Bruce Update

I have been cleared to update you all on Bruce. Shelly realizes that the level of interest and concern for Bruce and the usefulness of this blog is probably more important than privacy at this stage.
Bruce is NOT in a drug-induced coma. Coma means you are completely unresponsive (and other technicalities). Instead Bruce is very sedated. He can, however, try to open his eyes when told and move fingers and toes. But he is "out of it" enough that he is not communicating on any level. That is not because of any injuries we are aware of. It is just because of everything he is on.
His kidneys are still not functioning, but apparently that is nothing to worry about at this time. The dialysis is cleaning the blood and the kidney doctor said we won't be able to tell if his kidneys have a problem for about 8 weeks.
Bruce is still on a respirator. Two days ago they changed it from a "down the throat" style to a tracheotomy. Since being put on the respirator, the machine has been doing all the breathing for him. However, yesterday (12/11) it began registering that Bruce would occaisionally try to take a breath on his own. That's good. Go Bruce!!
Bronson Hospital is preparing Bruce to move to Grand Rapids to be by family. He is already stable enough to move by ambulance. That may occur very soon. To prepare him for that move they have changed his I.V. from a "Swan Line" system to a central line. A Swan Line not only transfers IV fluids but also monitors things like blood flow and other heart issues. Bruce is stable enough that they no longer need this level of monitoring.
His amputation wound is healing as it should. There are no signs of infection. I was wrong earlier about where that occured. They did not save the knee. Bruce has the entire left femur (which was not broken) but everything below it is gone. His right leg is broken far worse than Shelly's was, but they still believe it is repairable. For now, it is stablized with an external brace, but they have not repaired it at all. The wrist and arm injuries will likely also require surgery, but all of those bone surgeries are still pretty far down the priority list for Bruce.
Yesterday Shelly was able to speak to Bruce by phone. He did not respond in any way, but we have to believe he heard it somewhere in there.