Mon Feb 28 6 PM

Bev had a busy day today.  By the time I arrived the splints/casts on both her arms had been removed and replaced with bandages. This must have been very tiring and I couldn't get much response from her.  Around 12:30 a physiotherapist showed up for her first visit and gave Bev's arms and legs a real workout.  At times Bev was not pleased with the attention.  After that Bev had no time for me and immediately went to sleep. My sister and Mother arrived around 2:30.  Bev was awake for their visit and Mum got a smile from Bev. That pleased everyone including the nurse. The nurse said she hadn't seen Bev so alert for days.  Bev has acquired a nasty bug that is very resistant to anti-biotics. She will probably remain inisolation for at least 1 more week with visitors required to wear gowns and gloves.

It is now 3 weeks since Bev's accident.  During those 3 weeks Bev's progress seemed to be very very slow, at times she seemed to be going backwards.  During the first 24 hours after the accident I feared Bev wasn't going to make it.  Everyone from the paramedics at the scene to the doctors at the hospital said Bev's injuries were very grave and I should be prepared for the worst.  Now when I look at Bev I can't believe how far she has come.  To look at her now she looks like the Bev I knew before the accident. All of the bruising and swelling on her face is gone, all the tubes going into her body are gone. All the exotic drugs keeping her alive are gone, both Bev's eyes are open, she tries to communicate thru wiggling her toes and using facial expressions that fully convey what she thinks about what you are saying to her. Since her arrival at St. Mikes she seems to get better every day.

None of this would have been possible without everyones support, her family and Canadian friends plus the people we met in the US who helped me out and prayed for Bev.  People on the scene, people staying in the neighbouring cabins where we stayed, even the towtruck driver and his friends in the local Honda Goldwing club who were praying for Bev. The doctors and nursing staff at University Hospital were terrific with Bev and they also took the time to see that Kim, Sherri and I were taken care of.  The nurses on the aircraft flying Bev home did a great job working with Bev constantly during the flight to keep her stable and keep her chest clear so she could breathe until we could get her to St. Mikes.

There is one person who made Bev's trip home possible by arranging a bed for Bev at St. Mikes virtually overnight.   A friend of a friend, someone that Bev and I have never met. Someone who wishes to remain anonymous.  How can I thanks someone like that.

Many of Bev's friends and family have been offering help if we needed it. Some wanted to send flowers.  All of these offers are appreciated but right now I can't think of anything I need and Intensive Care doesn't allow flowers ( Bev's not that big on cut flowers anyway ) so one of Bev's family suggested we all get together, take the money we would have spent on flowers, pool it and donate it to St. Mikes as a way of thanking
person mentioned above.  I spoke with a lady at the hospital this morning to find out if St Mikes has a way to help set this up.  We now have a donations account at St. Mikes called " Best wishes for Beverley Owen". So now instead of flowers we can all send a little money to help out the hospital.

Donations can be mailed to:

St. Michael's Foundation
30 Bond Street
Toronto, On M5B 1W8

Donations can be made by phone: 416-864-5000

Donations can be made on line   www.stmichaelsfoundation.com

Just mention "Best wishes for Beverley Owen"

Questions can be addressed to Cynthia Collantes  416-864-5879

My sincere thanks to everyone for your support.

Dave

Sun 6 PM

Bev had a quiet day today.  When we arrived she was less responsive than yesterday and preferred to spend most of the day sleeping.  During those periods when she was awake it was hard to get her to work with us on wiggling her toes etc. At one point she did stickout her tongue when I asked her to. I'm not sure whether she was sticking it out for me or at me.  Bev has been moved to a more secluded area in Intensive Care and the isolation rules for visitors will still apply for the next few days. This means gowns and gloves before going in the room.

Sat 7 PM

Now that Bev is in St Mikes I don't get back to my computer 3 times a day to update the blog.  From now on I will only be able to update once a day.  Bev had another good day today. Some family and 2 old public school friends stopped by.  I'm sure Bev recognized all of them, even if she can't talk she is learning thru facial expressions and eye movements to get her message across.  Both eyes are open now, still her left more than her right. Her temp and blood pressure remain stable, the fever seems to have left but the chest and lung congestion remains. Until the congestion clears up Bev will remain on the respirator and stay in Intensive Care.  We don't have the results from any of the tests done on Bev at St Mikes yet, hopefully on Monday.

