Following up on the determination that the pressure within the brain ventricles is regulating itself, the doctors on Tuesday removed the drain (called a "bolt") from Walter's right frontal lobe and replaced it with two staples. That is good news. He sat up in a chair for a couple of hours to give his back a rest from lying down. He received acute therapy on his left side and a little speech therapy. He enjoyed the massage of the acute therapy. He moved his left shoulder a lot and his left leg some. He got pretty frustrated with the speech part because he couldn't do a lot of what the therapist asked him to do; e.g., moving his tongue around, saying "mmmm", etc.
He has tried to communicate by pointing to things and by writing. The writing is illegible. The doctor says that the remaining swelling in the applicable parts of the brain make these attempts at communication difficult. Walter kept his eyes open most of Tuesday but was very agitated, perhaps because he's probably seeing multiples. Therapists administer respiratory therapy every four hours, including through the night. Despite the exhausting day, he had difficulty sleeping last night.
Today, the doctors plan to remove the NG-tube from his nose and throat, through which he's been receiving medication and nourishment, and replace it as a longer-term solution with a gastric feeding tube ("G-tube") that will provide access directly to the stomach. He will be sedated for that procedure, which should take thirty minutes at the most. Removal of the bolt and the NG-tube will remove two connections from his head. If he keeps breathing well and the respiratory treatments do what they're supposed to do, perhaps he can soon come off his oxygen as well. The fewer connections the better. He tried to pull one or two out before and must sometimes be restrained to prevent that.
He has a CT scan scheduled this morning. We believe that the swelling may be continuing to go down because he is becoming more aware of what's going on around him.
His color looks great and of course Walter, Sr. is keeping him well groomed. J
We are doing what we can to expedite Walter's transfer to Emory. The consensus is that it's time to go.
As a suggested point of prayer, please pray that Walter will not be afraid. Jessica senses fear in his eyes as he becomes more aware. Those around him constantly seek to encourage and calm him, but his inability to communicate renders it difficult to know what he's feeling. Jessica prays with him every night and he squeezes her hand to acknowledge "amen".
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