Monday, July 18, 2005

Monday July 18, 2005 Zack’s white count is 12, up slightly from yesterday so he continues to fight this infection. His heart rate and respiratory are good. He qualified to be put on a new antibiotic called Linezolid that only Infectious Decease Control can prescribe. We are very fortunate because all of the other patients in Nuero ICU are on Vancomycian to treat their infection. This new drug was developed to aggressively attack MRSA. Dr Lenhardt says it kills everything but the patient. It is also expensive so they are very picky who is allowed in the program. Now we have Dr Vanmeter from ID following Zack’s infection. Zack had a slight fever through the night that was treated with Motrin. Stephanie (night nurse) said he had a panic attack last night where his Heart Rate reached 150 and Respiratory 45. I saw this happen once before and his eyes are wide open and you can see a sense of panic about him. We just hold his hand, talk to him quietly and he settles down. Fevers can trigger these panic attacks. He still isn’t considered awake but he is not in a coma. Yolanda (day nurse) gives me the best description of his condition. It is like he’s daydreaming. I like that better than the medical term for this phase which is “unresponsive”. At 4:00 PM he is moved to his chair and given physical therapy. He is sitting higher and he can see out the window. It is a beautiful sunny day and Zack seems very interested in looking outside. I talk with Karen his physical therapist and she gives me hope with lots of stories of other patients she has seen recover from head trauma. She tells me that Zack is in the “miracle room”. It is called that because of the patients that were there and thought to be hopeless but recovered. There was a 60-year-old teacher that was totally unresponsive for two months. His wife wouldn’t give up even when they discussed turning off life support. One day he just woke up and today he is teaching again. Or the young man who was there just last February and this month is trying out as the place kicker for his high school football team. I should have known that God’s path would lead Zack to bed 4 where miracles happen. After physical therapy he remains in his chair. He gets a visit from 2 of his friends who happen to be female. He seems to appreciate the change in voices and tries hard to respond to verbal commands for thumbs up. His hand shakes and you can tell he is really trying. I have hope that tomorrow we will begin to get him back to where he was last Wednesday. Epiphany church delivers a healing blanket for Zack. It is still apparent than many people who don’t even know him are diligently praying for his recovery. At 6:00 PM Yolanda tries to brush his teeth. He still keeps them tightly clenched. Scott tells him how nasty his teeth will be and demands that he open his mouth. To their surprise he opens up. It figures that his vanity would make him cooperate. Zack is still in there and we pray that God will wake him up soon. Thankfully Scott’s spirit is lifted for his ride home, which is always hard for him. Keep praying. Thursday is Scott’s birthday and he would like nothing more than Zack to wake up. What a gift from God that would be!