Fri 4:30

Bev seems to be settling in to her new room at St. Mikes.  She seems more alert each day. Her left eye is open all the way and her right eye is coming open a little more each day. Bev still can't open her mouth although she is definitely trying. She can wiggle her toes so we tried to start communications by asking her to wiggle for yes.  It seems to be working, I hope we aren't just fooling ourselves. So far all her answers are "yes"  We will have to work on a signal for "no".  Bev is starting to have a little bit of facial expression so if she's not happy about something it's easy to tell.  She seems to recognize new visitors (other than Kim, Sherri and I ). 

Bev can now have visitors. Right now all visitors have to put on a gown and gloves before seeing Bev.  This should be over by Monday.  2 visitors at a time are allowed in Intensive care and please don't bring anything for Bev as she can't keep anything in her room. Visiting hours are from 11 AM to 7 PM and 8 PM to 9 PM. Anyone wanting to visit please call me or e-mail and I will give you directions on how to find her in the hospital.

owenfam@live.ca

905-727-5220

Thur 1:45 PM

Hi,

Some people have been asking how Bev handled the flight home. The following is an extract from an e-mail to my sister.

Yes, Bev did have a hard time with the flight.  It is impossible to say how much she is aware of when her eye is open. We haven't been able to be absolutely sure she is making contact with us although we are convinced she knows we are there as she follows us closely when we move and seems to have real intelligence and comprehension in her eye. You can also see a lot of aprehension in her eye when things start to happen.  The flight was rough for her from all of the jostling to get her on an ambulance stretcher, into an ambulance and then squeeze her into the aircraft. The space inside the aircraft is very cramped and confining.  At best there is just enough room for 2 family members and 2 nurses plus Bev (plus the pilots of course ) but the 2 family members would be almost sitting on top of each other. During the flight Bev's heart rate went up, her blood pressure increased and she had considerable trouble trying to breathe on the portable respirator.  All of the moving around must have loosened up the congestion in her lungs and she had to be suctioned quite often to keep her airways free of congestion.  The nurse administered a sedative during the flight but Bev didn't settle down until she was in St. Mikes and had received another sedative. By the time I left her this morning she was resting comfortably. 

The time it took from being in her room in San Antonio to being in her room in Toronto was 4.5 hours. The actual flight from liftoff to touchdown was 2 hours and 5 minutes. If you have flown commercial you may not believe it. The Learjet is very fast and with a 60 mph tailwind was doing a groundspeed of over 900 mph according to the pilot.

As far as visiting is concerned, I expect it will be open to anyone by the weekend.  2 people at a time. Visiting hours 11AM to 9 PM with an hour break from 7-8 for a nursing shift.  Today and tomorrow the hospital will be starting from scratch with Bev so she will be undergoing a lot of tests. Jackie is there today.  I will go tomorrow along with Bev's brothers if they wish.

I will keep in touch as the situation at St Mikes gels.

Dave
Jackie just called to say Bev's left eye is open and her right eye is partially open, she is wiggling her toes.  Jackie confirms it is hard to tell just how much Bev comprehends at this point, so anyone thinking of visiting Bev should be aware of this.

Feels good to be home in spite of the cold that hit me hard when I got off the plane. Nothing like a ride in an ambulance up Yonge St from the Gardiner to St Mikes with the sirens going to get your adrenaline pumping.

Wednesday Night

I'm home - back in Ontario.  My Aunt Jackie picked me up and I'm here having a late dinner.  Dad will be flying in with Mum and Sherri has booked a flight for tomorrow.

It's wonderful that Mum is coming home to Canada but please be reminded that she is being transferred from the ICU in Texas to ICU here.  We appreciate everyone's prayers and thoughts but want to remind everyone that flowers are not accepted in the ICU and visitations will be for immediate family only until Mum is settled in.  The hospital here will likely want to run it's own tests and such so it will be a busy few days for Mum.  We will still be updating the blog to keep everyone informed of Mum's status.

Kim

Tuesday 5:30 pm

Bev and Dave will be returning home tonight by Lear jet. Bev goes straight to St. Michael's intensive care. They should arrive 3:00 am Thursday.

