What a trooper!

Last night mom got a phone call at 11pm that Brian had pulled his feeding tube out of his nose for the fifth time. This didn't make us happy at all. He has hand restraints and a sitter, so how could this be? So mom actually drove back to the hospital very mad. We had a bad feeling yesterday that the lady watching him wasn't capable, we should of just followed our guts and asked for someone else, lesson learned. Today he had his swallow evaluation and passed with flying colors and they took his tube out at last. He was able to eat a tuna sandwich at lunch and a cheese burger, cottage cheese and milk for dinner. He is doing awesome. He is also able to swallow pills whole. He is very with it at times but gets easily frustrated he learns that he can't get out of bed to use the restroom. This is just the worst, I feel so bad for him because it just must be terrible to not be able to do what you want to do, especially your business. It's hard to be stuck in bed all day when you are used to doing otherwise. He is also seeing bugs, moths, bees and horse flies every where, we tell him that we understand that he sees them but they are not real and it's just part of his brain rebooting and not to be frightened. Tomorrow he has a cardiac cath/angiogram scheduled and this will tell us if he has and blockages or damage to his heart. They hope to move him to St. Joseph's in Tacoma on Monday for rehabilitation. We are still hanging in there and appreciate the tremendous support we have.

The road to recovery!

So apparently the last couple days I have been suffering what is known as writer's block. Since Brian was just holding steady and we didn't really have big news and we were so scared that something bad would happen (because we have been warned of set backs) I didn't have much to report on the blog. Brian is doing amazing. He is more and more with it everyday, he has said every Brianism know to man. He has never been in pain this whole time, a little itchy but that is it. He had another ultrasound done today and we got phenomenal results; an ejection fraction of 55%! This is the fraction of blood pumped out of a ventricle with each heart beat, normal is 50%-65%! His previous fraction was 25% that first day in ICU. They still want to do a cardiac cath (scheduled for Thursday morning) to make sure there isn't any damage or blockage to his heart. They also might put in an AED, so if his heart stops again, it will shock it right away. Personally, I don't think he needs this. He is still a little jerky so they will have to sedate him and this will delay recovery because sedation meds cause confusion. I still believe that he had a seizure laying on his stomach, occluded his airway, then his heart went into V-fib but that's just me. Better to be safe than sorry. They took his urinary cathedar out today as well so this is another sign of progress. He gets very tired because they have him really busy all day but he is working so hard. He was able to stand up today while holding on to a bedside table, he can comb his own hair too. We have had great amazing nurses and are so happy he is getting better. It was so funny I was whispering to mom, both of us at opposite sides if Brian, asking her when she was planning to go home, then what do you know Brian's whispering. Then I was like, "Brian why are you whispering?" Then all three of us just started belly laughing. I guess you had to be there. You just have to love him.

Doing everything they want him to!

Brian is still getting better and better every day. They have his day pretty jam packed. Between the cardiologist, the neurologist, speech therapy, physical therapy, and range of motion exercise, he is busy and working hard all day. He actually talked to me on the phone the night before last, which was amazing. He told the nurse that my name is "Natalie Coleman" and he also called me Natalia as well. His personality is so there between the "F" word and "Bullship" (but without the p and substitute a t)! He has great moments of lucidity but after hard work we lose him and he starts snoring. He also stood up with two people assisting him twice yesterday. He is still jerky but his body is moving so much better than days ago. When asked to read the "what day is it" from a calender on the wall he added the 3rd and 4th and got 7. He just tries so hard and makes us very proud. We are still plugging along. Thanks again for all the emails and prayers!

Still holding strong....

Brian is still progressing. He really does better with the door to his room shut, lights dimmed, no TV, and limited visitors. He was able to read the word "cars" from a tablet of paper. When asked to name some cars, he said; Toyota Celica and Sebring? When asked what kind of car he drove, he said extended cab. When asked what kind of gas it took, he said diesel. So he is trying hard but there is some error. If you knew Brian he drives a maroon Ford Ranger that takes unleaded. Mom also told Brian that we need to get him a radio and listen to some KZOK, then minutes later he was singing...."strawberry fields forever"! His humor is definitely helping us cope. His eyes are tracking much better and he sat in a chair for 30 minutes with PT. Apparently after suffering from hypoxia, this is exactly what happens. Our next hurdle is Brian's cardiac issues, and we will deal with them as they come. Thanks again for all your support.

