You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice.” When the body undergoes a traumatic experience getting well is a journey with no defined road map. Over the last several days Charlie has made rapid improvements and has dramatically surpassed expectations. Everyday can not be accompanied with such rapid forward progress. Yesterday Charlie showed us he needs to slow down the pace. The goal was to discontinue the use of the ventilator by the weekend. And although Charlie is currently needing very little breathing assistance, a minor bout of pneumonia has slowed his pace and post-poned that goal for a couple of extra days. It is critical that the lungs be healed enough to sustain un-assisted breathing without wearing Charlie out. This is part of the process–we take 5 steps forward, then 1 or 2 backward. Margret Thatcher once said, “you may have to fight the battle more than once to win it.” So we slow down, wait and support Charlie through the healing process. On a positive note, Charlie continues to have increasing amounts of alert and clear consciousness. This is mixed with times of foggy consciousness as well. Today he showed us his ability to respond to some simple requests like squeezing a left or right hand, holding his eyes closed or holding them open. According to the doctor these are all very positive responses. After an accident were the brain is deprived of oxygen, and then heavily sedated for an extended period of time, it has to go through an awakening process–almost like a computer reboot. I know in many of our favorite medical TV dramas, this happens almost instantly. I’ll let you in on a secret: it happens quickly on TV because each episode has to fit into an hour time slot! In real life, it takes time and patience for the brain to recover. How much time is determined by the individual. For all that know Charlie, he has demonstrated explicitly that his desire is to accomplish everything in half the time anyone expects. The nurses and doctors are amazed that a small 10 year old boy can take enough sedative to last 2 hours and wake up after 10 minutes! Repeatedly! Charlie is strong, determined and pushing himself to recover. The rest of us are trying to keep up with him. As always, I want to thank our friends, family and community for the continued support and well wishes. Reading the posts and messages have helped both Rosemary and I keep our spirits and energy up during many long nights of holding Charlie’s hand and providing him comfort. In addition, we appreciate the patience many have shown by holding off on visits. Charlie remains in critical condition in the ICU. There is always much activity. Our desire is to keep stimulation to a minimum until Charlie has awakened fully and no longer requires intensive care. Regards, Kevin Taken from the family blog. Let us continue to lift up this family in prayer!
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 17:34:24 +0000
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