Awake, almost

11/16/2009
Today was a good but odd day. I arrived at the hospital early and called in for a status. The nurse said Tyler was responding to commands and they asked him "Do you want to see Robert". He nodded his head up and down. They let me go in ahead of the normal visitation schedule. It was great to see him more alert. I gave his mom a call and told her she was about to have a long shuttle ride. I told her he was awake and alert and she was over-joyed. I think she may have considered running to the hospital instead of waiting for the shuttle.

He still fades in and out due to the drugs still in his system. They have stopped giving him any sedatives, unless he gets to agitated. He was given a clean bill of mental health by a neurologist and also had a complete CT scan. Everything looks good and he was able to complete all the tests given him by the neurologist. It is very encouraging and all his doctors were pleased. He will remain in the CardioVascular ICU for a least one more day and I'm hoping tomorrow he can get the tube out of his throat. He'll then be moved to another ICU on a different floor. Unfortunately the visiting hours are the same so I basically only get to see him for 30 minutes at a time. The nurses usually let me stay longer, but I want to be able to spend more time with him.

We saw Tyler again at 5:00 pm. His eyes were wide open. He kinda looked angry to his Mom and me, but I think he was more confused/scared. His Mom and Dad talked to him mostly. I just kind-of stared for a while. At the end, after his Mom and Dad stepped out of the little room, I looked directly at Tyler and told him he was going to have to work at this, but he will be fine. I asked if he understood and after about 20 seconds he nodded his head. I think at this point he is just coming to realize he is in a hospital and doesn't understand what is going on. His eyes seemed to keep looking around at all the equipment. He still can't move or talk and I'm sure that must be a nightmare for him. I don't know if he knows it has been three weeks.

For me, while being great that he is more alert, it was a busy day like all the others.
I wanted to stay next to Tyler all day, but what is hard is that there are so many things to stay on top of and I need to do some work for my business. I'm starting to understand the thing that makes this so hard. I'm trying to set up a life for Tyler and me in Houston for now and I want to just be with Tyler by his bed side. But the reality is that I need to work while trying to get things going in Houston. I'm basically just putting out fires all day and trying to prevent new ones.

His parents leave tomorrow with heavy hearts. It is going to be a very, very hard day for them. They wanted me to express to everyone how much they appreciated the thoughts and prayers. I've been able to share the blog and your comments with them. They have been wonderful to me and we have had some interesting days! They explored yesterday and found a tunnel running between St. Luke and Methodist hospital. We took the tunnel to go to the Methodist hospital cafeteria which is much better than St. Luke's. Going through the tunnels with them was hilarious. We weren't sure at times where we were or how to get there. We eventually found the cafeteria and even found our way back to St. Luke. They also had a lot of fun playing in the tunnels. I'll miss them, but his mother and sister are planning on coming back to Houston in a few weeks or so.
They also wanted me to post their address and email.
donswoverland@verizon.net.
8725 Crosier
Ft. Wayne, IN 46825

I also ran into Mitzy again (the lady from the first night at the hospital). Her husband is not doing well which was sad. She asked about Tyler and it was a little odd to say he was doing pretty good so far and waking up. It is interesting that I'm developing a group of "disaster" friends here in Houston. I already had a disaster buddy in Colorado for this year. What the .....?! Is 2009 over yet!?

Thanks for all the comments on the blog. I'm looking forward to sharing these with Tyler!

Robert