Tuesday 12:30 pm

Bev's status is the same. No word yet on return to Toronto.

Tues 10:45 PM

Bev was resting comfortably all evening.  Her fever is improving and the congestion in her chest has also lessened considerably.  Bev continues to have her eyes open a good part of the time and seems to be taking everything in.  She does get tired and by the time we left she seemed to be falling off to sleep.

Tues 6:15 PM

We had another good visit with Bev this afternoon.  She still has a lot of congestion in her lungs. Her pulse and blood pressure remain stable and her temp is stable just under 100. When we arrived Bev had her left eye open and her right eye continues to be partially open from time to time. Bev was alert all afternoon, we continue to talk to her, read to her and play music. Bev opens her mouth more often.  The doctors are optimistic that Bev will be able to be transfered to intensive care at a Toronto hospital soon.

Tues 1 PM

Bev was awake and alert when we arrived this morning.  Her left eye was open and her right eye was partially open. Bev follows me with her eyes as I walk around the bed and she seems to look directly at Sherri and Kim when they are beside her.  Bev will wiggle her toes most of the time when asked. Bev still won't open her mouth but sometimes she does seem to be trying to.  Bev's temperature has dropped to just below 100 and her pulse is now in the low 90s.  The doctors did a full scan of her chest and abdomen and that seems to be clear. Bev still has congestion in her lungs but it didn't seem as bad this morning.  The doctors seem pleased with her progress.

Tues 8:30 AM

The doctors used the camera to look at Bev's bronchial tubes and lungs before we arrived yesterday evening, they also took more samples of the fluid buildup for analysis.  They are looking for the source of infection that is causing Bev's fever.  By the time we arrived Bev was sleeping and stayed that way for the rest of the evening.  Bev's pulse remains slightly elevated between 100 and 115.  Her blood pressure is stable and her temp remains around 101.

Mon 5:30 PM

Bev is still on the respirator and her temp is still hovering around 101. The doctors will be using a camera to get a good look inside her lungs.  The key to getting Bev home is to get her off the respirator and that won't happen until Bev's lungs clear up.  Bev's left eye was open most of the time during our visit this afternoon. She opened her right eye a little bit on a couple of occasions as well.  Bev seemed to be more alert, she wiggled her toes when asked and we had more of a feeling that we were making contact.

Mon 12 AM

Bev is still on the respirator and still running a fever around 100.  The preliminary tests on the fluid in her lungs has come back negative. The indepth results will take 1 more day.  Bev's left eye was open when we arrived and stayed open for quite some time. Bev continued to open her left eye perhaps 5 or 6 times during the morning. She seems to follow with her eye if you move to one side or the other.  She still does not respond to requests to open her mouth or wiggle her toes and fingers.

Mon 8:45 AM

Bev was back on the respirator all last evening.  She is still running a temperature of 100 deg F.  The congestion and fluid in her lungs is still a concern and a sample has been taken for analysis.  Bev spent a quiet evening, only opening her eye when the nurses moved her.

Sun 4:30 PM

Bev has been on the respirator all afternoon. Every time the respirator is removed Bev breathes on her own for 3 to 5 hours and then her Broncial and COPD problems start to kick in and the respirator has to be put back on.  The doctors are giving Bev medicine to help her lungs now, and the next time she is removed from the respirator Bev will have a medication close to the puffer she uses at home for her lungs.  Bev's pulse is higher than the doctors would like, around 117, so they gave Bev a blood transfusion. Apparently a little extra blood in the veins allows the heart to not work as hard.

Sun 12:30 PM

Bev was put back on the respirator at 2 AM. She was having difficulty breathing and becoming anxious. She was taken off again at 8 AM and lasted until 11 AM. Bev is back on it now. Bev has a lot of congestion built up in her lungs over the last 2 weeks and breathing on her own is helping to break it up. Moving her to keep her comfortable also loosens the congestion.  This causes some blockage in the trachea tube and makes it difficult for Bev to breathe. The tube gets suctioned out regularly but it still brings on anxiety when it starts to build up in the tube. Bev having COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) doesn't help.

