Buddy’s progress is continuing, but slowly. This morning he had a fever of about 103 degrees, but the fever has gone down tonight. The good news is that there is no sign of infection, which is often the cause of a fever.
Buddy is still able to communicate in some short phrases and continues to recognizing people. Buddy seem to show a little extra response when his grandson Elijah came to visit. Elijah even brought him a few baseball cards to go on Buddy’s wall. Go Cardinals!
Buddy’s condition is known as a PICA – posterior inferior cerebral aneurysm on the leftside of his brain, behind the ear. This is in the cerebellum region of the brain. This is the portion of the brain controls movement, balance, equilibrium, level of awareness/alertness. It will take some time to determine how much of Buddy’s cognitive ability is intact or will return. This is true of his motor skills, as well.
Today’s catscan shows that his ventricles are looking smaller. This means there is less fluid and less pressure on the brain. The staff has been able to reduce the rate at which the fluids are being drained. If the progress still looks good tomorrow, they may be able to remove the drain altogether.
Buddy had a SPECT scan today – single proton emission computerized topography. This scan showed no identifiable brain damage. Much time is still needed to see if there is any damage, but none has been identified to this point. Time will also tell if there are longterm effects from the trauma.
A doppler exam on the blood vessels was conducted today. Blood vessels in the brain can spasm. This exam helps to monitor the frequency and intensity of this spasms. This condition will continue for 7-10 days and will likely stop on its own.
An encouraging sign is Buddy’s ability to move (sometimes much to the chagrin of the nurses.) Buddy has managed to pull out tubes when he finds them uncomfortable. To prevent this he gets to wear these oversized white mittens…kind of look like boxing gloves. He has also been able to sit up for a while today and has rolled on his side when he felt the need. However, Buddy is still doing most of this when he is asleep. He is usually only awake for a few seconds when someone speaks to him. He answers and quickly falls asleep. Sometimes you are just sure that he is preaching in his sleep. He seems to get a bit of a cadence going.
As for the overall progress, Buddy’s son John put it this way, “There’s a lot further to go on the other side (of the recovery) than there has been to this point. It’s still baby steps.”
Please do not cease to pray in intensity or frequency. God is an awesome God.
The family is extremely grateful for the skill, care, and compassion of the doctors and nurses who are taking care of Buddy. The family also continues to express their gratitude for all those who are praying and emailing. Some have asked where they can send cards. (No balloons or flowers, please. Buddy is still in ICU for a long time.) Here’s the address:
Buddy Ellis
SICU #215
325 9th Ave.
Seattle WA 98104-2499
