The rest of today

Most of the day was rather frustrating to us today. Randy's mom and I were at the point that we were going to actually stay the night there at the hospital. But someone, I believe from Randy's work, is related to one of the head nurse's in the section that Randy is in. We called the sister and she came in and really took care of Randy. By the time we left he was looking so much more comfortable and so much more relaxed. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to whoever called and gave my mother-in-law the name and number and to the sister nurse. Thanks to you guys, we were able to feel confident enough to come home and get some rest.

Earlier today, Randy started really breathing heavily ~ he seemed like he was really stressing to breath. I went to grab the nurse and she came in and cleaned out this mouth and nose, but he kept sounding distressed. So I got the nurse to call the respiratory people. They said that Randy was breathing more through his mouth now, where as before he was breathing through his nose. By breathing through his mouth, it was drying his mouth out and it creates almost like a cast in the back of the throat, making it very difficult to breath. The respiratory person cleaned him all out and put a mask on him that gives his mouth moisture needed to not have that happen again.

The other issue we had to deal with was the infection. By the time we left they still had not done the lumbar puncture. They will probably do it tomorrow morning. The infectious disease doctor said that Randy definitely has an infection in the area that they had the tubes in his upper chest where they put his medicine in. He gave orders to have that taken off. The head nurse (the friend's sister) did that herself. We should know tomorrow if Randy has meningitis as well. Since they weren't able to do the test right away, the infectious disease doctor went ahead and started Randy on a secondary antibiotic ~ so right now he is getting two very strong antibiotics. He really was so much better by the time that we left this evening.

The head nurse also got Randy on the list for a private room. Once he gets that, I will be able to stay in the room with him during the night. I will post the new room number once he gets moved ~ she said it should be at the latest of Monday unless something major gets in the way.

I think that is all of the updates from today.

Small Update

Since Randy's fever hasn't diminished with the antibiotics, the doctors turned to the infectious disease doctors. A doctor from that group came in and talked to me a bit about Randy's symptoms. Right now, he is thinking Randy has meningitis. He put in the request for a lumbar puncture to verify. Until that comes back, he is changing Randy's antibiotics a bit (he said it is just broader).

Good news, though, is that Randy responded to his name. The doctor came in and said his name a few times to him and Randy raised his eyebrows. The doctor said that when we get whatever is causing the fever taken care of, we should see an increase in Randy's mental capacity.

Today

Before I go into the updates of today, I have to tell about this picture of Randy. I got a cell phone that has picture caller id. Randy, without me knowing, took this picture of himself with my phone and set it up with his cell number so everytime he called me this picture came up. It made me laugh every time!

Okay, for the updates today, they checked the left side of Randy's face. He has a facial fracture that is right by the main nerve that affects facial expressions. It appears that the upper part of his face is responding to stimulus, but there is muscle in the lower part of his face, the one right by his mouth, that is not responding. They did not know yet what actions they were going to take to deal with that.

The results from the EEG (the test for the brain activity to see if Randy was having seizures) were very confusing. I tried to get the doctor to clarify, but he was very vague. I am going to push him more tomorrow. What he said was that it didn't seem that Randy was having seizures, but it did appear that there was a slowing in the brain activity. I asked if the slowing was normal and all he would say that it sometimes happens in these cases and they were not at the point of being concerned or at a point that they were going to do anything about it. I didn't really like that response and wish I had something more clear.

One thing we did experience that gave us hope today was, when one of the doctors who had done the EEG came in to see how we were doing today, he opened Randy's eyes to look at them, and once they closed, Randy opened them halfway (the right more so than the left). It felt good. We don't know if it was just a reflex, but it felt good.

I really wanted to thank everyone that came by today and prayed with/for us and shared their stories. Everyone that has contacted us over the last 9 days has, just by showing you care about how Randy is doing, has helped us through this time. Today, we got to here so many stories of people that have been through things similar to Randy and have made it through. It really helped ~ it gave us encouragment. We also went to the support group that the hospital has once a week and we got to hear stories of people who themselves have been through head injuries as well as family members who have and are dealing with it. It really helped today.