Sun 9 AM

Bev was off the respirator by the time we arrived to visit yesterday evening.  The respirator is no longer hooked up at all. Bev was still breathing on her own when we left for the hotel at 10:30. Her breathing is shallow and fairly rapid, there is a supply of oxygen coming to the opening of her trachea breathing tube to make sure she gets enough.  The volume of air going in and out is not enough to make the doctors happy but it is getting close.  Bev's pulse and blood pressure have remained stable.  Bev did open her eye a couple of times when the nurses were moving her around.

Sat 4:40

The doctors have been slowly removing all of the things that have been keeping Bev's body stable for the last 2 weeks. Bev no longer requires blood pressure medicine or pain killer or sodium chloride.  The tent type blanket that was warming her legs has been removed. Today the doctors have removed the special blanket that Bev was laying on that cooled her when her temp went up and warmed her when her temp went down.  Bev is no longer receiving magnesium for her shivers so hopefully the fever is under control.  At 3:30 today the respirator was put on standby mode. Bev is now breathing on her own for awhile as a test to see if she can be removed from the respirator permanently.  In short, Bev's body seems to be on the way to recovery.  Her brain is not recovering at such a quick pace.  The times that Bev does open her eye and seems to understand us are far too few and far too short.  I suppose that this is to be expected given the stroke on the left side of her brain and the damage from the injury to the right side of her brain.  We will all just have to be patient and give her time.

Sat 1:15 PM

Bev was stable and quiet when we arrived this morning at 9:30.  Still on 1 chest tube, magnesium for shivers and occasionally insulin to keep her blood sugar normal.  We talked to Bev, asking her to open her eye or mouth or wiggle her toes, Sherri also reads to her.  At 11:10 Bev opened her left eye and seemed to be looking from sided to side to see us.  This time Bev kept her eye open for 30 minutes which is unusual. We asked her to open her mouth and a couple of times she seemed to be really trying. This time Bev's blood pressure and pulse remained stable for the whole time.  After 30 minutes Bev was tired of the whole thing, closed her eye and went back to sleep.

Sat 7:30 AM

Jack and Rick just left for home with the car and bikes on the trailer. Their route home takes them past Nashville so they may not get home for awhile.

Bev is still fighting a fever.  She opened her eye when asked on 2 occasions last evening and opened her mouth when asked on one occasion.  The physiotherapists are exercising her fingers and legs and this causes Bev some pain so she is on a mild sedative. This may be suppressing her ability to respond when she is asked to do something.

Friday 6:30pm

Mum hasn't shown too much change today.
The therapist showed us some stretches this afternoon that we can do on Mum's legs, arms and fingers periodically through out the day.  Mum was cringing her face and showing a reaction to the stretches but the therapist encouraged us to dp these several times a day.
In between the morning and afternoon visit Sherri and I went to a used book store and bought a book to read to Mum - Scarlette the sequel to Gone with the Wind.  We can't help but giggle when we read it but we hope Mum enjoys hearing additional stories of Scarlette and Rhett.
In short - not a whole lot to report today.

Friday 9:30am

There really weren't any changes with Mum last night.

This morning Dad is at the hospital with Jack and Rick.  Sherri and I are getting ready to head over shortly for our visit.

Thursday 4:50pm

This afternoon while Dad drove out to pick up the trailer and bikes Sherri and I went to see Mum at the hospital.  When we arrived there were a team of people in the room all trying to give Mum thier attention.  They are playing with Mum's respirator to find the right set up of breaths, air flow and so on and now they will be monitoring her Co2 output.
Mum also got a new pair of boots this afternoon for her feet.  They are designed to keep her toes pointed upwards while lying down (usually when a person lays down thier toes point forward) and they will also help with ventilating her feet and preventing bed sores.
Mum also had the left tube removed from her chest, so she is now down to one.

Thurs 12:15 PM

About 1 hour after we arrived this morning Bev opened her left eye. Up until then she seemed to be sleeping. Bev kept looking around at Kim, Sherri and myself. She seemed to know us. The nurse said Bev seemed very alert. Bev's heart rate jumped quite high and her blood pressure shot up. The nurse gave us some time to try and connect with Bev.  I was able to get Bev to open her mouth once and also close her eyelid. We seemed to be making a connection. Bev's right eye was also trying to open. The nurse gave Bev a sedative to calm her down and slowly she closed her eye and seemed to go back to sleep.

