Friday 5/15/09 8:00 pm

Jon's surgery went well today. He returned to his room around 1:00 and the ventilator was on the same settings as before surgery:). They did a tracheotomy on Jon today when they were finished with his surgery. We were assured that this is in his best interest. The doctor says sometimes they can wean patients off the ventilator faster if they have a trach. By having a trach Jon will be able to eat and drink (when he is ready...not right now) and talk. He is not allowed to even try to talk for at least the first 24 hours and up to a few days....Jon is very agitated and is fighting while he is waking up. He moves his arms and legs A LOT!!! He has knocked the vent off twice and is trying to pull at everything. He is also kicking and moving his legs everywhere. He tries to pull his gloves off. The nurse explained to us today that all of his agitation and fighting is the neurons in his brain re-firing. This causes him to over react to any type of stimulation. This agitation and fighting stage is very normal. The nurse assures us that it is a very positive behavior b/c the more he fights the more his brain is doing. This behavior is very exhausting for us. We know that he is okay but it seems like we can't do anything to help him. It really hurts to not be able to help someone you love so dearly. The nurses assure us that Jon will not remember this time...Jon does eventually settle down either on his own or with medication. This part of his hospital stay is so tiring...I am glad that he is waking up more so that he brain injury can be more accurately assessed, but it is VERY DIFFICULT to see Jon this way. I am not sure that we will completely understand the extent of Jon's injuries until we have left the hospital. It seems as though each day we learn more and more about what improvements he has made and how sick he really has been...and how far he stil has to go. At this point they continue to tell us that we will not know the extent of trauma Jon's brain has undergone until he is more awake and past this stage. He is now at a 10-11T on the coma scale. We are at a 15. He needs to begin talking or trying to talk for the rating to go up. I learned what PEEP was today--It is the amount of pressure in the lungs. We normally exhale all of our oxygen with every breathe. The PEEP does not allow Jon to exhale all of his oxygen. It maintains a certain pressure in his lungs so that he does not have to use all of his energy to refill them. It also helps keep the aveoli inflated so that they do not shrivel up. They tell us that the ventilator is at minimal settings. Jon also got a pretty, big, black boot on his right leg today (I am not sure if he will like this boot as much as his new pair of boots he has at home...lol) . His vitals are all good. His bp and heart rate are at a much more stable level now than they have been in the past. Please continue your prayers for Jon and Melinda. Our families apprecitate them so much. God works in such wonderous and wonderful ways! So many of our prayers have already been answered! We are so thankful!