Day 9 - September 1, 2015

We wish more than anything to report that Jeff is coming home tomorrow, but unfortunately he's just not ready yet. While we are greatly disappointed about it, we find ourselves grateful that the doctors are being so thorough and careful with his care and health. In the larger scheme of things we'd rather they take their time and make sure he is stable instead of rush things and have complications.

 

Annette and Peggy arrived at the hospital at 8:10AM this morning. Due to the medications and care required Jeff is still in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU). His LPN today was David and they made a great connection right off the bat. They had much in common between bikes and Utah.

 

Dr. Harasaki came to check on Jeff. He says the blood pressure problem is very common and will stabilize in the next 3 or 4 days.

 

Jeff enjoyed his breakfast of regular food. Annette then assisted him with his phone clearing and/or reading his ton of emails.

 

Next came the speech therapist again. Jeff got annoyed with all the dumb questions.

 

Same routine: Turning and boot switched every 2 hours; breathing/sucking in air from the tube hourly; exercise arms, hands, and fingers.

 

Lunch time he ate his ice cream first- didn't want it to melt!

 

The occupational therapist came and made it easy on him by only working his hands and wrists. She put together two "homemade devices" to enable him to hold a stylis to use on his computer. She also showed him how he would be using his hands in eating and grooming. We all feel that a little more independence will go a long way in helping him cope with this change.

 

Naptime came again for the entire SICU from 2:00-3:30PM which meant lunchtime for Annette and Peggy.

After naptime the head trauma doctor came and spoke in depth with Jeff, answering his questions, etc. She explained the steps and signs showing his body will come back as functions become recognized. "I know you were a go go guy and you will still be a go go guy because that's who you are. In 3 months you will be able to drive, be the brains of your business, and take care of your own grooming. Just realize it takes time and you will have use of your hands." She gave him hope!

 

Annette and Jeff then worked together on his laptop, getting all the unwanted stuff deleted and reading the items he wanted to.

 

Dinner came and he ate his orange sorbet first, then some of his club sandwich. He had his first soda since the accident, Gingerale. Then things were winding down for the evening.

 

David, the LPN, has worked very hard and diligently to get the amount of dopamine down with some success. That's the medication he has to be off of completely before he can transfer. Another day or so will tell

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The CT results from yesterday were not discussed. No news is good news!

 

Peggy reports Jeff's constructive criticism for the day... When they arrived this morning he was watching T.V. all about the Alaskan Bush People. Jeff said, "Their IQ is so low it takes all nine of them to figure anything out!"

 

When Annette and Peggy were leaving, David (day LPN) and Josh (night LPN) were trying to follow directions to enable Jeff to control the T.V. remote.

Peggy says, "Determination is well entrenched in our boy Jeff. It was a nice night with some little success on the blood pressure."

 

Jay is flying in at 11:00AM tomorrow to join them in the wait and preparation for Jeff's flight home.

 

Ryan was able to talk to Jeff tonight and in a moment of honest and open communication Jeff told him that he knows he won't be able to ride his bike again. Ryan firmly replied that they will just have to find something else to do together instead.

 

While it's okay to hope for everything to go back to how it was before, we see the importance of realistic goals and expectations. Setting smaller goals that are more quickly achieved may be the best way for all of us to see progress and remain optimistic. Yesterday Jeff told Annette that he had two goals.  The first goal was to be able to use his computer again and the second was to walk again.  We look forward to seeing him reach those goals and then making even more that we know he will be able to achieve with hard work and time.

 

This change is the end of one chapter in his life. But then again, that also makes it the start of another. We are hopeful for many chapters to come that will include leaps and bounds of progress for our dad. As so many of you have already pointed out, if anyone can overcome this challenge it's him!

 

We appreciate all the encouragement you are sending our way, it truly makes a difference. We have been so blessed in this trial in so many ways. There really aren't words to express the depth of our appreciation. So we simply say THANK YOU and hope that you all know it's from the bottom of our hearts!