The doctors took Bev completely off the respirator for 30 minutes before we arrived. Bev started to become anxious in her breathing so they put her back on the respirator. The respirator is now set to a mode that encourages Bev to do more breathing on her own. When she exhales some comes out through her mouth and she seems to be trying harder to breathe on her own.  The doctors are planning to remove 1 of the remaining chest tubes soon.

We have been told that Bev will have to be off the respirator for at least 2 days before they can plan to send her home.  Optimistically Bev could come home in about 1 week to 10 days.

Thur 7:15 AM

Bev was having a quiet evening by the time we left her at 10:30.  Bev opened her eye once for me just for a few moments.  The nurses and doctors have a much easier time getting Bev to open her eye, wiggle her toes and even try to open her mouth. One doctor explained to me that Bev's brain is probably conditioned to ignore the sound of my voice. Smart doctor, he must be married. Still waiting for results to see if Bev has an infection which may be causing her fever. The shivers seem to be under control. Both chest tubes remain turned off. Bev still needs some insulin occasionally to control her blood sugar.

I will be travelling to Bandero today to pick up the bikes and trailer and bring them to San Antonio. Jack and Rick along with all their air miles will arrive tonight and drive our Escape, bikes and trailer back to Aurora. Sherri and Kim have rented a car and will continue to visit Bev throughout the day.

Wed 6:40

Bev had a pretty quiet day today so far. Both chest tubes have the suction turned off. She still has a fever and so far they have not found a source of any infection.  Two physio therapists showed up today, one for Bev's arms and one for her legs. They will be exercising Bev's limbs from now on.

When we arrived this afternoon the nurse said Bev had opened her eye a couple of times. Bev opened her eye once for me during the afternoon. Bev is still not moving her fingers or opening her mouth.  Maybe tomorrow.

Wednesday 12:45pm

Bev's eye was open and moving when we arrived at the hosptial this morning.  After a half hour she seemed to be tired, closed her eye and we think fell asleep.
There are still two tubes in her chest (one on each side) but there doesn't seem to be any air leaking from her lungs into her chest.
So far no results yet from the tests done to uncover the cause of the fever.

Tues 11:30 PM

Bev opened her left eye all on her own with absolutely no coaxing tonight just after 10 PM.  Sherri and I were standing on each side of the bed talking to each other when all of a sudden Bev's eye popped open. 
Her eye seems to be responsive in that she seems to follow you and look to the left and right.  Bev is resting now, hopefully until the morning.

Tues 5 PM

Bev has developed a fever so the doctors are doing various tests to determine if it is being caused by an infection. This included another chest x-ray this afternoon.  Bev's legs seemed to have warmed up. The Magnesium medicine has been increased to fight off the shivers. Perhaps Bev just needs some time to get over the long operation on all her fractures.

Tues 1 PM

Bev had the tube in her head removed this morning. This only leaves the 2 tubes in her chest. Bev remains somwhat sedated. Her blood pressure is a little bit high but the doctors are waiting for it to come down on its own. The circulation in her legs is coming back to what it was before the operation. Since the trachea tube has been inserted Bev is trying harder to breathe on her own.  The head neuro surgeon visited this morning along with a number of other doctors. He was able to get Bev to wiggle her toes by what he calls a stimulated response.  This means shaking her while he calls to her asking her to move her toes. He is pleased with this reaction but was quick to tell us that Bev is still very sick.  I think he wants to be very cautious about getting our hopes up too quickly.

Note from Kim - The hosptial has been so good to us that we decided to try and donate blood today in return.  Sherri of course cannot give blood becuase she was in England during Mad Cow.  I tried to donate but my hemoglobin is only 12.3 and it needs to be 12.5 so I will try again tomorrow.  In the meanwhile I'm going to try and bring up my iron levels.  Dad of course had no problems.  He finished donating his blood before two other donators who where there before him had finished - and he got a free t-shirt for his donation.

