Dang!

Rosi and I were getting an update from Michael's therapists on tuesday afternoon when we were informed Michael was throwing up and there was blood coming out with everything else, and they had called the EMT's. Our hearts sank again, and pretty soon we were headed for another trip to the ER. AArrgg.

I missed Michaels arrival at the ER but they figured out real fast he does not do well in closed places and is real strong for his 150 pounds. It took 8 of them to get him under control, but by the time I arrived he was doing OK. After that, it wasn't too bad. His neurologist worked with the hospital and had him admitted to the ICU, where they can keep him sedated with a drip. He slept well there last night.

Today Michael was scoped and the good news is that all his insides appear normal. In fact, the doctors cannot find anything really wrong and are not sure why he may have had blood coming out. Blood count is normal, etc. So as of tonight he is still sedated with a breathing tube inserted. The plan is to remove it tomorrow morning and unsedate him. Hopefully if all goes well we will return him to rehab tomorrow afternoon.

This is unfortunate because we feel Michael has been making real progress and these events always set him back. 2 steps forward, one back. Ramble some. He is beginning to ask insightful questions about what has happened to him and why is he here. He can take a 300 piece puzzle and conquer it very quickly. His desire to 'go home' is becoming stronger than ever and it just breaks out heart when we can't do it. We look forward to the day when we can, but that is a ways away. The biggest obstacle is still his lack of short term memory and language deficiencies.

Another sign of progress is that he is also a little paranoid. He will ask anyone around him 'What's my name?' I think he does it to make sure that whoever is around him knows who he is. Jordan was here last weekend and we tried to take a short 'family' trip with J, Michael, Rosi, and me to Sonic, but it was unsuccessful. He wasn't sure who we were so it scared him a bit to be leaving with us, he became aggitated and we had to go back. Maybe next week. Small steps.

Michael is about a week away from when his chemo may prove beneficial. We will see.

Pops