Day 12

We are still here.  Bink is definitely getting anxious to get out of here.  They warned me of that.

Today was pretty quiet.  His splints were downsized so that he could use his elbows and opposable thumbs which made him happy.  

He is hating hospital food, but who doesn't?  I promised to bring him back a bacon cheeseburger when I return this evening. 

Sorry for the briefness, but I am a girl on the run.

E.

Day 11 - Unofficially as its over

Morning folks.  A little delay today on account of having spent the night at the hospital with Bink. 

He is doing well.  He has started to get up and walk to the bathroom.  He is still a bit wobbly, but over the past 12 hours that has really improved.  His poor nurse kept having to tell him to wait until she could assist him, but he was being stubborn and just wanted to do things himself.  They had put a monitor on his bed so that they would know when he was getting up without assistance. Needless to say it went off many times through the night.

We have started to hear the nurses say that they hope to have him out of the hospital by early next week at the latest.  Best case I think would be Sunday.  He is really anxious to get home and I think will do whatever he can to speed up the process.  It seems the major concern is his balance and stability.  Knowing Bink he will have that licked pretty quick just through pure stubborness.  

They said that once he was extubated things would pick up.  They weren't kidding.

Take care everyone. 

E.

Day 10 - Officially

I actually came back to the hotel to get some sleep.  Bink had been awake all night last night and really all of today, so I figure that he should sleep through the night.  I tell myself that so as not to feel as guilty leaving tonight. :)

They did remove his collar today.  The docs did not see any additional traumas and felt this was a safe decision.  Within the next day or two another doc will be checking on the compression in his vertabrae to determine treatment.

He is still fighting the pneumonia.  They are hoping that once he is cleared regarding the vertabrae that his being up and moving should help this along.

I just keep telling myself that this is the story of the tortoise and the hare.  

Remember that we are still at #14 due to a technicality.

E.

Days 9 and 10

Sorry for not posting last night.  We had a long, but forward moving day yesterday.  

They were able extubate Bink around 3 PM yesterday.  So he is awake, but not completely coherent.  He has made some really left field comments that no one quite gets, but that was to be expected.  At one point he was counting, starting at 11 and ending, 2 hours later, at 14 due to a technicality.  Who knows.  I spent the night in the hospital last night and am just now at the hotel to grab a shower and a quick nap.

Today they have removed his catheter and an A line that was in his groin.  This was done in anticipation that his neck will check out okay and he will be able to move around a little more.  A few docs need to take a look at him to assess his back and his neck before he will be cleared to move freely about the cabin.  

I doubt there will be a post tonight as I anticipate staying at the hospital again this evening. Really this is for my peace of mind so that I know he is not alone and confused at any point.

Take care everyone, I will keep you posted on how things are going.

E.

Day 8

It was officially a week today that all things went down.  He looks so much better than he did a week ago, but we definitely have a way to go.

He was starting to move around a bit more today.  He is still out, but he was running a marathon around his bed.  He kept propping his leg up and kicking his pillows around.  At one point in the day as they were adjusting him I saw him open his eye for about 30 seconds.  His eyes are still swollen, but at least he gave it a go.  I was really excited about that.  I never thought that seeing him open an eye would be so exciting.

They are running some tests, but think he may have pneumonia.  They are not too concerned at the moment, but are giving him antibiotics and suctioning him regularly.  (He really hates that, see the post below for the comment on his gag reflex.)  They hope that when he is extubated in the next day are two, are able to remove his collar (he has been in a stabilizing collar since he was in Lewistown just to make sure there were not additional injuries to his back/spine) and are able to get him to sit up that the infection may run its course a little faster.

In honor of the pic that my uncle sent out earlier, this is one of my favorite from this years trip to the OBX.

Stay tuned.  

E.

Day 7 - Evening

Oh how time flies.  

Bink had a bit of a rough night that spilled in to the morning due to his sensitive gag reflex. Because they are backing off his meds he is starting to not be pleased with the feeling of his respirator and such being in his throat.  After all, this is the kid who can't brush his teeth without gagging ridiculously.  They will keep working through this one, but it made today a little interesting.

Overall, he looks good.  Vitals are generally good and you can see progress in his healing.  

It is going to be a short one tonight.  I am getting a little down time for myself finally and am going to take advantage of it by getting some sleep.

Take care everyone.

E.

Day 6 - Evening

Today was a pretty good day.  

They unwrapped a little more of his face and we are really beginning to be able to see what is going on.  It looks like he has gotten a little too much sun.  He is still a little poofy, but we are starting to be able to see Bink finally.  Friends were here today that had been here on Monday and they were able to see the drastic improvement.  Being here everyday we feel like we are seeing differences, but sometimes you begin to question yourself and think you are just trying to see the best.

He is in fact dealing with a little bit of an infection, but as of this evening it seems really manageable which is really great news.

They are working him off of his meds at this point.  The wake up process could take a few days so we just have to be patient.  Anyone that knows either of us knows that we are not at all patient, but sometimes you don't have a choice.  So, we wait.  