Tues 6:40 AM

Bev came through the night OK.  There were so many delays in the operating room schedule that it was close to 11 PM before she got back to her room.  The operation was not supposed to take more than 5 hours. Bev had all the fractures in her leg and both arms fixed.  Going through metal detectors at the airport will be more of a challenge in the future.  Bev also had the tracheal tube inserted for breathing . She is sedated right now so she is not responding to voice commands. She still has the tube in her head but if she is stable enough that will come out today. Bev had trouble with the circulation in both legs during the night but the nurse said that problem is under control this morning. The nurse also said the colour in Bev's face and her breathing have both improved since the tubes in her mouth have been removed. All vital signs are stable.  We will visit at 9:30.

Mon 3:40 PM

Bev went in for surgery at 2 PM. She will not be back to her room until 7 PM. We will visit her at 8 PM. We will stay until 10:30 so the next blog won't be until tomorrow morning.

Mon 12:30 PM

We were only able to see Bev for 1/2 hour this morning. They were busy taking Bev downstairs for yet another CT scan prior to the operation on her fractures.  The nurse can still get a response from Bev's left eye and toes. Bev has been off the blood pressure medication all evening and she seems stable without it. As far as we know the surgery is still planned for later today.

Mon 8 AM

Bev has had 2 tubes removed from her chest, 1 of the remaining 2 tubes is still on suction as there is still some air seeping into Bev's chest from the small puncture in her lung. The nurse was able to get Bev to open her left eye and wiggle the toes on both her feet on 2 separate occasions last evening.  Bev won't move her fingers yet though. The Sodium Chloride 3% has been stopped and replaced by normal saline solution.  They took Bev off her blood pressure medication again at 7: PM.  When we left at 10:30 Bev was maintaining the levels that the doctors are looking for on her own.

Today Bev is supposed to get the operation done for her fractures, insert the breathing tube and the removal of the tube in her head..  The last we heard it was to happen this afternoon.

Sun 6:45 PM

Bev was stable all afternoon so we are hoping the surgery on her fractures will go ahead tomorrow.  She did not respond to the nurse this afternoon when asked to open her eye or wiggle her fingers, maybe this evening. She had a CT scan on her head around noon today.  The neuro surgeon came around this afternoon to tell us that she would be removing the drain tube in Bev's head by the end of the day.  Bev no longer needs it.

Sun 12:30 PM

When we arrived at the hospital this morning the nurse told us Bev opened her left eye.  The nurse said she called to Bev to open her eyes while she was shaking Bev's shoulder.  We couldn't believe it so the nurse repeated everything and sure enough Bev opened her left eye.  After doctors rounds today the nurse updated us with the latest plans for Bev.  Bev has 4 tubes in her chest, at this time only one is still set on suction. The other 3 are left to drain on their own. The plan is to remove 2 tubes and leave only 1 of the 2 remaining tubes on suction. Apparently this is the normal step towards removing all the tubes. Bev is scheduled for more x-rays at 5 PM today.  If all is well they intend to repair all of her bone fractures tomorrow.  They will insert the breathing tube at the same time.  The nurse turned off Bev's blood pressure medicine for 2 hours this morning but Bev was unable to maintain the proper levels on her own so it was turned back on. They can't feed Bev through the tube in her stomach until she is off the blood pressure medicine so they will start intravenous feeding once the breathing tube is inserted and the breathing and feeding tubes are removed from her mouth. A collar has been around Bev's neck since the paramedics arrived at the accident. The collar was removed this morning. Bev is looking more like herself each day.

Sun 8 AM

Bev had a quiet night with no change in her status. We picked up Sherri at the airport last night. 

Sat 6 PM

Bev has remained stable all day so there is really nothing new to report. The breathing tube has not been inserted yet. One nurse said there was a big rodeo in town and the trauma centre is being kept busy patching up broken bull riders.  Bev's left hand was twitching a little more this afternoon but it is impossible for us to tell if it is voluntary or involuntary.  We keep talking to her, asking her for a hand squeeze. Bev's pupils respond to light, the left responds much faster than the right.

Sat 12 noon

Bev remains stable,  there is still no response for us.  The breathing tube has not been inserted yet. Physically she looks better each day. A lot of the bruising and swelling is slowly fading.  She looks a lot more like Bev now. We have not heard any date for the operation on her fractures. Perhaps we will know more this afternoon.

I know there is more than one nurse following this blog so the following technical stuff is for you.

