2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back

Again, we've had some slow progress with a few setbacks.

I was mistaken yesterday when I said they would do a CT scan along with the angiogram. The CT scan was repeated this morning. It showed that there was no change in the swelling or bleeding. This means the bleeding has probably stopped and in a few days we should be able to notice the swelling begin to subside. The final size of the bleed was approximately 74mm, which is very large.

There has been no change in his ability to move his left side and he continues to remain lethargic most of the day. He has bouts of confusion, mostly early in the morning, but regains his awareness within a few hours. He was able to eat and drink on wednesday, but yesterday the doctors suggested he stop taking food and drink by mouth until they evaluate his ability to swallow again. They suspected George was not alert enough to keep from aspirating his food and drink (taking it into his lungs instead of stomach). They have since then allowed him to drink water by a spoon and have put a feeding tube in. He will receive tube feedings until he is awake and alert enough to chew and swallow appropriately.

Yesterday afternoon, George began to run a fever, which to my knowledge, they have not identified a cause yet. I believe they have taken samples of blood and urine to culture for bacteria and suspect it may be a urinary tract infection. However, we have also heard from the nurses that because the brain is so irritated, the body can spike a fever, something she calls "brain fever." Regardless of the cause, he is now on antibiotics. He also had a PICC line placed last night (a specialized vascular access device that stays in longer than an IV and allows for blood draws).

To my knowledge, there have been no spikes in his blood pressure recently, which is a praise. The doctors said that he is progressing like they would expect and that he may get to be released to the stroke unit on Monday (given he can meet the required criteria for ICU transfer).

Jordan and I are planning on heading back to Rockport sometime later this afternoon. We will continue to receive updates from Mrs. Mims and I will post as I know more. We are hoping that since the bleeding and swelling have stopped, that his body can begin to heal itself and we will see more progress soon. Please keep praying for continued healing and decreases in both swelling and his blood pressure. Please pray for these new complications with infection and feeding.

H.