Tuesday, January 31st

Brandon is doing very well.  He slept most of the day on Friday and Saturday but tried really hard to work with the physical therapists when they were in.  On Sunday Dr A decided that it might be beneficial to do the plasma replacement therapy again to make sure that there is not any autoimmune issues that could be causing inflammation.  None of Brandon's tests have shown anything like this but he did seem to react well to the therapy last time. 

Sunday afternoon Brandon really perked up and was giving big smiles and thumb hugs to everyone!  He has also learned to make kisses with his lips and move his eyebrows up and down!  Some of the most exciting improvements for Brandon have been with his head and left hand.  He can now use his left arm to move his wrist and hand and can curl his fingers!  We now call these 'hand hugs' instead of 'thumb hugs' because he has gotten so strong with his left hand. Brandon has been working really hard during physical therapy to hold up his head and move it from side to side.  Yesterday mom and dad were talking about how exciting it will be when he can nod his head 'yes'.  They looked over and Brandon nodded!  They were so excited and asked him if he could shake his head 'no'....and he did that too!  We are so excited and proud of Brandon's hard work.

Keep it up......All your hard work is paying off!!!

Friday, January 27th

Brandon has continued to do well over the last several days.  He has gained more strength and control in his left hand and making progress with his right.  He can now touch each finger to his thumb and move his thumb across the palm on his left hand! He is doing physical, occupational, and speech therapy every day to get stronger.  Brandon can also try and balance his head, just a little, while he is sitting up in bed.  All of this hard work has made Brandon very tired over the last few days but the doctor's say this is to be expected.  He is showing great improvement and we know that he is fighting hard to get back on his feet.

Brandon's bright smiles and constant 'thumb hugs' give us comfort and visions of things to come. We are grateful for this opportunity to show how much we care about Brandon and hope that he is comforted by us as much as we are comforted by him.


We Love you and are so Proud of you Brandon!

Tuesday, January 24th

This picture says a thousand words! We are so Proud of you Brandon!!

It has been a very exciting couple of days for Brandon!  He is really starting to wake up!  He has regained quite a bit of control of his face.  Mom asked him to make sure to give me a smile when I came in to visit him this morning.  I was greeted with a great big cheesy Grin! It really brightened my day.  The physical therapists came in this morning and, as you can see, they got him sitting on the side of the bed with their assistance!  He is also able to move each of his fingers when asked and can now communicate by giving a thumbs up!  Brandon will be getting a visit from the speech and occupational therapists today to start to work with him.  Mom and Dad will be meeting with a consultant next week to find the best place for Brandon once he is released from the ICU!  Words cannot express how wonderful it is to see so much improvement!

Way to go Brandon!!!

Sunday, January 22nd

After a couple of days of good rest and not much activity, Brandon is much more active today.  He has been opening his eyes and trying to focus for several minutes throughout the day!  Mom and Dad held up his picture with Brick (his dog) and he followed it with his eyes as they moved it around.  This type of following gaze is very exciting to see!  He also seems to have gained quite a bit more control of his tongue and he was able to stick it out past his teeth when mom asked him to! More great news......the ventilator has been switched to standby!  This allows Brandon to breath entirely on his own with some additional oxygen to keep his levels high enough.  They will continue to put the machine on standby intermitently until he no longer needs the additional oxygen and then they can take him off of the ventilator completely! Dr. R stopped by this afternoon and is still very optimistic about Brandon's progress and recovery.  He told us to bug Brandon at any time to get him to respond and wake up during the day. This is actual permission, from a professional, to pester our little brother!

We love you Brandon!!!

Friday, January 20th

Brandon continues to have his eyes open for small periods throughout the day. Yesterday he even started to try to communicate with the nurses! They called mom and dad in the night to let them know that they asked him if his head hurt and to blink his eyes once for "yes" and twice for "no". He blinked once so they were able to give him something for the pain. They also asked for him to move his tongue and he did it! While we are not certain that he is communicating, we are hopeful that these actions are intentional. We will keep asking him "yes" and "no" questions to recognize whether or not he is truly communicating and keep you posted!

We expect for Brandon's progress to come slowly and expect there will be days in which there is not much to blog about. Don't be alarmed if there is not a post every day but rest assured that we will write about any changes as soon as they happen.