For an update on the other people involved in the accident: it is confirmed that the man who caused the entire thing does not have insurance. I will be contacting an attorney in the next few days to find out my options with that. The man that actually hit Randy stopped by my house tonight. I was home, but my daughter and my sister met him. From what they have told me about him, he was very concerned about Randy and how he was doing. He left his phone number. I might try to call him tomorrow. It means a lot to me that he came here to check on him.

I think that is all of the updates at this time.

So far today

There hasn't been much change from yesterday. The nurse said he ran fever throughout the night, but she said it did come down this morning. Hopefully it stays down. The doctor has not been in yet, but we ran into him in the elevator and he told us he would definitely come by today. He still has the shakes, but I don't know if it is the storming or if something else is causing it.

Cass came to visit yesterday and had a hard time ~ she heard someone say the word "coma" in regards to Randy. I guess she learned about that at school and she learned that sometimes people don't wake up from them.

It is really hard to leave him at night. Through this I have really began to learn how to give things over to God. He has been an amazing presence throughout this last week. Randy seems to improve each day, sometimes a little sometimes a lot, and I give all of the credit to HIM! I feel that when Randy was dealing with the sleep apnea, God was there making sure he got enough oxygen because Randy's levels didn't drop even with the short times of not breathing. I firmly believe that He is there, strengthening Randy's body, preparing him to wake up.

I will give more updates after the doctor has come to visit.

Rest of Today

Thanks to our friend Kelli, we got some more answers this evening ~ so far we haven't had more than a few seconds at a time with a doctor. But the head nurse came in and talked to us for a while and tomorrow morning the nurses will make sure a doctor comes in to talk to us. We know that Randy had a cat scan yesterday, but we have never heard the results. It would be nice to even hear that there have been no changes.

We did not get the results of the EEG (the test they ran on Randy for the seizures) today. We should get them tomorrow. One of the men that did the test told us to talk to him because he believes he can hear us (he said that he believed there was brain activity when he was talking to Randy and doing stimulus).

The nurse did tell us that the storming espisodes will eventually subside, which is good news.

Randy is still dealing with fever and they still don't know what is causing the fever. They started him on very strong anti-biotics tonight to hopefully take care of whatever is causing it.

He has something going on with his knees ~ we noticed one of them was very red and it was very hot to the touch. Then a little while later, it seemed to move to the other knee. Then it was on both knees. A doctor came and looked at it. We were concerned because that can be a sign of blood clots. The doctor said he didn't think it was blood clots because they had just ran a test to test to detect them. He ordered some blood tests to try to determine the cause of that.

This is everything that I can remember at this time. From all of those that visited today, if I have forgotten anything, definitely post it!!

I want to thank everyone for the continued support.

Facilities

I went back to the social worker and told absolutely no on the facility in Auburn and had him check on the three listed in comments section (the Good Samaritan, the UW, and Northwest Hospital). He said those three will not work ~ it needs to be a sub acute facility, so a nursing home.

The social worker contacted the insurance company and got a list of their preffered places and from that list, he gave me some that he has heard have been good. Of the two that he has said are good, 2 are located at least somewhat close to where we live.

They are Stafford Healthcare in Des Moines and Hallmark Manor in Federal Way. Another one he marked as good was Providence Marianwood in Issaquah.

So if anyone has had any experiences or has any feedback on these, it would be much appreciated. I really want to make sure he has amazing care wherever he has to go!

Updates for today

When we got here this morning, Randy seemed to be resting well. The nurse said there were not any major episodes throughout the night.

I guess the head nurse from last night told Randy's dad they might have a concern that the is having seizures and will run a test to verify. When they have been checking his pupils, sometimes they are responsive, sometimes not. He has also been shaking, which is a bit different than the storming episodes (with storming, it seems that his right arm and leg move in a flexing manner and his right arm grabs at anything around it).

