I have decided to move the blog site to a more friendly site. Please visit the blog below where it will be easy to sign up for updates. Thanks.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jimkaufmann
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Great news!!
Let's start with the fantastic news...Jim moved his left leg and he appears to have started to swallow. We have been waiting for this moment since Sunday afternoon.
I took the 6am shift this morning. He was very tired and the swelling from the surgery has caused his good eye to close. This will probably get worse before it gets better.
Sandy and Rocky were with him at 8:30a and 10am. Dr. Wolfe stopped by to look in on Jim, he is also a Lovett wrestling parent and has been so great to us through this process. He delivered some encouraging news and his visit was great for all.
The speech therapist is coming in to make an assessment. Hopefully, we are ready to start PT which will be good for all. He clearly has a lot he wants to say, we all hate the suck machine and are tired of losing at arm wrestling.
Based on the things he has told us or we have been able to understand, it appears his memory is in good shape and words are flowing nicely.
Dad will remain in VICU for 3-5 more days, assuming we continue progressing. He will then be moved to a regular room.
We are truly fortunate to have such support from our friends and family. It is coming in many forms and we are so grateful.
I took the 6am shift this morning. He was very tired and the swelling from the surgery has caused his good eye to close. This will probably get worse before it gets better.
Sandy and Rocky were with him at 8:30a and 10am. Dr. Wolfe stopped by to look in on Jim, he is also a Lovett wrestling parent and has been so great to us through this process. He delivered some encouraging news and his visit was great for all.
The speech therapist is coming in to make an assessment. Hopefully, we are ready to start PT which will be good for all. He clearly has a lot he wants to say, we all hate the suck machine and are tired of losing at arm wrestling.
Based on the things he has told us or we have been able to understand, it appears his memory is in good shape and words are flowing nicely.
Dad will remain in VICU for 3-5 more days, assuming we continue progressing. He will then be moved to a regular room.
We are truly fortunate to have such support from our friends and family. It is coming in many forms and we are so grateful.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Change the channel
Tonight, Rocky, Jamie and I visited Dad at 8:30p. This is the most awake and aware we have seen him all day. He is trying to talk more. He was very insistent on the "suck" machine which assists the fact that he cannot swallow. He arm wrestled me twice to try to steal it away from me and fought Jamie for it earlier. He has become better at using the device himself over the course of today but the staff really wants us to do this for him to prevent gagging.
He had a feeding tube put in today and the nurse gave him his first "meal". It is pretty much like an Ensure. They will start him off slow on food and work him up to once every 8 hours.
He was able to communicate that he wanted the tv on by pointing at it with is right arm. Then he started to wink at me. I asked if he was winking and he shook his head no. I asked if he was checking his vision and he shook his head yes, so then I was able to figure out he wanted his glasses. We were a little scared to put his glasses on because he is missing part of his skull so the nurse did it for us. Dad was not pleased with how the glasses were situated so he reached up and positioned them himself. Then he started to move his fingers in his right hand like he was playing an instrument. I was able to figure out that he was actually asking for the remote control. REALLY! I positioned it in his hand, showed him where the channel buttons were and he was off.
Tomorrow he will get an echo-cardiogram. The cardiologist wants to see if the source of the blood clot that made its way to his brain was from the heart. If there are other clots or that was the source, they will not be able to treat it until his brain is done with swelling and back to a normal- whatever normal may be at that point. This process could take between 2-3 months.
The goal right now is to heal the brain and wait for the swelling to subside. Then we will deal with his heart.
He continues to amaze us and every visit with him today has been encouraging. Please keep those prayers up!
He had a feeding tube put in today and the nurse gave him his first "meal". It is pretty much like an Ensure. They will start him off slow on food and work him up to once every 8 hours.
He was able to communicate that he wanted the tv on by pointing at it with is right arm. Then he started to wink at me. I asked if he was winking and he shook his head no. I asked if he was checking his vision and he shook his head yes, so then I was able to figure out he wanted his glasses. We were a little scared to put his glasses on because he is missing part of his skull so the nurse did it for us. Dad was not pleased with how the glasses were situated so he reached up and positioned them himself. Then he started to move his fingers in his right hand like he was playing an instrument. I was able to figure out that he was actually asking for the remote control. REALLY! I positioned it in his hand, showed him where the channel buttons were and he was off.
Tomorrow he will get an echo-cardiogram. The cardiologist wants to see if the source of the blood clot that made its way to his brain was from the heart. If there are other clots or that was the source, they will not be able to treat it until his brain is done with swelling and back to a normal- whatever normal may be at that point. This process could take between 2-3 months.
The goal right now is to heal the brain and wait for the swelling to subside. Then we will deal with his heart.
He continues to amaze us and every visit with him today has been encouraging. Please keep those prayers up!
Breathing on his own
We are happy to report Jim has just been taken off the ventilator. He has responded well to this initially. He is eager to talk to us but very tired. They have put in a feeding tube so he can begin to receive nutrition. He is very irritated by it and showed off his use of the "finger" again. He is responding to us by nodding his head and doing what he is told (sometimes!). They are trying to keep him comfortable. That is all for now. If we have any other great milestones I will try to post them as soon as possible. Keep those thoughts and prayers coming.
From Rocky
After having a massive stroke they decided last night they need to remove part of his skull bone to relieve the pressure, which would have killed him. Things were looking pretty grim last night. The neurologist feels that on a scale of 1-10 Dad is a 9 in terms of how what the best we could hope for this morning. He is moving very little and has his eyes closed, but he is able to nod his head slightly yes and no. The doctor said he was able to follow some directions. When asked to open his eyes he did. When asked to wiggle his toes he did. And when asked to show two fingers Dad gave the neurologist “the finger.” Nothing like coming out of a stroke and brain surgery still being a smart ass.
Friends and Family
I have decided to start this blog so that we can keep everyone up to date. To bring everyone up to speed...sometime early Saturday morning, Jim suffered a major stroke in the right hemisphere of his brain affecting primarly the left side of his body. Through most of Saturday he was talking with us, problem solving and really being himself given the situation. By Saturday night he was lethargic and less communicative.
Sunday morning he was hard to awake and he was continuing to deteriorate. We took turns holding his hand and his grip was truly impressive! Sunday afternoon, he underwent a craniotomy in order to relieve the pressure and allow room for swelling. He was able to assist the surgical team moving him to the surgical table. When the neurosurgeon asked if he was ready to begin, he gave him a thumbs-up. He is currently on a ventilator and this morning acknowledged Rocky's presence with a slight nod. These are good signs and he continues to amaze us.
Today they will continue to monitor him in VICU. I will try to update everyone atleast once a day, most likely at night.
Rocky and Jamie are doing great. We want to thank everyone for all of their support. Please keep us in your prayers.
Sunday morning he was hard to awake and he was continuing to deteriorate. We took turns holding his hand and his grip was truly impressive! Sunday afternoon, he underwent a craniotomy in order to relieve the pressure and allow room for swelling. He was able to assist the surgical team moving him to the surgical table. When the neurosurgeon asked if he was ready to begin, he gave him a thumbs-up. He is currently on a ventilator and this morning acknowledged Rocky's presence with a slight nod. These are good signs and he continues to amaze us.
Today they will continue to monitor him in VICU. I will try to update everyone atleast once a day, most likely at night.
Rocky and Jamie are doing great. We want to thank everyone for all of their support. Please keep us in your prayers.
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