Heart rate:  80
Glucose:  120
Blood Pressure:  122/50
CPP:  68
Respirator setting:  f set 17     f total 20

This morning Bev received Vancomycin (a form of penicilin I think) to combat infection. Bev also received a low dose of blood thinner to help with the poor circulation in her legs.

Her ongoing medication consists of the following 4 things

Fenatyl (pain killer)  2.5 mL/hour   we have been told this is a low dosage
Vasopressin  2.4 mL/hour, we have been told this is to keep Bev's blood pressure high enough
Magnesium 6.3 mL/hour   we have been told this is to help control the shivers that Bev sometimes gets.
Sodium Chloride 3%   25 mL/hour   Bev's sodium level was low and this helps maintain the proper Sodium level in her body.

We understand from the staff that none of these drugs are being administered in large doses and they are only being used until Bev's body is more capable of regulating itself without them.  She was receiving small amounts of insulin from time to time but that has almost ceased now.  The drain to her brain has been clamped off for some time now although they did unclamp it for 15 minutes this morning and then clamped it off again.  It appears that the fluids being produced around her brain are being absorbed by the body as they normally would be.

Sat 8 AM

Bev was stable all last evening. I received no calls from the hospital during the night so I expect there has been no change. We saw no response from Bev ourselves last evening.  The tube was inserted in her stomach to provide nutrition. It is being used for medicine but will not be used for nutrition until Bev's blood pressure is a little more stable. The tracheal breathing tube should be inserted today. The bone doctors are ready to operate on all of Bev's fractures ASAP but can't move until the neurological team gives their OK.

Friday 5:30 PM

Bev had a quiet afternoon.  All vital signs remain steady and her temp is holding at 98.6.  There was no discernable response from her.  As we were leaving at 4 PM the doctors were preparing to insert a trachea tube to assist Bev's breathing and a tube in her stomach for nourishment etc.  This should allow them to remove most of the tubes in her throat which will reduce the chance of infection and make Bev more comfortable.  Forgive me if I don't always get the medical terms correct.

Friday 1PM

Bev continues to be stable with the help of the various medications. We had a meeting with the chief neurologist today. He said that since they cut off all sedative / pain killer to Bev they are seeing very small signs of reaction from Bev. These reactions are brought about by direct stimulation to various spots on her body.  The doctors is VERY CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC about this. The doctors says that although the damage to her brain is severe it is not catastrophic and he is hopeful of seeing a little bit of improvement by early next week. He does point out that with a brain injury there is no way to tell what will happen or how long it will take.

Thursday night

Tracheal tube will have to wait for Friday.  As of 10:30 Thursday night Bev was resting comfortably. The nurses were still working on keeping her body core and head cool, while also trying to keep Bev's legs and feet warm. Small amounts of various drugs are being used to maintain her such as insulin and sodium among others.  Bev is not diabetic but the doctors say that healing can progress faster if Bev's blood sugar levels are closely maintained.  Bev is still not responsive.  The hospital did not call during the night so it seems Bev was stable all night.  Sherri will arrive here Saturday evening.

Thursday afternoon

Bev did not have the operation on her fractures today.  The doctors are trying to lower her temp and fight off the fever from last night before proceeding.  Bev is having more circulation problems in her left leg so while they are trying to keep her core temp lower they are also trying to keep her extremities warmer. Her blood pressure and pulse are good but they have increased the pain killer last night.  The doctors are also concerned that there has been no neurological response yet. They will be trying a different pain killer at a lower dose to see if this will allow us to see a response from Bev. This evening or tomorrow they will insert a tracheal tube to ventillate Bev easier and reduce the chance of infection.  Bev is having a constant EEG taken for a 24 hour period.

Thursday 7AM

During the night Bev had trouble breathing. The doctors cleared her throat and airways and took a bedside chest x-ray.  Later Bev continued to have trouble breathing so a fourth tube has been added to her chest.  This problem is probably caused by the fractured ribs having penetrated one of her lungs, this allows some air and fluids to enter the chest area. Somehow this affects her breathing. Because of this her respirator was turned up higher again.  The respirator is now being lowered back down to encourage Bev to breath on her own.  This has delayed the operation on all of her fractures to this afternoon at the earliest.

