Saturday, Feb 7th

Let's see...where to begin. Uncle Walter & Brittnee stopped by last night to see Hunter. Today Randy & I (Angela) went down and took a 6 hour shift from 8-2 pm. Last Night Hunter didn't have a great night, he kept biting on the breathing tube and didn't get much rest. So, today they wanted him to get more rest. They had him sedated pretty good and they didn't want us to stimulate him too much, because he needed his rest. He didn't get too much rest it seemed though. He does what they call "storming" where his body just clenches up and he trembles and moves all over and he'll open his eyes a bit & then he'll stop and be able to rest for about 5 minutes and then he does that again. They say it's just his brain finding new pathways and trying to do stuff. But, as we were leaving today, the neurologist had ordered an MRI and an EEG to check on those to make sure it wasn't seizures and see if it was just "storming" or something more. Anyway, when he would do the "storming," Randy and I would just try to calm him down and tell him to relax and lay his head back. At first they had him sitting up because it's better for his lungs. But, he was falling forward a bit with each movement and I was trying to hold him back and keep the pillow by his neck. Kinda how when a little kid is asleep in their carseat and you wanna push them back to make them more comfortable. He kept coming too forward and his hand actually reached the end of the breathing tube and he wanted to pull it out, so I moved his hand real quick and we kept trying to keep him back. Finally the nurses came in and readjusted him a little better. He kept trying to get his feet off the bed and at one point I was like, "Hunter do you want the pillow under your feet?" and he kept bouncing his feet up and down, so I'm not sure if he meant yes, but we tried to stick the pillow under his feet again, because it had come out. It was kind of a guessing game with what he needed and wanted. He kept wanting to hold our hands and would seem to reach out for us all the time, so we would hold his hand and try to comfort him. Sometimes he would squeeze soooo hard. We had to be in gowns and wear gloves while in there, and he must not like the feel of the gloves or something because he kept trying to rip it off of my hand. He tried pulling it off and then finally he would be fine as long as his fingers were down inside my glove and I'd just hold his hand. He has been doing the same thing to Kim. During all this he was pretty sedated too. The nurses say he's making so much progress and even in a week, he could be totally different with where he is at. But, it all just depends. Other nurses that aren't his nurses have come to see him too because they think his progress is so great. Mary Jo (his nurse) said that it's pretty normal for somebody to be in ICU for about 3-4 weeks, with this kind of injury. But, all injuries are different and all people are different too. So, then she said it would probably be 2 -3 months of Rehab. But, again all situations and people are different. So, He has a long road, but we are happy with the progress he is making. He never rested too much today and all the time when he was "storming" his Heart Rate would go about to 130 and then it would go down a little bit. The last half hour he did finally get some good rest and you could tell he was really resting and his Heart Rate was at 80. They also took the staple out of his head today where the Bolt had been. And a little before we left, he had clenched down on the tube again. Mary Jo said it's uncontrollable for him to do that, but he bit down and it's a little scary, because he's not getting air. So, she was trying to get him to open his mouth and she had to put the Bite Block back in his mouth so he couldn't bite down on the tube. That thing is no fun. He didn't like when it was going in, I know I wouldn't either, something being shoved in your mouth and it makes you gag. Anyway, we are hoping they can take that breathing tube out soon. Mary Jo said he's real border line with it, they really want to take it out and they think he may do okay, but not quite sure... but they don't want to leave it in too long either. So, hopefully soon they will take it out then that will also let us see a little more where he is at, if he can talk or what. We were glad we could step in today and give Kim & Duane a break and also a Happy Birthday to Jessica!! =) The Internet hasn't been working at the hospital and the minutes on their phone are about gone too, so we are sorry the updates have been slim, but we will try to keep them coming the best we can.