Day 4

Mark had a great night. The neurosurgeon removed both cerebrial drains this morning. He said he is pleased with his progress. He removed his bandages and Mark has 2 horseshoe shaped incisions, one on each side, above the ear. The facial reconstruction surgeon, Dr. Cook, said his eye is doing okay. The sclera (the yellow part) is so swollen that it is protruding through the eyelids. They are applying 2 ointments, one is an antibiotic and the other is a lubricant to keep the sclera from drying out. We will not know if the eye is working until Mark wakes up and can tell us what he can or can't see.

They've reduced his sedations meds from 50mg to 10mg because they had to increase his pain meds. But the pain meds don't keep him as sedated, so he seems to be a little more alert. Not awake, but alert. He is moving his right leg A LOT, even trying to hang it off of the bed. He's even adjusting his hips trying to get himself more comfortable. During his sedation vacation this morning he moved his left arm very strongly. We're pleased as the movement on his left side has been minimal.

His urine output has been high. The nurse said that our brains produce a hormone that tells out tissues how much fluid to retain. Because of the swelling in his brain, this hormone may not be being produced so they gave him some along with more fluids to make up the difference. They decided today that because he has had so many fluids since surgery and he's was bleeding so much that they are reducing his fluid intake to see if he can regulate his urine output on his own.

While nurse Leah was washing his face this morning he was squirming and she thinks he tried to open his eyes. He's still not responding to commands, but is responding to pain stimulus.

We're pleased the drains are out and he's moving more. We celebrate each little improvement and count them as miracles that move us hopefully toward a full recovery. Cautiously optimistic.