Sam's Journey - Day 32

Sam has had a very busy day. Speech therapy visited in the morning, but there was only a little bit of response because he was kind of sleepy and lethargic. Maybe I should have given him that cheeseburger after all. Regardless, we did see some thumb wiggling. After that, the magical chair arrived. 

Yes, it's pink. Secure men aren't afraid to sit in pink chairs. It starts out as a bed and then transforms into a chair at varying degrees. The worst part was for the six people who had to get him onto it. There is also the fact that his head was right up to the very top of it, while his feet hung over the bottom by a good six inches. Today he was in the chair for an hour at a 45 degrees. Each day, they will change the settings. Also while he's in it in the future, they will be doing various rehab activities with him. Today he basically chilled there. I put his glasses on him and we listened to some tunes. This is a great step in a positive direction!

The other big physical thing that happened for him today was a result of the MRI. One of the things they saw was that around the surgery site especially, there was a buildup of brain fluid between the skull and brain. Before anyone panics, this is a very common occurrence. This fluid usually can dissipate on its own, and that is a common plan of treatment. However, in an effort to speed up his recovery, they decided to remove it. By the time I left the room, grabbed some water and cleaned up the resulting puddle because the cup had a microscopic hole in it, the procedure was over. The neurosurgeon said he did well and asked me to keep him posted on whether I saw any changes in what Sam was doing. I am trying not to excessively read too much between the lines of what I am told, because that is a slippery slope. However, I got the distinct impression that he was hoping that there would be improvement after the procedure. We shall see. Sam's been pretty much zonked out after the hard work he put in today. Right now, he's semi passed out facing a private showing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail which I have strapped to the bed. (There is nothing that cannot be acquired on Amazon, including straps that attach things to hospital bed rails.)

Prior to the procedure, I had a brief but incredibly meaningful conversation with the neurosurgeon regarding what he saw on the MRI. Earlier in the day we had heard from someone else in neurology that it was "pretty much what we expected." I interpreted that as there would be some brain stem damage, based on a previous conversation. Instead, here is what was discussed:

1. There is extensive damage on the right side of the brain which is where the main impact and both surgeries took place, which does not surprise us in the least. We expected that.

2. He showed me where the fluid was and where they were going to take it out.

3. I then asked him about the brain stem, since that was kind of at the top of our list of ginormous concerns. His answer was, "Well from that angle it's clear." He did not seem to share my concern, and didn't go digging up other images of it. I couldn't figure out if he wanted to get right to the procedure, or if he was really not concerned about it. As we talked further, I decided it was the latter, because

4. he pretty much reiterated everything I've been saying in the blog about the MRI and what it meant. (Well, except for the God stuff, but I'll let that slide.) At no point did he say, "He will never ..." He did however say the following:

• I have seen scans that look good and there was poor recovery, and I have seen scans that look bad and there was great recovery.

and,

• I don't like to give a prognosis based on an MRI. I prefer to use it as a point of reference on how to proceed with treatment and/or rehab. (Then pointing at Sam) It's really all up to him.

Short of hearing that the MRI was completely clear with no damage which could only have been an act of God, I really feel this is pretty much THE best news we could have possibly received. If I'm being honest, we really miss Sam, so it's a little hard to hear about the 'extensive damage' even though it was expected. We've been going non-stop for a month, school and music stuff is going full swing for most of us, and we are tired. And while our patience has grown exponentially since this all began, it occasionally wears thin at times, like now when we're just waiting for him to wake up. But, as we have through this whole journey, we will look for the next wave on the horizon to lift us back up and carry us on. Thanks for being that constantly stirring current of prayer and support beneath us that enables us to be the best we can for Sam. You sustain us.

This is a picture from this summer's mission trip, I believe while working in Chicago. If you have any pictures of Sam that you want me to include, send them to me! Thanks!