Sunday evening

A few more steps towards recovery today - and a reminder that Matt has a really long, slow road ahead. They took out his central line today because he's only on his sedation medication and one IV at this point which they could put in his left hand. He's having some circulation issues in his right arm - his hand is big and puffy - and there's a chance the central line was causing some of this issue. We'll see how that clears up tomorrow.

I thought that they were going to do a tracheostomy tomorrow, too, to get his breathing tube out, but the nurse this evening said that they might wait a few more days to see if they can get him off the respirator completely without having to do another surgery. That would be nice, but I can tell he's really frustrated and sick of that tube.

We talked about his neuro responses and she said they were the same - he's responding to commands on his left side and randomly moving his right arm. She said that it could be days before we see the next sign of improvement and days after that before the next. Patience is a virtue that I must develop.

One last thing - he opened his right eye and followed me this evening! He watched as I sat down beside him and moved his eye to see when someone else came up beside me. Then he closed his eye again and fell asleep - I'm sure it gives him a headache since he can't focus on anything right now.

Saturday afternoon

I didn't want to scare anyone by not posting today, so here's just a quick note to say that things are steady here, which is a good thing at this point. He still has a slight fever, but he isn't on a blanket anymore and everything else seems pretty stable. He's moving his left arm a lot and I like to think that he knows its me when I stand near him.

More waiting

I know Matt's making progress, but it seems slower at this point. Maybe its the fact that the adrenaline has worn off over the week and now waiting is much more difficult. The ICU staff says that at this point, they are basically supporting him and letting his body heal itself, so we just have to understand that that is happening and we have to let his body do what it needs.

He's only on a few IV drips at this point and a lower level of sedation than we've seen all week. He kind of opens his right eye when we talk to him, but he can't focus on anything. They're going to continue to monitor him over the weekend to see if they can take him off the respirator, which is the next step towards getting out of the ICU and moved to the neuro floor. There's a chance he'll have a trachiostomy early next week, which will get the tubes out of his throat and help clear up his infection. All the nurses have told me that's the best thing for him at this point if they don't get him off the respirator by then.

Thanksgiving day - Matt version

We have little steps to be thankful for today. Its so hard to imagine that his accident was a week ago - his nurse practitioner told me last night that they are amazed by the progress he has made so far. He still has a really long road ahead and we're unsure how he's going to be when he first wakes up, but he's moving forward.

They weaned him off the blood pressure medicines last night and he is regulating his blood pressure himself. They also switched the settings on the respirator so he's mostly breathing on his own with some assistance for expiration. Its nice to see him breathing at his own rate again - he looks more like Matt sleeping than Matt all drugged up.

We're having turkey sandwiches and are saving our real Thanksgiving holiday for later. I hope that you're all having a nice Thanksgiving and thanks for keeping Matt in your thoughts.

Wednesday afternoon

Its interesting how quickly we adapt to a new normal and when things change its so scary. The port in Matt's head (which measured his ICP) came out this morning and the neuro team decided not to put it back in. This is a good thing, but now I cannot watch his pressure monitor and know what's going on in there. Even though they can watch other things and figure out what is going on, I just liked to have something I understood and could watch.

His fever was still pretty high last night so they switched his cooling machine from a blanket to these body wrap things. He's got one around both legs and one around his whole chest. His temp is slowly falling and he's shivering a lot. He's still coughing quite a bit and he's on a general antibiotic for whatever is going on in his lungs.

Healing days

Today was a relatively quiet day. Matt's still fighting a fever and they've had him on a chilling blanket since last evening. It got up to about 102 but now is down to about 99.

He's been getting a little less propofol (which one of his nurses calls milk of amnesia) and seems to be responding okay. Then he 'wakes up' enough and bites his breathing tube, starting alarms so they turn it back up. He's still responding well on his left side and mom saw his right toe move slightly last night!

They've taken his bandages off completely and it is quite the scar - he's going to be so proud of it soon. The swelling has gone way down and he looks like himself again - just partially bald.

We still don't know when they might do a complete neuro exam and evaluate how much longer he needs to be in the ICU. We're just waiting and taking one day at a time.

No news is 'good' news

Things are steady here tonight - his numbers are okay and they've only had to give him one dose of manitol (for lowering his ICP) and some Tylenol to make sure the fever stays away. They have been checking his lungs and so far don't think anything is developing.