Out of ICU!

They moved Brian out of ICU today! He is in the Progressive Care Unit, the floor treats cardiac problems. We are still fighting to get him back completely. He is in and out of confusion and they have a sitter with him, because he needs someone to keep an eye on him. It's a waiting game. He is having a hard time fighting the urge to smoke. He rubs his cigarettes out on his fingers and flicks the ashes and puts the butts in his imaginary pocket, just like he used to do. They don't want to treat him because all the anti-smoking meds have side effects and his heart is still weak. We want the emails to keep coming, along with calls but we only want immediate family visiting because Brian isn't ready (too many people agitate him) for visitors and his room is very small. They don't even have a waiting room like they did in ICU. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and will keep the blog as updated as we can. Keep the prayers going. Pasteur Steve came to visit today too! The rehab doctor asked Brian give her a high five and a peace sign with both hands and two days he was unable to follow commands. He is making progress but the whole situation is still scary. Keep your fingers crossed! We love you friends and family. Thanks to all our support systems; our friend's from Belfair, the Kitsap County Health District, everyone at Brother Dons, everyone at Ralph's Red Apple, and our Parker Lumber friends. And all our other friends too numberous to name.

"I have to poop!"

This is a picture of Brian walking me down the aisle, hopefully he will be walking again soon! Today is another great day. I haven't been to the hospital yet today but our Brian is still moving forward. Last night was awesome, he saw PT and actually sat at the side of his bed. This to us is phenomenal, they take a man who's heart stopped, was frozen to ninety degrees and paralyzed with medications, sedated because a machine was breathing for him and they can sit him upright at the side of the bed six days later? He did have some set backs like pulling out the tube in his nose twice yesterday and having to get two chest xrays to confirm placement. We tried to warn them, he is feisty. The physical therapist did tell us to remind him to look right at us when talking to him because he is having difficulties tracking. He had speech therapy see him as well, they gave him some ice chips and will try to evaluate him every day until he can swallow on his own. He still has a terrible cough that they are treating with a different antibiotic because the culture wasn't sensitive the to previous one. He is off all oxygen as of this morning. He is still in and out and falls asleep mid conversation but last night he puckered up and gave mom and I a big kiss. It was adorable. His mannerisms are still there. This morning the nurse was very positive because he was initiating conversation and he even told the nurse he had to poop and they used a bedpan. When he does go to a rehab facility he most likely won't be in Kitsap County the neurologist that took over form Dr. Bright said that none of the facilities around here would meet his needs. So we are just doing it, moving forward and not looking back. Thanks again for all the support!

January 1st, 2009

This is a picture of Brian from August 4, 2007! I am trying to give the most current up to date facts to family and friends on this website. I have a tendency to focus on the positive and only hear the good stuff but I am doing my best. He is still trucking along and he is doing everything they want him to do. I visited him last night and the night nurse, Mike, was awesome. He said Brian was experiencing ICU delirium (he seems anxious & jerky & mumbles incoherently) and if he was a normal patient he would just sedate him. Since Brian is a neuro patient he just wants him to come back all the way. This is what all patients go through after being heavily sedated from being on a vent. The nurse said he has had periods of lucidity and this is good. He is coming back to us in pieces. He was moving a lot but calmed down after I stayed with him for a while. Today is amazing too! No doctors have been here because it's a holiday but nurses are following protocol and he is very stable. He has a feeding tube and a banana bag (vitamins) along with pills that are given to him through the tube. He is fiesty and wants that tube out of his nose, so when he is left alone the nurses have his hands in restraints. They plan on moving out of ICU tomorrow. I visited him this afternoon and he told me he "feels like shit" he also sat up in bed all by himself. He just used his back and stomach muscles to do this. He moves his feet and hands but the function isn't 100 percent and it's hard to tell if it is intentional or just a reaction. He is able to stratch his nose and grip and that's better than nothing. The EMT's/paramedics have also been calling the ICU every day to check on Brian. Their story keeps getting better and better, like how they had to walk an 1/8th of mile in the snow to get to our house! When really they got stuck in the driveway and was flagged to the correct house by Gail. We will have to personally thank those guys along with every one else who have been working on Brian and just thinking about us. We are still so glad that he came back to us. It is going to be hard, really hard, from here on out and we know this. We are so thankful for all the support.