Take care everyone.  Don't forget to hug your spouse, kids and/or family for me.

E.

Day 5 - Another Late Night

Today brought us no real changes.  They have begun to scale back the meds, but we've not seen any signs of response letting us know he is waking up.  We were told that it will be a gradual process that will seem a bit like the movie "50 First Dates".  I really don't mind the idea of repetition, I am actually anxiously awaiting it.

As today was two days post surgery, all of his dressings were changed.  His face was a little less covered today and I was able to see his right cheek.  It is amazing what five days will do, and how absolutely grateful one can be for the most simple of things.

Today was the first time we heard the word infection.  They have said it is not in his wounds, but he may be fighting a little something he came in with.  They are closely monitoring that one and taking samples quite often.  

I am off to get some sleep.  They keep warning us that we need to be rested for when he does wake up.  They keep stressing the importance of it, so I should comply.

More tomorrow and please keep us in your prayers.

E.

Day 4 - Late Night

It is hard to believe that we have been here for four days.  I would be lying if I said it wasn't tough but the support of everyone has really been getting us through this.  I can't say it enough, we appreciate all that you folks are doing for us, from offering us places to stay to making sure that we have anything we need.  I have always felt blessed by having you all as our friends and family, but I never knew how great you all really were/are.

This evening they began to taper some of his pain and sedation meds in hopes of being able to extubate him over the next 24 hours.  I have learned all kinds of new words I never thought I would know.  That particular one is the process of taking him off of the respirator.  What they did actually is called debriding.  If you are curious, I suggest a Google.

Insofar as today's activities, as I mentioned earlier, they did an initial surgery on both of his wrists.  He now has plates in both wrists.  Interesting note on this one, the nurses say he will likely be in more pain from the wrist surgery than the burn trauma.  Sounds absolutely insane to us as we look at his burns and still cannot recognize him, but these folks know what they are doing and saying.

For those that know the back story on this one, you will be happy to know I was able to get my car fixed here at a local dealership.  Let's hope that I don't get stuck in the parking lot again!

When I said goodnight he remained in the coma.  I look forward to the day, hopefully soon, where he will actually be able to say goodnight back.  

E.

Day 4 - Midday

He came out of his wrist surgery and things went well. They put plates in both of his wrists. His left wrist has the more severe of the two, but both were corrected.

He is still in the induced coma, but they hope to start working him out of that in the next day or two.

I will probably put a little something more out here at the end of the day.

E.

Day 3 Afternoon

Bink is out of his burn surgery.  

His eyes are less swollen than they were the past two days, still swollen, just less so.  His lips are the same story.  To get a mental image of what his skin looks like remember back to when you were a kid and you would skin your shin when you fell.  His burns are bumpy, red and splotchy. 

Tomorrow he will have both of his wrists worked on.  Initial comments are that the docs will be putting in plates, but that could change once they get in there.  

You all are great for checking in with us.  Thanks again.

E.

Day 3 Morning

He will be headed into surgery at 10 AM.  

Last night was good, no major issues.  Organs and vitals are still good.  

I will keep you posted this afternoon.

E.

Day 2

A little late on the entry, but wanted to let everyone know what's going on...

He did not go have surgery today.  He will be having it somewhere around 10:00 tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.  What surgery is for him is at its most basic level really cleaning his skin with a powerwasher to the point that they can attach a synthetic product that will encourage his body to grow new, healthy skin.  Tomorrow will not be addressing his back or wrists.

Not a lot of other news.  His vitals have been steady and his organs seem to be operating well. It has been a quiet day and he is still in a drug induced coma and that will continue for at least the next few days.

I want to say thank you to everyone for sending along well wishes and phone calls.  I will beg your forgiveness if I don't get back to you each time you send me a note.  I am pretty sure that you all understand why.

The surgery is anticipated to last a couple of hours.  I will try to post something midday.

Again, thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  We need them.

Just an aside - Because he is in the ICU items such as cards and flowers cannot be put in his room.  He has to be in as sterile an environment as possible (to visit we have to wear gowns and gloves).  While we, his collective family, appreciate the gesture, we can't risk his health.  Thanks for your understanding.

E.

Day 1

Can't sleep, so I thought I would make use of my time.

Quick recap, Bink was at work and somewhere along the line, the story depends on who tells it, he was standing on a 6-8 foot ladder and opened a furnace (?) and was blown back by flame/hot air.  They have said that it is a flash burn that he has.  The short is that he is in the ICU/Burn Unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Long version, he has 2nd degree burns over about 30% of his body, he fractured both of his wrists, burned a cornea, fractured a vertebrae and is currently in an induced coma.  They are saying that all things considered he looks good.  They are optimistic that as a pretty healthy 33-year old that things will be okay, but they have all cautioned us about the adverse things that could happen.

I will try to keep updates regularly here.  We are in for the long haul and I want to keep you updated.

Thanks for the prayers and keep him close to your heart.

E.