First, for those who have not heard, Dad is in the hospital because of some bleeding in his brain. It happened yesterday morning when he was home with mom, and she was able to get him to a great local hospital that specializes in brain injuries/strokes very quickly. He had surgery to insert two tubes in his head to drain the blood and fluid away from his brain and relieve the pressure. He has been sedated since coming out of surgery.
Hopefully this is an update for most of you. We appreciate all of your prayers on Dad's behalf. If you are just hearing about this for the first time, I apologize for sharing the news this way. If you would like more detail on what's happening, please email and we'll do our best to fill you in. We've had many people calling to express their concern for Dad, and we really appreciate all the love and support. But the past couple of days have been very hectic, and we haven't had the time to talk with all of you as much as we'd like. So, we'll do our best to keep you all updated this way. But please, if you want to call or text any of us because you're thinking or praying for us, don't feel like we don't want to hear from you! We'd love to chat if we're able.
Today we don't know much more than we did yesterday. There is still blood in his brain, and he is still sedated. The nurses are lifting the sedation every hour or two so they can check his movements. When Mom and I visited him this morning, they had just lifted the sedation, and he was moving both of his legs and his left arm pretty well. The nurse subsequently restrained his arms, because he was pulling at one of the tubes on his head, and another one taped to his chest. He had his eyes open, and lifted his head off the bed. He clearly knew Mom, and was looking intently at her, and raising his left hand. She knew he was concerned about his wedding ring, which they don't allow patients to wear in the ICU. In the 46 years they've been married, Dad had never taken it off. She has been carrying it with her, and she held it up and showed it to him, and told him not to worry. He clearly understood, and relaxed back onto his pillow after that.
Later in the day, after BJ and Heather had picked up Kate from the Tampa airport, we all went for a visit along with Aunt Jean. Dad was sedated and resting comfortably. It's difficult for everyone to see him hooked up to all the monitors with tubes all over the place, but the doctors feel things are going well. Thanks to Aunt Jean's friend, Dr. Casola, we've heard that Dad was operated on by a top notch surgeon, and he feels Dad will have some weakness on his right side, but that there is still much room for improvement. We won't know what we can expect for a while yet, as his brain is still irritated, but we are hoping things will begin to become clear over the next few days.
We'll update when we know more.
Love to you all -
Debbie, Kristen, BJ, Heather and Kate Hall
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