Wednesday - Back from the Afternoon Visit

The MRI results confirm that Bev had a stroke on the left side of her brain.  The head injuries from the accident have remained stable and have not deterioated.  The MRI also showed the arteries to her brain are clear.

Bev is still "good to go" right now for her surgery on all her fractures at 10am tomorrow morning.

Bev is still not responsive.  The tap for her brain is still inserted but clamped off in hopes that her brain will be able to absorb the fluids naturally. 

Wednesday - Back From Morning Visit

The doctor confirmed this morning that they will be taking Bev in for surgery on her arms and leg tomorrow.  They hope to get to all the fractures in one operation with two teams working on her, as long as she holds up okay.

They took her off pain meds this morning and when she showed some signs of pain they turned it back on so she was without for three hours. 

This morning we saw and felt twitches in her right hand. Up until her now there have only been twitches and tuggs in her left hand and foot.

They have turned off the drain to alleviate the pressure to her brain to see if she can be stable without it.

Wednesday February 9th, 2010

Last night Bev was taken down for her MRI.  It will take some time to get the results back but we were told that she did fine, there were no complications.  The nurse said that she is scheduled for surgery on one of her arms and her hip this Thursday.
We weren't able to spend too much time with her last night because of the MRI but the hospital let us stay past the regular visiting hours.  The staff have all been great to us.

Sunday to Tuesday Morning Updates

Sunday's Email

Bev had a motorcycle accident while we are on vacation in Texas. She seemed to go off the road at a curve for no apparent reason and didn't seem to take any corrective action, just stayed with the bike until it hit a metal fence post. The accident happened Sat 4:20 PM.  She was unconscious but breathing with difficulty at the scene. She was flown by helicopter to University Hospital trauma centre in San Antonio ( the best in west Texas).  She took a severe blow to the head which cracked her helmet. She has 6 cracked ribs and both of her arms have multiple breaks.  The ribs and arms are not life threatening so they are concentrating on the head injury. On arriving at the hospital her body temp was 94, it is now slightly above 100 which they say is normal after a shock.  Her blood pressure was very low and they could not find out why or how to stabilize it.  She was critical on arrival and remains so.  They tapped her brain to relieve the pressure from bleeding and they put 2 taps (tubes) in her chest to remove fluid and air.  They used multiple drugs in an effort to control her blood pressure and to control the pressure on the brain. 

 

Monday's Email 

Bev is now off all medication except pain killers and fluids.  Her body has responded and her vital signs are close to normal on their own.  There is still no neurological response and so this is the major concern right now.  The doctors now suspect Bev had a stroke while on the bike.  They cannot confirm because of the head injury.  If she remains stable for 12 hours they will conduct more tests including an MRI.  She has a blood clot in her left leg.

TODAY
Bev is stable, still not conscious. Her vital signs are returning to normal and the drugs have been stopped except for pain killers, fluids and a little bit of sodium control. She is slowly using the respirator less and less. They are scheduling an MRI and MRA for sometime today.  There is restriction in her arteries in the neck going to the brain.  They have scheduled repairs to the left arm and right upper leg (femur I think) for tomorrow. left pupil shows reaction to light but the right pupil less so. The impact to the head was on the right side. Her skull is fractured above and to the right of her right ear, her right eye socket is also fractured. Her right leg is fractured near the hip, her lower right arm has multiple fractures (breaks) in both bones. Her lower left arm has multiple fractures (breaks) in both bones, her upper left arm is broken.  She has 4 cracked ribs. She has a tube in her head to relieve the buildup of blood and fluid and help keep the pressure down. She has 3 tubes in her chest to remove air and any buildup of fluids. These tubes are being needed less and less with time. One doctor said he thought it would be 2 weeks before she can be returned home by air ambulance.  Recent tests strengthen their view that Bev had a serious stroke.

First I want to thank you all for your support and offers of help.  I finally am at a hotel, Kim is with me and I can try to keep you all better informed. I understand your feeling of frustration at not knowing what is happening.  I hope that this blog will make it easier for everyone to keep updated with Bev's status.  I will do my best to keep it updated as information comes to us.

The next post will be a copy of some emails already sent out for those of you were not included in the original messages.

First Post

This blog is intended to keep friends and family of Bev Owen updated.

If you wish to contact Dave directly instead of posting publicly please email him at owenfam@live.ca