Also, shortly after we got here, a social worker came in to talk to us. Randy needs physical therapy right now. He can't be in the Harborview program until he is able to participate. So as soon as they get the medical issues resolved (which would be the fever and the storming episodes), Randy will need to be moved to another facility that can do intensive rehab on him. The name of the place they have given us is North Auburn Rehab ~ it is somewhat close to home. I looked it up on this website: http://memberofthefamily.net/watch/505195.htm and don't really like what I see so far. So, if anyone out there has recommendations, please let me know as soon as possible. Even if it isn't right by home, I want to make sure he goes into a place where he is going to get the best care.

Well, I think that is it for the updates this morning. I will post more as they come up.

A little rougher today

Today was a bit harder.

As I posted earlier today, were were dealing with the apnea. To me, it did seem to get better throughout the day, but they are continuing to watch it.

No one gave us an update on the ultrasound, but everyone keeps saying that no news is good news.

Randy struggled with a fever throughout the day. We tried to keep him cooled down ~ some with medication but too much could damage the liver, so we had a fan going on him most of the day, we had ice packs all over him and we changed out the washcloth on his head regularly.

He is still having the storming episodes, but they don't seem to be as big as they were the first couple of days. I don't know if that is because I am getting use to them or they really have gone down some.

When we left this evening, he seemed to be resting well.

I will post more updates tomorrow ~ I think my mind has come to the point of not being able to focus anymore!

Address to send stuff to

People have asked for an address to send cards and stuff to Randy. Here is where things can be sent:

Randy Rush
c/o Neurosciences Unit
3 West hospital
Box 359822
325 Ninth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104-2499


Randy is in room # 379 ~ they moved him in the middle of the night. Currently they are watching his breathing closely ~ he has apnea. He will stop breathing for 5 to 15 seconds. It was really hard to deal with this morning and it makes it very difficult for me to leave the room - I just want to stare at this chest none stop!

This afternoon he has been resting well. They just took him down to do ultrasound to ensure he has no blood clots (it is preventative, not because they think he does).

We put a book in his room for visitors to sign to help us keep track of who has been here. A couple of the nurses so far have signed it and left little notes. They have been so wonderful here. The nurse we have today has been so great at making sure we understand what is going on and answering any questions we have.

So far, that is all the update I have for today...

Small Improvements

Today felt like a good day.

Randy is currently still in the NICU (the neuro intensive care unit), but only because they don't have a bed for him on the floor he is schedule to go to. Yesterday, they put in orders to have him moved to the 3 floor in the west part of the building. This is definitely a good thing ~ he will be in the critical care unit, but he doesn't need the level of care of the ICU.

They had Randy sitting up in a chair a couple of times today (see picture above)~ this is good for the swelling in the brain, his equilibrium, his blood pressure, prevention of pneumonia, and quite a few other things. He had a few of his storming episodes today, but they were a lot less severe than the ones he had yesterday, which means the meds they are using are definitely helping.

Today, it really seemed to us that he was responding some to our voices. We don't know if this is the actual case or if our talking to him just coincided with some of the storming, but it gives us hope. We also some some blinking in his eyes, which is new and we are taking as a good sign.

The only bad news we got today was regarding the man who is the cause of all of this. From what I have been told, at the scene of the accident he was very uncooperative and was not taking responsibility. My insurance agent brought me Randy's work computer today and a couple of other things she was able to get out of the car. She told us that the man has been changing his story, first saying he might have been going a little too fast but now saying he was cut off by someone else so it wasn't his fault. He has still not provided any insurance information. He is flat out refusing to cooperate. At this point, it is really sounding like he is not insured. I ask everyone to pray for him ~ pray for his heart.

We also want to thank everyone for all of their support. A dear friend of Randy's mowed the lawn yesterday while we were at the hospital ~ we have had so many people offer. We wanted to thank everyone for all of the comments they have left so far, for flowers and cards sent to the hospital, and the food. Thank you all for showing how much you love Randy.

