December 3rd, 2011 by Conor

November 3rd, 2011 by Conor

October 3rd, 2011 by Conor

July 8th, 2011 by Conor

Well I can’t say that I have a very typical update for month 6. Danny and friends spent the day at Squaw Valley USA enjoying some of the festivities that were going on there. Squaw had been closed for a month but opened for 3 days to allow local ski bums to come out and make a few turns. It was quite a treat to get to snowboard on 4th of July weekend. No, Danny was not snowboarding. He still has 6 months to wait according to the neurosurgeons. But, Danny did film an event known as the Cushing Crossing. Dave Soroka, Danny and I filmed the event and below you will find the video that we put together. Check out the very last slide to see a shout out celebrating Danny’s 6 month anniversary!

~ Conor

February 5th, 2011 by Conor

A couple of hours ago Danny was discharged from the hospital. It was a little bit slow going but that’s about all that could really be expected given that he was there for a total of 33 days. Danny won’t be able to leave Great Falls for a couple days while they make sure that everything is going as planned. He should be flying out on Monday or Tuesday if all goes well.

We are currently sitting at a hotel room a few miles from the hospital. By the time Michelle and I got to the hospital he had already realized that he was doing the same thing at a different place. Sitting, watching TV and chilling. Danny is ready to go HOME!

February 3rd, 2011 by MIchelle

The drain has been removed! Danny doesn’t have a silly hat on anymore and the tube is gone. It was a simple cut of a stitch and a little pull of the tube. There was a sting, but Danny already feels much better without the head bandages on. He just said that on a scale from 1-10 his head is at a 3 right now. His pain meds come at 6 AM, noon, 5 PM, and 9 PM. He is off the pain button and has an emergency backup pill that he can take in between times.

OT just got here and Danny and him made paper airplanes. Danny’s flew straight and Ron’s, the OT, ran into the wall. He’s testing Danny, but Danny is above average as far as TBI patients are concerned and we don’t think that they realize that. Here is and example of a couple of questions and answers:

What happens if you get a flat tire while driving down the road?

Answer: Pull over and call AAA.

Let’s say you burn your hand with hot water what would you do?

Answer: Pour cold water on it, or google the answer…call my mom.

Danny just passed with flying colors! They are going to pull back on OT for the rest of his stay. This is great news because it’s his least favorite therapy. It doesn’t mean that it’s over with, but no more once a day.

-Michelle

February 2nd, 2011 by MIchelle

Danny’s drain will be coming out tomorrow. The drain is a catheter, or a clear tubing, that is in Danny’s skull near the top of the head. At the end of the drain there is a plastic pouch that fills with the liquid from Danny’s head. They measure it and empty it regularly throughout the day. The doctor is happy with the progress post operation and said that as long as we can regulate Danny’s headaches with pills then he should be in the clear to leave the PCU soon. His head is in extreme pain so the doctor had one of those pain buttons added to Danny’s IV set up. On top of that he gets pain pills every six hours. Hopefully the pain will reduce as the CT scan already showed improvements and the decision to proceed with the last surgery also had something to do with the doctors presumptions that the liquid beneath the skull was adding to his headaches. I’ve hit my head a few times on counter tops or things around the hospital since this all happened and I find myself laughing as I wince in pain knowing that Danny is going through so much more.

-Michelle

February 1st, 2011 by MIchelle

Danny just rolled into room 4105 of the PCU. He is in a ton of pain, but dealing with it as best as can be expected. He has the white wrap that looks like a beanie on his head with the drain coming out the top. It makes his head really hot so an ice pack is on its way. They’ve checked his vitals and all is well. Danny’s been through so much. Let’s hope this is the last of the surgeries!

-Michelle

February 1st, 2011 by MIchelle

Danny is out of surgery! It went well and we will be back in the PCU shortly. Not much else to say. We haven’t seen him yet, but will keep you in the loop as to how things play out.

-Michelle

February 1st, 2011 by MIchelle

Danny has just gone in for the burr hole drainage procedure. It will last about 45 minutes with 20 minutes in the end to clean up and get Danny to recovery. There was quite a bit of talking regarding wether or not to do the procedure now or to call it off and wait for a couple of weeks to see if the fluid beneath the skull would decrease. After talking to Doctor Gorsuch one last time before the scheduled surgery and seeing that he was more confident in the decision to go through with the procedure, Danny made the call to proceed and we all agreed. They will be monitoring the fluid beneath the skull in the next week and if the fluid decreases enough then Danny will be on his way home soon (a week to a week and a half).

One major question that had been bothering Danny and brought up great concern was if they would have to put in another catheter. After finding out that he did not need a catheter I think it was easier for Danny to make the decision. As he was given his IV cocktail he reminded us to be sure we had food waiting for him in his room. Hopefully he’ll have an appetite.

-Michelle