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November 29, 2005

Justin at day 13: Itty-bitty glimmers of hope

I just thought I'd post a quick update on my brother Justin. In a nutshell, he's hanging in there. He's still in CCU in a coma and he's still on the ventilator. He has been fighting pneumonia and high fevers for more than a week now, which has been scary. Some as high as 105. We're told this is common for someone in his situation so I guess things are just taking their course.

His doctors tell us that he can probably hear us so we talk to him every time we visit. We are noticing that sometimes when we talk to him he will make small eye movements and move his head and hands slightly. We have no way of knowing if this is actually in response to us but we are hanging on to the hope that it is. Between the coma and the heavy sedation it could be his only way of telling us that he hears us.

On a lighter note, right before I left the hospital today the nurse told us that his latest CAT scan showed some improvement in the brain swelling so that gives me hope. This is going to be a long and slow battle so every little bit of good news is a treat. Unfortunately, we're not out of the woods yet but he seems to be on the right track.

Lastly, I wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts, phone calls and prayers. We can't express our appreciation enough. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from everyone, even folks who didn't know Justin at all. It is truly humbling. A huge thank you to all of you.

Posted by pixelbrat at 5:27 PM | Comments (4)

November 19, 2005

Your thoughts and prayers are requested.

Early on Thursday morning my brother Justin was involved in a serious accident. He suffered severe head injuries and is currently in the CCU (Critical Care Unit) at Dekalb Medical Center in critical but stable condition. His skull was fractured in several places, causing his brain to swell and ears to bleed. He went through emergency surgery Thursday morning where doctors removed half of his skull to accommodate the swelling and removed a large hematoma (blood clot). He is now in a coma and hooked to a ventilator, unable to breath on his own. The doctors told us that, due to his injuries, it is normal for his brain to continue to swell over the next few days. Right now all we can do is wait and pray.

I can't express the devastation my family and I are experiencing. I am especially close to my brother and have been an absolute wreck since this nightmare began. Aside from my husband my brother is my best friend and I simply can't fathom a world without him in it.

Please keep my brother and family in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days. If everything goes well we hope we'll have some better news on his condition by Monday or Tuesday. I'll try to post on his progress when I can. 

The photo below is from a hockey game we attended just last week.

Posted by pixelbrat at 6:38 PM | Comments (1)