Today was a very hard day for Larry, and for me. When I first arrived at the hospital Larry was sleeping very soundly and we had a hard time getting him to open his eyes. The nurse was aware of the fact that he was pretty unresponsive. The medical plan was to watch him for a few hours, let him get some sleep and hope he would become more responsive and alert, or that some symptoms would manifest themselves so they would know what was causing it and how to proceed. We knew that his difficulty could be caused simply by his infection or possibly enlarged ventricles in his brain which would mean a shunt. Time would tell.
Then around 11:00 am, while the nurse was in the room doing some things with him, he suddenly had some acute problems and his heart stopped for a short time (about 15 seconds). It was extremely frightening and brought hurried activity and medical personel. It appears he may have had a seizure that caused the temporary problem with his heart. Luckily his heart started working again quickly on its own. They are now doing a continuous EEG for the next 24 to 48 hours to monitor his brain activity for seizures and watching his heart monitor even more closely. If it appears that he may have future problems, and because of his past heart issues, they will probably need to insert a pacemaker to protect his heart from further similar incidents.
Again today, I was made keenly aware of the great doctors and nurses in the neuro ICU here in this hospital. They are incredibly well trained and work so hard for the best outcome for their patients. I am so thankful for them!! Their jobs are not easy and they work through some of the most difficult situations imaginabe. Their dedication shows through in everything they do. I am so grateful for everything they are doing for us and for the excellent care they give to Larry. They make it so I can sleep at night and find some calm during the day!
This evening Larry was more alert and was resting comfortably. What a day!!
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