Good News for Bruce

Well Bruce is all settled in the acute care facility and they are going to work on him.
Before we get to the good news, let me give you a little more info on this brain injury. On the day of the accident, Bruce went into cardiac arrest twice. Once in the ER when his lung collapsed, and then again in the operating room that night. We don't know at this point how long he was out during these episodes, but the recent CT scans confirmed that his injuries are the result of a lack of oxygen during those arrests. So he does not have a trauma injury from hitting his head in the accident, but instead his brain injury was caused as a secondary result of the arrests which were caused by his other injuries he received in that accident. The reason this didn't show up initially is because of the way the body works. It was explained to me that this type of injury happens all at once during the arrest, but it doesn't show up for some time later. It's kind of like getting punched in the arm. The damage happens at the moment you are hit. It starts to hurt the moment you are hit. But you might not get a bruise the rest of us can see for another couple days.
Because of where the damage occurred, we believe the brain problems are why he has not been as responsive as we would like and can't seem to get off the ventilator. The reason why we can't say what this is going to mean for Bruce going forward is that the brain is a very unpredictable organ. Even if certain areas are damaged to the point they won't heal, the brain can figure out new ways to do old things. That's why you can see someone with a brain injury that can't do something today, but then learns to do it later. It may not be that the brain healed, it's probably because it figured out a new way to do that task without the damaged parts.

SO HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS: For the first time since the accident, Bruce was off the ventilator yesterday - breathing on his own - for several hours. This is a huge step in the right direction!!! It appears he's figuring out new ways to make those lungs work or his injury is getting better. Thank you God! He also answered some simple questions for the doctor by nodding his head. Thank you God again!! They also have removed his PIC line because they no longer need to give medicines in that way anymore. Thank you God once more!!! So keep those prayers coming.

The acute care facility has two goals for Bruce: Get off the ventilator completely and start taking nutrition by mouth. Once he can do those two things he is off to a rehab facility where he can focus more on getting his body and brain working better again. When that happens, he and Shelly might be able to move to the same facility.