vicariously chris

Just a quick note before I get to the hospital.
Right now everyone is trying to get answers that aren't yet available.

Yesterday and today this ongoing catheter/UTI situation seems to have been at the forefront along with the fact that despite being under surveillance 24 hours a day Chris pulled out his $%#@ feeding tube again!

The good news is that Chris' blood pressure (130s) is now back in the normal range which is very good news.

Chris seems to be sleeping for about 18 hours a day with brief intermittent periods of calm wakefulness, but we are all anxious for the physio to start.
Because we're dealing with the brain there is no magic crystal ball...
which is frustrating enough for all of us waiting on the outside so I can't imagine what it's like for Chris?

It's tough to sit back and wait to see how much of the damage is going to be present and to what degree it can be amended through rehab once Chris is able to stay awake for any length of time.

I suppose a positive way to look at this is that we all seem to be fairly comfortable that Chris is moving on to the next step so we shouldn't lose sight of that.
For a week we were worried about getting to this point.

I'll try and write some more when I get back and read the bedside journal.
I hope that I can get Chris to talk to me. I want to know what he is thinking?

I know that all of this second guessing doesn't help and although it is difficult to idle, the truth of the matter is that there is a lot of waiting to be done and there isn't much that we can do about that.

PART TWO posted at 10:14 PM

It was comforting to see Chris with the bed tilted up watching the Hockey playoffs.
The O2 and feeding tubes had been removed. They successfully handfed him some sort of jello stuff which he told his sister tasted awful..but he could swallow it!

He could move his head and neck around..his left arm was untethered and he could scratch his nose..he had his glasses on and he had been shaved so he looked better.
He said "HI" and smiled.

I sat and watched the game with him..I got him to smile (laughed with his eyes) a few times.
I told him that I was going to sneak in a Mushroom/Peperoni Pizza from Gondola (his favorite) and he also grinned when I mentioned that how great it will be to see the 8,000 ROUNDUP commercials during the game..it's a Canadian thing.
The biggest grin came when the NHL President was being interviewed but I can't tell you what I said in mixed company..but it was worth seeing the smile.

I asked him if he had any cravings (no), if he felt more awake in the middle of the night (no), throat hurt (no) and a few other things. He said it hurt when he had to go to the bathroom which I totally understand considering what he has had to endure during this recent catheter debacle. He still has a foley which he agitated by rubbing his left leg against it. He was quickly given something for his discomfort, tucked in, and instructed to go to sleep.

All in all I felt encouraged to see that he was up trying to watch the game..he dozed on and off..plus he "got" the jokes and seemed more rested. Having all the tubes out of his nose was great and hopefully he can eat normally and I can sneak that pizza in.

Chris you are amazing...we had a good visit and you cheered me up buddy.