April 29, 2010

I guess yesterday we got back the results of the EEG (electroencephalograph--measures activity of the brain). They were concerned that dad had had a seizure. The EEG showed that no seizure activity has taken place. That is good.

This morning they removed the endotracheal tube from his throat and replaced it with a trach tube in his neck. This will help him to continue to breathe on his own with some assist from the ventilator as needed. They also removed his nasogastric tube (tube in his nose that was used to give him "food") and replaced it with a PEG tube (tube surgically sewn into his stomach to bypass the usual route of food and drink). His face looks more like my dad but is still swollen a bit from the trauma. His tongue is swollen due to the tube formally being in his throat but the nurse says that the swelling should come down. They asked us to only come in for 5 minutes at a time after the surgeries until later on this afternoon so that he could rest.

Today has been a hard day for me because I miss being able to call my dad up and talk. I mean I talk to him in his room but he is unable to answer back. They said that 3 days after the accident would probably be the worst---that what happened would hit us. Well, for me it was 5 days. I miss my dad so much.

Okay, I am sorry that I put that personal bit in this blog. I meant for it to be clinical only--what is happening to dad and his progress. It is just very hard.

Julie