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Monday 8/26
Dani's brain is properly building up fluid and draining the fluid to the spinal chord, BUT before the fluid is drained from the brain the pressure is causing him alot of pain. The nurses are occassionaly having to release fluid through the stint that is still inserted into the inner lobe of his brain. They have him elevated to a 30 degree angle today hoping that the fluid will drain on it's own before the pressure becomes to great. They are hoping to remove the drain tomorrow.
LeeAnn wanted to pass along a thank you to everyone for all their thoughts, prayers, cards and gifts. She knows many people would like to come visit Dani but right know he is starting to develop severe headaches when his brain is stimulated. He is very overwhelmed right know trying to remember people, faces and events. She promises as soon as she is given the o.k. for visitors we will let everyone know. She honesly feels that Dani will make his greatest strides in recovery once he has his friends and family close by cheering him on.
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Sunday 8/25
Dani's neck brace was removed today. He is able to look around and see all the monitors. He looks very confused and scared at times but LeeAnn and Aaron are spending alot of time with him letting him know that everything is going to be fine and that he has alot of people praying for him.
He attempted to talk today which is very exciting. Although it was very muffled the Aaron and the nurse knew what he needed and were able to help him.
The hospital is giving him medicine for his pain to keep him comfortabe.
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Saturday 8/24
NOTHER GREAT DAY TODAY:
There is no more blood coming out of Dani's stomach.
He had a CT Scan and MRI done in the early evening. They must have showed improvement because THE VENTILATOR TUBE HAs BEEN REMOVED!!!
They are hoping to remove the neck brace tomorrow.
Dani let us know that he remembered riding in the airplane by sqeezing. He also responded when we talked about him turning sixteen and being able to drive. (By the way Devin he would like a black car).
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Friday 8/23
Dani was mostly quiet in the morning until Aaron arrived then he perked up and communicated with them through hand signals.
Around 5:00pm LeeAnn went into Dani's room and told him she wanted a kiss. To her surprise he puckered up, so she excitedly gave him a kiss. When she went to walk away he puckered up again to give her another kiss. |
Thursday 8/22
Dani moved the fingers on his right hand. This is a wonderful step in the right direction. Dani also was communicating with LeeAnn. He would sqeeze her hand in response to her questions. He indicated to LeeAnn that he remembered going skateboarding but did not remember the accident.
He was tapping on his right arm with his left hand indicating he knew he could not move it like his left arm. He also was placing his left hand on the many tubes and wires he is connected to and LeeAnn explained each of them.
MEDICAL UPDATES:
Dani still has a tube in his brain to monitor brain pressure and drain fluid if needed. As long as this tube remains connected there is a concern for infection.
Dani is still connected to a ventilator this is restricting him from being able to talk to us. We are all anxious for him to be taken off the ventilator so we can communicate with him easier. This will also aid the doctor's in determining his progress and condition.
They have been removing blood from Dani's stomach due to ulcers. This has been causing him stomach pain.
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Wednesday 8/21
The fluid pressure in his spine has increased to 15 which is higher than the doctor's expected today.
Dani played the sqeezing game with LeeAnn and gave Sami a thumb's up signal. |
Tuesday 8/20
Aaron was double sqeezing Dani's hand when to his surprise Dani double sqeezed his back. After doing this a few times with him Aaron said "Ok buddy let's try it three time." Aaron then sqeezed his hand three times and Dani sqeezed his hand back three times.
They are watching the fluid pressure in Dani's spine. It needs to be at 20.
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Monday 8/19
Today was full of milestones:
1.) His brain pressure has went down between 8-14 (His brain is still swollen outside the skull cavity but they said that will take awhile to diminish.)
2. He gave the doctor a thumbs up signal.
3. He moved his right leg once.
4. He kicked the hospital table with his left foot then continued to try reaching for it and kicking it again. (This shows he is remembering it is there.) |
Sunday 8/18
Dani's brain is now swollen outside of the opening in his skull. There is a risk of the brain being pushed against the edge of the skull resulting in a stroke. His brain pressure is remaining between 20-24. On the positive side all other vital signs are remaining stable.
The doctor went over the ct scan with LeeAnn and Aaron. They found that the initial hit was to the rear right side of his head. This portion of the brain is used for logical thinking. His brain was then thrust to the front left which is injured worse because the front inside of the skull is rough like an "english muffin". This portion of his brain is used to control his right side mobility. (He has not been moving his right arm and leg.)
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Saturday 8/17
The Doctor's are very concerned. Dani's brain pressure is between 21 - 24. They are pleased with all his other vital signs. He is getting good blood flow to the brain which is very important.
Dani will remain in a self induced coma state for awhile. He can be woken but this causes him to be very aggitated and agressive which are common reactions from a head injury. They want Dani to remain asleep so he will not becoming aggitated causing the brain to swell. The doctor's do wake him every so often to check his responses. He does grab for the tubes that he is connected to in an attempt to remove them. The doctor's see this as a good sign showing that he knows he is uncomfortable and he has a purpose for his actions.
They are keeping his room very cold because the doctor said that cool temperatures are better for brain injuries.
At this time Dani only has short term memory so although he can hear people talking to him he does not retain what he is told. He also can not respond right now because of the coma state he is in. |
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Friday 8/16
Dan suffered from massive bruising on his brain. The bruising caused the brain to swell putting pressure on the brain stem. This cut off oxygen to the brain shutting down Dani's enire body. He was revived and immediately rushed into surgery. They removed two sections of his skull, one on the right side and one on the left side. They also put Dani on a ventilator to breathe for him.
After Dani stabilized from the surgery they did a CT Scan to determine the amount of damage caused to the brain and to see if there was enough room in the inner lobe of the brain to insert a monitor to measure brain pressure and a stint to remove fluid if needed.
There was enough space in the inner lobe so they drilled a hole in the top portion of his skull to insert the monitor and stint.
The doctor told LeeAnn and Aaron that the brain pressure on Friday night was 8. A level of 20 would be bad.
He also said that it was important to keep Dani stable the next few days because with a brain injury the brain will swell on the third to fourth day. They are hoping there is enough room for the brain to go.
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