Lookin' up...

Dear friends,

Sam is doing much better today; still not drinking or eating very much of anything on his own though. It is good they still have his IV in for all meds. We walked around the halls a bit today and it was very nice. We have been reading updates from ya’ll and love it! Also I shared some news with him about the NFL draft which he loved (thanks, Jack!).

I am pretty sure that right now the only focus is making him feel well enough to go home. We can’t leave the hospital without finding an oral medication that works for him. They also have to remove the stitches from his head at some point. I did not realize that they actually made about a 5 inch cut in his head so they could peel back the skin and put the drains in.

From 9am until 3pm his pain was bearable but still very much present. We had a little chat with Rudolf and he told us about his world travels. Rudolf gets really excited when we talk to him; poor guy is so bored and never has visitors. We still only whisper though but no one else who comes in the room catches on.

Sam keeps asking for McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Coca-cola; what’s a good wife to do? The food here really is pretty bad- especially dinner. I might have to go exploring for some more restaurants. We have already hit up the pizza place, the Chinese place and the Doener (German staple) place outside the hospital. There is no cafeteria here just a snack bar basically. I can just hop on the bus and look around.

Around 6pm we finally spoke with the brain surgeon who can speak English very well. He made us feel so much better. He answered all of our questions and assured us that Sam’s pain is normal after what he has gone through (which turns out to be more than we knew). We truly have experienced a miracle here people.

This doctor sat down and showed us Sam’s CT scans and explained to us that when the ER docs saw those scans they were shocked that Sam was conscious, speaking and moving! Apparently someone with the same amount of brain damage Sam had should have been unconscious and have had cognitive and physical impairments. We could not believe it. Neither could the doctor. He seemed quite confused actually as to why Sam was doing so well after his injury and the surgery. The surgeons definitely thought Sam was due for a CRANIOTOMY!!! They were going to remove a sizable piece of Sam’s skull and let the blood drain out and the swelling go down and then put the skull piece back on a couple weeks later. THANK THE LORD we did not have to go through that. Its still a little unclear as to why exactly he did not have to get the craniotomy but I think it has to do with the fact that he was conscious and able to speak and move. Also because when the doctors went in they realized the blood had been there for awhile and for some reason old blood is a good thing??? No clue but I am thanking God! I think it is because as Sam was being put to sleep for the surgery, he asked the anesthesiologist and the nurse to pray with him ; ) And because all of the prayers our friends and family sent up for Sam, thank you!

Well, after all of that good news we both felt a lot better. Sam had 3 straight hours of feeling “better than he has since before Saturday”. YES! We got to walk around (up and down the hallway) and talk above a whisper and eat Subway! It was great. After a nice evening, Sam told me he wanted me to sleep in tomorrow. I just may take him up on that. I have noticed that I am getting more easily annoyed by the nurses and a little crabby in general. I think a good night’s sleep would make me a better wife/nurse/person.

Prayers:

-Find a pain PILL that works (he is still on IV meds) so that we can get the heck out of the loud German speaking hospital

-THANKS to God that Sam did not have to get a craniotomy and that he is doing better than he should be (minus the headaches)

-For both of us to have patience with the not-so-ideal situation because there is nothing we can do about the fact that we are in a country where people speak German. That’s kind of our fault actually.