Don passed away late Wednesday night.

We'll send word on arrangements once they've been finalized.
Thanks so much for all the thoughts, notes and calls as he worked his way thru his final journey.

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Hello everyone.

There's very little to share about Don's condition. As I wrote in our last message, he was taken off the ventilator last Tuesday and, quite frankly, we thought that would be it. Remarkably, he continues to confound the hospital staff and stay steady. His heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure remain exactly as they were last week.

As great as that sounds, it doesn't change what is now inevitable. We'll be talking with staff this morning about his final move into some sort of Hospice care. It looks like it might be here at Loyola Med Center. As of now, he remains in Rm 2345. It doesn't look like any move will come until the weekend. If he's moved, I'll send word out.

Thanks to everyone for the visits, cards and notes. Even if we miss your stop by his room, please know that it means a lot to us (and to him!).

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He's been moved out of ICU and into a private room (2345) where he continues to be monitored around the clock. I'm afraid he's nearing the end of his journey. We were all there yesterday as they removed the ventilator. I spoke to one of his Doctors today, who told me he's never seen a patient come off a ventilator so seamlessly and without issue. His heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure remain relatively strong and steady, and he's extremely comfortable.

I've had more than a few people ask about the slideshow we put together for his Surprise 80th Birthday party last October. If you're feeling sentimental and want some good memories, I've posted it here. (http://vimeo.com/10423254).

Keep him in your thoughts!

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We met with Loyola's Head of Neurology on Tuesday morning, and he confirmed what we all have been thinking -  the longer he stays deep in this coma, the more difficult it will be to have a meaningful recovery.

He's been taken off the ventilator and is breathing strongly on his own. His blood pressure is steady, his heart rate is steady, his temperature is holding.

Hi everyone:

Sorry for the lack of updates, but things just don't seem to be progressing as well as they should be. He was put on steroids over the weekend to combat the falling blood pressure, and that seemed to do the trick. His blood pressure is now steady, his temp is a constant 100/101, and he's off just about everything but the ventilator and the breathing tube. Unfortunately, his pupils are not responding as well as they have been, and thats cause for concern.

We'll be meeting with the staff Tuesday morning to get more info. Your notes, calls and emails are a great source of strength and comfort for us. Thanks!

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So its been four weeks now, and things go from good to bad to good to bad depending on who you talk to. He's not on any sedatives, and we're still waiting for him to wake up. His temperature is still hovering around 100F, but thats not nearly as bad as it was last week. They've tested for ever conceivable source of the fever, and can find nothing that might cause it. The thought is that its the result of his brain's inability to regulate the body's core temperature. Hopefully thats temporary.

A new wrinkle that has been introduced recently is the issue of his blood pressure. He's been needing medication to keep the blood pressure elevated. Without it, it drops to dangerously low levels. He can't be taken out of ICU and off of a ventilator until his blood pressure stabilizes on its own.

The good news, we're told, is that his pupils are responding, he has a healthy gag reflex, and his brain stem shows no damage. The CT scan of his brain shows that stroke damage looks like it is centered around the language area.

The bad news is that while one doctor says the CT looks good, the other says he's not progressing in other areas nearly as well as they'd like to see. Whats frustrating is that they are both speaking the truth, they're just coming from different areas of expertise. So basically we're plugging along, waiting for things to break one way or the other, and keeping the faith.


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Things are slowly progressing. He's still in a coma, but he's relying less and less on medicinal support. During the past few days, they've been slowly taking him off of the sedatives and IV drips. There is nothing medically keeping him from waking up at this point. It looks as if he's getting close to being stable enough to be moved out of ICU and into a facility that specializes in weening patients off of ventilators.

Although the fever persists, they are now confident that there are no infections and he is probably just septic, which is not unusual.  He's getting potassium to fight it. Blood pressure and breathing are solid, and they will hopefully be removing all those electrodes that were monitoring his seizures from his head by Monday.

All the nurses have commented on how dashing and handsome he looks with a shaved head, so its a look I will encourage him to keep when he wakes up.

The visits, notes, cards and prayers are appreciated. Keep him in your thoughts!

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No real news to report - he remains in a coma, entering week 3. 


The seizures seem to have stopped, they have the sedatives down to 1.5, and his temperature is slowly returning to normal, but he's still not showing signs of waking. We're told that this is not unusual and can last for weeks.

He's been moved out of the Seizure Monitoring room to Room 2390 of the Neuro ICU at Loyola. 

He's gone all day without a seizure, and the sedative dosage continues to be slowly brought down. Fingers crossed.

His temp has been hovering around 39C for a few days now. That didn't concern me until I converted to Fahrenheit. Yikes. Stupid metric system.

So the news is nothing of substance. Still in a coma and still fighting.
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Sent from my mobile device

Still in a coma, still fighting.

Saturday he stayed seizure free as they slowly started to bring him
down off of the sedatives that are keeping the seizures in check. He
got down to about half his dosage before they started up again, and
now (Sunday) he's on an even higher dosage than before. One step
forward, two steps back.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Nothing new to report. They brought him out of sedation briefly today, but the seizures started up again, so they'll try again tomorrow.
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Sent from my mobile device

Dad is still basically in a coma, but today we were given our first tiny sliver of hope. The Doctors were cautiously optimistic about a CT scan of his brain that shows there might be a chance of meaningful recovery. We're a long way from there, but its something!

He continues to be plagued by seizures, so they have been keeping him mildly sedated in order to control them. Small steps - and right now those steps are all about stopping the seizures. The thought is that they may be related to the brain's healing process.

He underwent a procedure that removed the breathing tube (finally!) and replaced it with a less invasive tube directly into his trachea. It is a temporary measure that will be reversed after the seizures subside.

Your notes and calls mean a lot to us all. I'll update as things progress. 

Oh, and he needs a shave.

Hi everyone:

The news is that there is no news. Dad remains on life support and we're waiting for him to wake up.

Every morning they turn off the respirator to gauge how welll he's able to breathe on his own. He's been strong in those tests, so the doctors were planning on removing his breathing tube yesterday. Complications arose, and they put off that step for the immediate future. He's been having regular seizures (don't worry, we don't see them, they're minor), and they want to clear that issue before removing the breathing tube and letting him breathe on his own.

Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.