Thanks for all the continued love, thoughts and encouragement. I know Matt can feel it and its getting me through each day.

Monday morning

Matt had a much quieter night and the nurse keeps telling us its only been 4 days and he is making progress. They've lowered the amount of meds they're giving to control his ICP and his numbers are still good. His sedation is a little lower, too, but its still high enough to keep him from moving much. His left eye is hardly swollen at all anymore and his ear is looking okay.

They have been watching a spot on his lung x-ray to see if it develops into pneumonia, which is apparently quite common in patients who've been intubated for a long time. The cultures have been coming back okay so far, so he's just on a general antibiotic. He's fighting a bit of a fever, too, which is also quite common for head injuries. They gave him Tylenol yesterday which helped some, but right now they are just monitoring it and have a fan and ice packs on him.

Sunday evening

After a rough night and morning, things seem to be a little quieter this evening. They gave Matt more medication for his ICP and blood pressure and the numbers were looking better this afternoon. He still tries to move every time they mess with him even under the heavy sedation. Not much other news - its just a lot of waiting here.

Sunday Morning

Matt had kind of a rough night, but the nurse has told me that head injuries are often 4 steps forward and 2 steps back. His ICP is a little high so they've been giving him more medication and trying to keep him very quiet. His sedation medication is much higher because he was still moving around so much. We can sit with him, but not too much else. The doctor also told me that there are more severe things they could do to lower his ICP if this stops working, but the fact that they haven't had to do any of that yet is a good sign. He's also still responding to commands on his left side and both his eyes are dilating equally. They tell me not to worry about the numbers too much and the fact that he is doing these things is good progress.

The next two days are going to be critical for watching this pressure and then we'll see after that. They are expecting it to be about a week from the injury (so Thursday morning) before we can really find out about actual damage. He'll probably be in the ICU for another week. The nurses are absolutely amazing and are taking the best care of him - they tell me that they can tell he's crazy strong and is doing well for what happened.

General situation

Matt had surgery Thursday morning and was moved to ICU Thursday night, so we've been able to visit him the past two days. He's heavily sedated and on a ventilator, but is somewhat responsive. The injury was to his left brain, so he hasn't moved his right side much, but is really active with the left side. He's held my hand and squeezes/releases on command, which they say is good progress. His left hand has been restrained because he keeps trying to pull on all the tubes. They let me take the restraint off last night while I was there and if I ever let go of his hand, he'd go straight for the tubes - and he's strong!

Today he started jerking his right arm a little, so that was restrained as well. They removed the drain from his head this afternoon and the doctor said he was still 'happy' with the progress.

They've been telling me that the first 72 hours are the most critical for watching the pressure. I'm not even sure what day that means, but we're taking each day as it comes. Thanks to everyone for all their thoughts and love - I know its helping! (And thanks for all the amazing food - you're all helping us take good care of each other while we try take care of Matt.)

Contact Info

We have been in the process of moving to a farm near Brattleboro, VT. Matt moved a month ago and I was moved today (thanks everybody!)
Our new address is:

Matt & Keri Latiolais
207 Knapp Rd.
Dummerston, VT 05301

We're at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. (Thanks for all the offers to send things, but he can't receive things in the ICU room. Once that changes, we'll let you know.)

My cell phone is 802-881-4744. I can't take my cell phone into the ICU when I'm visiting Matt, but feel free to leave any message or talk to the family who answers it.

What happened

Hey everybody-
So I do have alot of time sitting around the hospital to email, but I thought this would be an easier way to get the story out and you can read it as you have time.

For those of you who haven't heard details, Matt had a really bad accident at work early Thursday morning. He works the night shift right now at a lumber mill and there was a jam in one of the machines. Matt grabbed one of the boards and his shift leader grabbed the other. Matt's pulled loose while he still had backward momentum and he slipped off the side of the 3 foot catwalk. As he fell, he hit a suspended control panel which fractured his skull on the left side right above his ear. They took him to the er in Brattleboro and then he was sent to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH for surgery.

The surgeon said that there was alot of bleeding and swelling in the left side of his brain. This is their primary concern right now. We are waiting and watching to see what happens with the swelling before we'll know anything about actual damage.