Our family would like to thank our friends and family for all of the prayers that have been offered for Brandon. We have faith that God is watching over Brandon and our family during this difficult trial. We appreciate your love and encouragement and words of prayer.

So much love....all for you buddy!

Wednesday, January 18th

What comes next......

Now that Brandon is awake, many friends and family are asking the question "what comes next?"  Mom found a really great website that identifies 8 stages of a coma recovery and what we can expect as Brandon wakes up.  It is located at http://www.waiting.com/rancholosamigos.html.  We feel he is currently in between stage II and III of his progression. We are reminded by the doctors that Brandon's recovery will take some time and we can expect some up and down days.

Brandon had another MRI today of his brain and spine.  Dr R. says that the scan showed improvement!  He remains confident that Brandon will fully recover from this trauma in time.  The scan took approximately 4 hours and exhausted him for most of the day.  However, there were a few moments today when he did open his eyes.  One of the student nurses, who did not help with Brandon yesterday, assisted with the MRI today.  Halfway through the scan, while she was turning him, he suddenly opened his eyes! This startled her and she asked, "when did he start doing that?" He also opened his eyes for about 10 minutes this evening!

Another bit of great news today is that the biopsy from the mass removed from Brandon's brain came back as a benign cyst! This means that there should be no further treatment necessary in regards to this mass! 

Whoo-hooo!  You are on your way Brandon!

Citation
Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr./Los Amigos Research and Educational Institute (LAREI). (1990). While you are waiting...... Retrieved from http://www.waiting.com/rancholosamigos.html
             

Tuesday, January 17th

He's Awake!

It feels amazing to be able to say that!  We still do not know what level of consciousness Brandon is experiencing but we do know that he can hear us and is responding to voices and stimulation!  At several points during the day Brandon had his eyes fully open and would turn them to the sound of our voices!  With so much stimulation we can see that he is exhausted and resting well this evening.  While this entire experience has taught us to be cautious for the future, we are humbly grateful for today and look forward to tomorrow.

Our family also wants to take a moment to recognize the fabulous NST ICU staff that have been there for not only Brandon, but us as well.  We have great confidence and respect for the doctors that are treating him. The nurses, technicians, and therapists have treated us with care and sensitivity and have offered us words of encouragement when we need it most.  The care that Brandon has been receiving is outstanding and we know that he is in the best place he can be.  Day after day they have done amazing work and deserve recognition for all the crap that they deal with (figuratively and literally.......ewwww!)

To Our Friends in the UVRMC NST ICU....Thank You!

Monday January 16th

Today was a good day for Brandon. He had a CT scan of his stomach in the morning and everything looked good. This means that the doctor's will be able to insert a feeding tube into his stomach so that they can remove the one from his nose. This will make it much more comfortable for him as he continues to wake up. The nurse said he opened his eyes some of the time he was getting his scan. He also spent more time with his eyes open on and off during the day. We believe he was more awake today. Although he doesn`t show signs of recognition we believe he may understand what is being said and the nurses have stated that we should see more of this as he progresses. Mom spent a lot of time talking to him today, updating him on what has been happening with the family and his dog. I guess this means we can't talk about you while you sleep anymore :) Just kidding, Brandon!

We love you and can't wait to tell you what you have missed!

Sunday, January 15th

Not much change with Brandon today. They did another CT scan of his brain and chest and took out the IV they were using for his plasma replacement therapy. This means that they are done with that treatment for now. He also continued to twitch and blink as he would try to open his eyes throughout the day! It was a very quiet Sunday at the hospital by Brandon's side; offering him our words of love and encouragement!

Saturday, January 14th

Brandon started his day with some irritation to his breathing tube.  The doctors and nurses did a thorough evaluation and have assured us that everything will be fine with it.  He had his 3rd treatment of plasma replacement threapy today.  He did give us a pleasant suprise when they were finishing up.  He was trying very hard to open his eyes a little bit and was doing some blinking!  It was a wonderful moment for us to see his eyes and know that he was struggling to wake up.  He was also reponsive when the nurses were clearing his breathing tube and as Dr. R. gave him a pinch!  Dr R. has scheduled another MRI for him on Tuesday and continues to assure us that he feels Brandon is going to be okay.  We are so very encouraged by this assurance and his fabulous progress today!

