Newest Threads

**passedpawn** · 08-25-2010, 01:06 AM

Wow. Bad news sucks. Get better babs!

frankw · 08-25-2010, 03:12 AM

Update:

I brought his wife her laptop and some music for Jeff to listen to, the doctors think it'll be good for him. I actually got a chance to go in and see Jeff. They've got him pretty heavily sedated, so he was not awake. He was fighting a fever and they were cooling him so he was shivering a bit. His color looked good and he looked strong. For some reason I was expecting something much worse.

I hung around and heard the update from the Doctor. They're fairly certain that Jeff has EEE, but they won't know for sure until the test results come back, which will be another couple of days. Until that point they will continue to treat him with a variety of antibiotics for a variety of possible infections. If the tests come back that it is EEE or another viral infection they will discontinue most of the antibiotics and Jeff's body will fight the infection. They will assist him in any way they can, but there is no treatment for EEE. They will work to keep his temperature normal and keep the brain swelling to minimum. And generally try and prevent any secondary damage to his brain. Jeff's a strong guy and in otherwise good health. If anyone can fight this thing, Jeff can. If it somehow turns out to be something they can treat with antibiotics, they will focus on that specific infection and treat it appropriately.

Today we had some positive bits of news. The swelling in Jeff's brain is less than expected. He has not had a seizure in well over 24 hours and because of this they removed the brain scan wires from his head and didn't need to insert a plug in his skull to monitor his brain swelling. His white blood cell count is improving and his temperature is currently back to normal. And while they are assisting his breathing, he is initiating each breath, they're just making it easier for him.

Is this time to run out and celebrate? Definitely not. But we had some forward progress today. Today there is room for hope.

I will try and keep everyone updated.

**the_bird** · 08-25-2010, 11:46 AM

Really good to hear ANY good news. Thanks for keeping us updated.

DrawTap88 · 08-25-2010, 01:34 PM

Glad to hear that he's doing better today than he was yesterday.

Hippie · 08-25-2010, 01:35 PM

Frank, thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear any positives, and you listed several. Hopefully there are no setbacks and he continues to make progress to full recovery.

frankw · 08-25-2010, 11:02 PM

Update: 8/25/2010

I wasn't able to get to the hospital today, but we've got some more positive news. Jeff's white blood cell count is down into the normal range. The results off his CT scan show that his brain swelling has not increased and may have actually decreased slightly.

He underwent a battery of tests when he was first admitted, these tests are to determine what infection he actually has. The results of these test will continue to trickle in over the next few days. The results of some test have shown that was he has is not bacterial. So they will start to back off on the antibiotics and will continue with the antiviral drugs. Some members of the team that are treating him are actually backing away from the EEE diagnosis and leaning to it being a strain of meningitis. If this is true, comparatively speaking, this would be great. Ultimately the EEE test is the only thing that can eliminate the EEE diagnosis.

His temperature has been running pretty close to normal (around 99) over the 30 hours or so. As part of the management of his body temperature, they've got a cooling vest on him. They've also been working to manage shivering. Shivering apparently requires a lot of physical and mental energy. So, they are going to remove the cooling vest and see how he reacts.

Again, he's not out of the woods yet, but we'll definitely take all the positive news we can get.

Bopper · 08-26-2010, 12:55 PM

Thanks for the update, Frank. I'm glad things are getting a little better. I'll continue sending positive vibes to all of you.

DrawTap88 · 08-26-2010, 01:44 PM

Again, glad to hear he is doing better. I've got my fingers crossed that it's not EEE.

frankw · 08-26-2010, 10:53 PM

Update: 8/26/2010

Jeff had an OK day. CT Scan showed the brain swelling is the same as the previous test. They've got his shivering under control and his temperature is normal, but they kept the cooling vest on. They also discontinued one of his sedatives.

Every 6 hours or so, they back off on his sedatives and test is body's reaction. Essentially they bring him somewhat out of it and pinch him to see if he reacts. Usually he'll move his arm or something similar. Today, he didn't focus on anything, but he opened his eyes. It seems a bit dangerous for the nurse, if you ask me. I don't think I'd want to be the one to pinch Jeff to try and get a reaction out of him.

That's all I know at this time.

**olllllo** · 08-26-2010, 11:03 PM

I moved this to General Chit Chat but rest assured that the link will re-direct for a month from General Beer.

Get that bastard healthy by football season dammit!