Hello All -For the few that do not yet know, Chris suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday evening. He stopped breathing for a few minutes but was revived by EMS and taken straight to Holy Name Hospital very close to our house in Teaneck.
UPDATE - The doctors now think that this event was precipitated by pneumonia that had developed over the course of the past few weeks. (Chris could not shake a nagging cough.) There was fluid in his lungs that put stress on his heart to the point where the heart gave out. He is now resting in a sedated state until his lungs have recovered enough for him to breathe on his own (he is getting antibiotics). Until then, neurology will not be able to assess brain activity. This is all I know presently.Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during this time. Please keep this information amongst yourselves right now. I do also request that the texting stop. I cannot keep up with them and I am keeping my phone on in case the hospital calls me while I am resting at home. I have had very little rest in the last couple of days and I really want to be rested for when Chris wakes up, which may not be for a few days. I love you all and I very much appreciate the well wishes. I will continue to update you when I know more.Love, Miriam.
7:40 AM 4/4/12
UPDATE Sue Mee (Yes that is her name - not so good for the Medical Malpractice insurance I am sure), Chris' ICU nurse, called me at 7:15 this morning to tell me that Chris woke up at 5 AM and was responding to commands. He is also bringing up fluid from his lungs. These are both excellent signs. Unfortunately, since he is still on a respirator he needed to be put on more sedation so he does not fight the respirator.
10:55 PM EST 4/4/12
UPDATE Around noon after the sedative was reduced Chris woke up again and squeezed our hands when asked. His eyes tracked our conversation and he really, really responded to his mom's voice. He was still lifting his arms to get the respirator out (who can blame him??) so they upped the sedative again. Around 5 PM the sedative was lowered again so when the neurologist got there about 1/2 hour later he could assess Chris' condition. When the neurologist came in he told us that the EEG from yesterday showed "a severe slowing of brain activity" which relates to a Level A coma. I asked to please define for me what a Level A coma is. He told us people in this condition will open their eyes but they are completely unresponsive. At this point Jim, Rose Ann, Irene and I all looked at each other and someone (I don't remember who) said well he has been responding to us. Terri, the day nurse, walked in and confirmed he responded to her as well. At this point the doctor opened Chris' eyes and put bright light on to check Chris' cornea reaction (there was one). Chris woke up again (who can blame him??). The doctor started talking to Chris (Chris really looked pissed off) and Chris looked right at him. Rose Ann told him to do what the doctor asked. Chris looked right at her when she spoke to him. When the doctor asked him to squeeze his hand, Chris squeezed. At this point the doctor stated, "This is very encouraging." The sedative was not increased and Chris has not been trying to get the respirator out. Around 9 PM Chris again woke up and reacted, but not the way he did earlier to prove the neurologist wrong. Personally, I think that display really wiped him out. But he was responding again and looked at Dave when Dave said "hi".Regarding Chris' lungs, He is bringing up fluid but he still has a 101 degree temperature so the pneumonia is still there. They are weening him off the respirator slowly. He is still on it but I am hoping he will be off it tomorrow or Friday. Once off the respirator the sedative can be removed and the real assessment of Chris' brain function can begin.
10:20 PM 4/5/12
UPDATE Today was a very good day! Unfortunately, Chris is still not tolerating the respirator well so the sedative continues. But, when the sedative was lowered, he was the most reactive he has been since before what I will now dub The Event. He responded to every command from the neurologist and after, he was "talking" to us by shaking and nodding his head to answer questions. In fact, Chris kept tapping on his dad's hand like he wanted to tell us something. Jim finally made a comment like ""I wonder if he could use a pencil and pad?" I said, "There's no way he has enough motor coordination." Jim then suggested a crayon. Chris' eyes lit up and he began nodding. At this point, the day nurse, Terri comes into the room very firmly states, "No!" I kidded Terri by calling her a party pooper but she explained that Chris needed to rest and writing would be WAY too taxing. Later, Megan came to visit and that got Chris really happy, which set off much coughing, proving Terri right about taxing him too much.He still has a fever but today he had some very productive coughs and they will likely try to ween him off the respirator tomorrow. If that goes well, the sedative is gone and we will finally be able to really talk to Chris. After he recovers sufficiently, he will need to be transferred to another facility to get a defibrillator. For now, though, one step at a time. If he gets off the respirator, hopefully he can have more visitors very shortly.Thanks again for all of the love and prayers because they are certainly working!
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