Monday, November 15, 2010

BIL Update....

My BIL is still in a coma.  Today he is supposed to have surgery.  This surgery has been "scheduled" for almost two weeks.  At first they could not keep his fever/infection down, then they needed to borrow the equipment, and most recently the doctor who was best to perform the surgery had to be out of town.  He has air on his brain, and this surgery the doctors feel in necessary, but also may be the key to Matt waking up.  He is not in the ICU right now, but does have a private room.  After surgery, he will be moving back into the ICU.  (They alternate very quickly on ICU or not....he has moved many times.)

We found out he will not be able to go to the local brain rehab facility here.  He must be able to "participate" in therapy for three hours a day, which means he would have to be out of the coma.  There is a good chance that he would go to a facility in Cincinnati or Indianapolis.  This is probably two weeks out for sure though.

He has been very active.  He moves around a lot.  He will turn his head slightly towards whoever is speaking. 

We are also thinking about the kids.  They are starting to ask A LOT of questions.  My BIL was not a good provider for his family, but his children were used to spending time with him in the evening, even if for nothing but to curl up and watch tv.  He was consistent with that, so they are not used to him being gone.  We have been thinking about how we could bring the kids in to see Matt.  Some ideas are....putting a cap on his head to cover the scar (although they do know he has a scar), pulling his covers way up, and perhaps using a scarf.  Then, making sure that he has received pain medication prior to them coming in.  This would allow him to be in a very calm "sleep-like" state.  My mom talked with my sister about this yesterday, and she is going to let the idea grow on her.

2 comments:

Missie said...

I'm so sorry about your BIL. I will keep him in my prayers.

ChiTown Girl said...

Thanks for the update. I've been wondering how he's doing. I'll be keeping you all in my prayers.