What Happened to my Randy

Tuesday June 20th - shortly after I arrived home, I called Randy's cell phone to see where he was at. We were going on week 2 of his new commute from Everett. He was so excited about his new job but neither of us were liking the commute. It had seemed that almost every night so far, when we talked while he was driving home, I could hear sirens in the background and I knew that meant it would be a couple of hours before he would get home.

This night, when Randy's phone was answered, I could hear the normal sirens. I had a fleeting thought of teasing him of how he couldn't stay away from those sirens. But it wasn't Randy's voice on the other end that answered. It was a strange "Hello". I responded with "Who is this?". The voice on the other end paused, and repeated the question back to me, "Who is this?". I asked the question again, but got the same response. I pulled the phone away from me to ensure I had dialed the right number ~ sure enough, it said "Randy" on the caller id. I explained to the man that I was calling my husband and this was his phone. Then I heard the words that no one wants to hear ~ my husband had been in a car accident. I asked if he was okay. Again, there was a pause. Then a "Well, he is breathing. We are taking him to Harborview Medical Center. You better get down there". They tried to ask me some questions about him, I am not sure if I answered. I just remember seeing my daughter's face ~ the panic, the fear. I remember trying to reassure her that he was going to be fine, and then I left her at the neighbors house as one of the neighbors took me to the hospital.

What I have learned of what happened (I don't have the witness statements yet, just second hand information): Randy was sitting at a complete stop in the far right-hand lane of I-5. The lane to him was also stopped and in that lane, there wasn't a car right next to him, but a little bit back from from where he was at. Someone driving a Ford Taurus came up in that lane doing approximately 60 mph. The Taurus couldn't stop in time to not hit the car in the lane next to Randy so the Taurus went into the HOV lane. In the HOV lane was a boxed truck (a service truck). The Taurus clipped the backend of the car in the lane next to Randy, then hit the boxed truck in the HOV lane. The boxed truck hit the median, lost control, and hit Randy right in the driver's side door right where Randy was sitting. Randy was unresponsive whenthe paramedics got there. They had to cut the top of the car off to get him out.

Randy's injuries and what has happened after: He had a decompressed skull and a collapsed lung. The night of the accident they did surgery to mend the decompressed skull (they put a plate in to fix it). He seemed to come through the surgery quite well. He has had some swelling, but that is typical of the injury. Right after the surgery, he had a breathing tube and some tubes coming out of his side for his collapsed lung. Over the last few days, he has been able to get rid of both of those. His lungs seems to be doing well and he is breathing on his own with just a bit of oxygen being provided.

He does have what is called brain shears. It is caused by the brain being shaken up, essentially. What is entails is basically, the brain is sending messages to the body and the body is getting mixed signals ~ it isn't getting the right signals. He moves his arm and leg around (currently just his right side ~ he isn't really moving his left and we don't know why yet), his heart rate goes way up, he sweats more than I have seen anyone sweat before, and sometimes he moans. These episodes take up so much of his energy that his body isn't able to get the rest it needs to heal so they are currently trying to control these episodes with medications. When I left the hospital tonight, he was resting very well, so it seems the meds are starting to do their thing.

Everyone at the hospital has really tried to stress to me that these type of injuries take time to heal. They have said it over and over again. In my mind, though, I see him waking up next week. They told me tonight that it might be days, weeks or months before Randy wakes up. We won't know the full effects of the head inury until Randy wakes up. Some have tried to prepare me, telling me he might have amnesia and not remember anyone or anything, he might not be able to talk, his personality might be different. The fact is, they don't know and won't know until he wakes up to show up what is going on in his brain.

So many people from Randy's work have come by to visit and have said such wonderful things about him. I can't even begin to express how much this means to me. I know Randy is a brilliant and a great man, but it feels so good to hear others talk about him and what he means to them.

Right now I am taking things one minute at a time. He is the person that balances me out. Being without him, I feel lost. I want to trade places with him.

I want to thank all of those who have included Randy in their prayers. My pastor told me that there is going to be a miracle. That is what is currently keeping me going ~ the belief that God is going to show his power and his love and his grace through the healing of Randy.