An Ill Wind

In the last 24 hours things have taken a noticeable change for the worse.

It's difficult to pinpoint precisely when this happened or what triggered it. Over the weekend, he was confused and certainly slept most of the time. But he was communicative and responsive. Sometime Sunday he became more confused and resistant to the treatment he was receiving in the ICU. He was given medications to help him relax. And he did.

We weren't concerned, honestly we were glad to see him get some rest. This rest continued through Monday, and again, nobody was overly concerned. At least, not until Monday night.

I received a call from Mom this morning, explaining the activities of the previous evening. When the RN came online for the night shift, he was troubled that Dad wouldn't respond to my brother and sister. They were visiting, and he wouldn't open his eyes. He contacted one of the various doctors that are involved in Dad's care, and a scan was ordered.

The scan was shipped off to Australia for review (some sort of night scanning service) and they flagged it for alert. I don't know precisely what they saw, but it led them to the conclusion that the pressure was too high inside his skull.

Several other steps fell into place here, involving more scans, and more consultations with doctors. It was at this point that they surgically installed a complicated system of tubes and bags to release some of the fluid that was building up, increasing the pressure inside his head. I'm told that he was noticeably improved the second that the system was put into place.

All of this is second-hand really. By the time I saw him today, the tube was in place, and he was calm and sleeping. He wouldn't or couldn't open his eyes or talk, but I did manage to hold hands with him briefly. He's largely unresponsive to stimulation, but does occasionally make some sort of movement in an apparent attempt to become more comfortable.

I don't know what to say, except that I feel a little bit like I've been blind-sided by this. While nobody expected the second (or first) stroke, he was still himself most of Friday. Even Saturday and Sunday I was confident that he'd be home soon, and would be able to resume therapy where he left off. The hospital staff seem confident, if not pleased with themselves, that they caught this recent situation and acted accordingly. I'm sure they have, it's just a little bit shocking to see him deteriorate so quickly in the last 24-36 hours.