5/1-5/2 Status Report

Things have stabilized. They've removed the breathing tube. He's still suffering from fever (103+), elevated blood pressure (150+) and elevated heart rate (180+). Some of this may be from what ails him, and some may be from the drug cocktail that they've given him to combat the illness. He can talk, but is mostly groggy and/or asleep while everything resolves. He has a five sentence primary moaning vocabulary - 1. "Cold!"; 2. "Itchy!"; 3. "Mommy!"; 4. "Daddy!"; and 5. "What's on Cartoon Network?"

We still don't know what the full underlying problem is. In particular, the high blood pressure has been a constant post-dialysis challenge the past week, but the combination of (1) the renal issues, (2) the C.Diff. infection (which involved 3 hours of vomiting and diarrhea last night) and (3) a potentially infected catheter, may have combined to kick his scrawny little butt.

On the other hand, we've got food. Cathy and Karen have brought a brand new refrigerator and groceries. It's an unbelievable gesture. All we need now is a keg and a grill.

The real high point of my day was receiving an email from our friend Jon, who is a neurologist by trade. The email said, in essence, "Sorry to hear about the latest development. You should know that a seizure doesn't result in actual brain injury". I didn't know that, and it put everything back into context -- which seems to be a continuous theme.

OK- now for some elemertary school brain humor:

What does a brain do when it sees a friend across the street? A brain wave.
What kind of fish performs brain operations? A neurosturgeon.
Why was the neuron sent to the principal's office? It had trouble controlling its impulses.
What do you call a cow that is a brain researcher? A "moo-roscientist."