An Update from Shawn

Late Fri I visited Dad. His healing physical appearance is
noticeable each day.  He almost looks normal again. His right
eye that was all black and blue is almost back to normal.
The few scrapes on his arms and hands are minimal.   He
really has a peaceful sleeping look as he is laying there
in bed. This is more rest than he has had in many years.

His sedation was dropped off a bit. Also the medication to
paralyze his body was stopped, that was an effort to calm his
body and drop his ICP numbers (InterCranial Pressure). The
additional medication to flush his body of the excess fluids
was also stopped. The ICP number was averaging between 9
and 11. We would like to see it down to a more normal
of like 0-2.

I also noticed as I was standing at his bedside that he was
initiating 1-2 extra breaths per minute over the ventilator
setting. It wasn't all the time but it was a few times over
the few hours I was there. So the brainstem which controls
the breathing is making a small effort to sustain himself.
With another decrease in his sedation he should start breathing
more on his own.

I also noticed slight movement in his eyes. I couldn't tell if it
was just his eyelids. But it was an irregular pattern, not like a
regular spasm.  Maybe it was just a nervous system twitch, or it
was an REM sleep action. We have no way of knowing. Over the last
few days he has been heavily sedated to keep him calm. This almost
completely shuts off any control he has over his body. But it seems
that now as the sedation decreases his brain is showing a little
sign of activity.

We still don't know the final outcome of his condition. The basic
plan we have for him is to keep him sedated and calm until his
pressure returns to normal. As the pressure drops the doctors
will also drop his sedation, finally removing it completely.
Hopefully at that point he will be able to regain consciousness.

Thanks again to our immediate family, the extended family and
all of the friends, and coworkers from Chase Lumber. The support
and prayers have been truly awesome.

Thanks
Shawn Winrich