed animals, four balloons, and the snack tree. His wall is starting to look more homey with all of the pictures that have been sent in. Thank you guys for all of the amazing support. We are all blown away by how many people Danny has effected in one way or another and I can’t wait for the day that he gets to read all of this.
-Michelle
January 12th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 4:58 AM. I’m working on my fourth hat and thinking about life. His ICP is back to normal. The nurses have found that he is pressure is the lowest in the most awkward positions. His head slightly tilted back or too far forward, it looks uncomfortable. This afternoon I was around for the cleaning of Danny’s tracheostomy. It was the first time I had seen this done. I figured by now (besides the suppository), I had seen just about everything that was routine with him. I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to be so sedated and partially paralyzed (it had been a while since he had any paralytic), but having to cough. Watching him, obviously uncomfortable, was much harder than I thought. I held his hand through the procedure and felt faint. I’ve watched him go through so much in the past week. This is hard. The reality of all this is too much to wrap my head around. Taking this one day at a time. I want Danny back.
-Michelle
January 12th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 1:57 AM. Today has been the smoothest day thus far. Danny’s ICP has been at an all time low (a good thing) until about an hour ago and it started to fluctuate. The numbers go up, the numbers go down. After about ten minutes of trying to figure it out, repositioning Danny and watching the number do it’s thing, Danny is finally comfortable…as comfortable as you can be in his state. Today a lady walked in that I’ve seen a couple of times. She likes to check in on his progress. Danny is a celebrity here. She asked me how he was doing and I replied, “He hasn’t had any paralytics since four o’clock. His ICP is stable. He shudders at times, but it hasn’t effected the pressure. They’ve increased his morphine and gave him a little something to get his gut going. Today has been mellow.” She gave me a surprised look and said, “you should be a nurse someday.” When you spend this much time in the ICU with Danny, you begin to feel like a nurse.
-Michelle
January 11th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 5:51 AM. Conor still looks small is his “huge” chair. We’re staring at the snack tree and thinking about the Chinese food that we have in our hotel. I haven’t quite figured out my eating schedule on the night shift, but for the record I did take a shower today. Conor keeps talking about this feast we’re having tonight…I can’t wait. Tonight was a stable night. It feels strange to become familiar with room 5109. The beeping doesn’t scare me anymore as I can monitor Danny’s vitals and see that all is okay. I’ve never missed someone so much that is laying only feet away from me. Cindy boosted his sedation a bit because he was moving around. The best is when the sedation and paralytics wear off a bit and Danny can squeeze your hand. It’s inspiring. Danny is inspiring.
-Michelle
January 11th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 11:21 PM. Before Ellen walked out the door Danny gave her a hand squeeze. She was so excited she ran out to tell the nurse. It brought a big smile to my face and to hers as well. He started to reach for the PEG tube, but we had to hold his hands back. His blood pressure, oxygen, etc. are starting to stabilize. Cindy, our night nurse, said that maybe tomorrow the doc will let his temperature come up. This would mean less shivers and hopefully less use of the paralytics. The paralytic medicine paralyzes Danny to decrease movement and stabilize his ICP. Right now he is kept around 36.1 degrees Celsius which is 96.98 degrees Fahrenheit. The human body is at roughly 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep up the healing Danny!
-Michelle
January 10th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 3:31 AM. Danny is getting his teeth cleaned. She says he has nice teeth and I agree. Conor said he’s got the hair, the better metabolism, and he’s taller. Conor just got the geekier stuff (he said it, not me)…
…It’s Monday afternoon now. Last night was the first night that the nurse didn’t call the doctor. Danny stayed stable throughout the night and into today. He looks better, his neck is less swollen. He’s still all that I can think about. Conor is doing amazing things with this website and fundraising and all of you are giving so much love and support it’s incredible. I spent a little time today decorating Danny’s room with Ellen(or Els as I now call her). The wall is starting to look less bare and I’m sure Danny would appreciate the crafty touch. Talking to Ellen about Danny’s T-Shirt blanket they made together inspired me to start making some hats while I’m sitting next to him in his room. There’s five minutes left in the shift change before we can visit again…packing up and heading in.
-Michelle
I swear the chair is HUGE! ~ Conor
January 10th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 11:43 PM and the night has begun. I opened up some lasagna (brought to the 5th floor of the ICU and sent from some amazingly generous friends) and Conor immediately turned around and perked up. He and I share the same love for food except that I would probably not indulge in an all out war between Cheeze-its and my mouth. The night nurse, Cindy, is a gem and things are going smoothly thus far. Danny is freshly shaved and looking more like himself since the last tube has been removed from his mouth as a result of the PEG. It’s hard to imagine that Danny needs more calories that you or I right now, but the body is an incredible machine and Danny is healing with an extra does of calories and protein.
-Michelle
January 9th, 2011 by Conor
It’s sunday afternoon. Danny is resting and Wayne is our nurse. He had the PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube put in this morning. He handled it very well. The procedure seems to be relatively noninvasive. They shine a light, from the inside out, through his stomach to find the best entry point from the outside. Now that the PEG is in there, it will be there for no less that six weeks. This doesn’t mean that he can’t leave the bed or eat during that time, it just takes that long for the feeding tube to heal properly before you can pull it out without fluids from the stomach leaking inside his body. Since the procedure, things have been smooth. The doctor warned us that there is a likelihood of developing pneumonia because of all of the stuff going on. They have detected it in small amounts and are treating it with antibiotics. Although this stuff is routine or common, it is still very nerve-wracking. There are no black or white answers with TBI.
Yesterday’s nurse brought up that we have an amazing neurosurgeon for Danny, Doctor Gorsuch. That is something that we did not choose. It is whoever is on when the accident takes place. Gorsuch has been truly a great communicator with Danny’s family and friends. The other day, when he came out of the operating room to give us an update, he sat right down on the floor and spoke with us until we ran out of questions. What a humble and down to earth guy!
January 9th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 4:02 AM. Since my last post, the night has gotten a little bit more action. I can’t take my eyes off the ICP (intracranial pressure) number. If there’s a lot going on, x-rays, noise, or anything of the sort you see the number go up. With the lights dimmed and the nurses talking in low voices the number goes down. I watch over it like a hawk. I like the mellowness of the night. Not too much conversation, less people, and a darker room. It’s calm. Keep sending those positive thoughts his way. Personally, I can’t even imagine having a website dedicated to myself and reading all of these amazing stories one day.
January 9th, 2011 by Conor
It’s 2:16 AM. Yesterday was a full day for Danny and I. We spent about 17 1/2 hours together minus the tea breaks and the nurse shift changeovers. Brandi is our nurse tonight. She just did some of the tests and got Danny to lift his left and right arm as well as move his feet-the most movement she had seen in two days. He was feeling uncomfortable and Brandi was able to communicate with him enough to figure out that it was his wedgie. Aside from the wedgie, things are going well. It’s been a mellow night. His temperature has been more naturally regulated thus far and he is on less paralytics and doing fine with that.
Elizabeth Barbiero….thanks for the good laugh. I agree, the Potterman has amazing spawn.