Way to go Brandon!

Friday, January 13th

Doctor's are exploring the possibility of an auto-immune response in Brandon and have begun Plasma Replacement Therapy for him. The simple explanation is that they are filtering out the potentially unhealthy plasma from his blood and replacing it with healthy plasma. The tests to determine whether or not certain unhealthy antigeuns exist in Brandon have been sent out and it will take several weeks to get the results. Past experience with this type of therapy can produce positve results so we are anxiously watching him for signs of improvement. As the respiratory therapist was changing the bandages on Brandon's neck today it must have been uncomfortable because his faced winced. This type of response is very encouraging and is what the doctor's have been trying to get out of Brandon for some time! All of us that love Brandon are being given a test in patience and endurance. Every sign of improvement is precious to us and gives us faith and hope that he will be back to us soon.

Love ya, Brand!

Thursday, January 12th

Today has been a very busy day for Brandon. When Doctor C. came in this morning he checked his reflexes and seemed to get some eye movement when he pushed on one of Brandon's fingers! The doctor's have also decided to do some further testing for some auto-immune related causes that they have not previously checked for. Brandon had a short surgery this afternoon to remove the breathing tube from his throat and place it in his neck. This will allow him to be more comfortable by reducing some irritation in his throat. The procedure went great and he is breathing on his own today. We are also very excited to be able to see his handsome face more easily!

Wednesday, January 11th

After all of the excitement yesterday evening, Brandon must have worn himself out.  He seemed to be resting peacefully for most of the day.  His fever was a bit high in the morning but came down through the day.  He also did some breathing on his own today.  Not much improvement today, but very stable and we hope he is resting up for the days to come!

Tuesday , January 10th

Brandon's breathing is really improving! He spent 9-10 hours on his own yesterday and has been breathing unassisted for the majority of today. They will turn the ventilator on tonight so that he can get some rest but we are very encouraged by his progress. He has also maintained his blood pressure and temperature very well today. The most exciting news is that as Billy came in the room this evening he said, "Hey Brandon, how are you doing?"  Brandon's eyes blinked open halfway a couple of times!!!! His eyes are now closed again but this was an obvious response to his brother's voice!
Keep it up, Brandon!

Monday, January 9th

Not much change today. Brandon is still fighting to keep his temperature down, even though it has been more on the lower side. The good news is he is breathing more on his own. Another EEG was done today and we should have some results for that in the next couple of days. There was some excitement in Brandon's room today as his cooling blanket leaked water all over the room. He also had a bloody nose today and has kept his nurse really busy. She was really cute...maybe he was trying to get her attention : ) We are so grateful for all of the well wishes we have been receiving for Brandon and also those wanting to help him financially. Mom and Dad have created a fund at Zions Bank for anyone wishing to donate money. Contributions will be accepted at any Zions Bank under the name of the Brandon R Brown Donation Fund. Not much change today, but another day closer to waking up!

We love you Brandon!

Sunday, January 8th

Brandon's fever has come down significantly this morning and his white blood cell counts have also dropped. His other stats are becoming more stable as well. The Respiratory Therapist switched him off of the ventilator and over to the CPAP setting this morning to test how well he can breath on his own. He was able to sustain this for about an hour! He is now back on the ventilator and appears to be resting. We are so proud of the amount of effort he is showing and I am sure he is exhausted. Although he is still not responding to commands, he appears to be trying to opening his eyes a bit more. We, and the doctors, all feel that these are very encouraging signs!

Saturday, January 7th

It actually snowed this morning and with Brandon’s temperature being so high his window is open.  Brrrrrr………Mom and Dad are wearing coats.  Dr. R had us take a look at the MRI scan from last night and compared it to the last one.  He was pleased to say that there does not appear to be any further signs of decline and hesitated to say that there might even be some improvement.  He proceeded to say that his “gut” feeling is that all of what is going on with Brandon is reversible.  Dad said it best with “We hope your gut is right.”  We also noticed that Brandon’s eyes and eyelids are fluttering a bit and his hiccups are coming back.  We are hopeful that these are all signs of him trying to wake up.  We put on his iPod, hoping that his music will help him feel better.

 You can do it Brandon! It is time to wake up!

Friday, January 6th

Brandon spent the entire evening monitored by an EEG and being videotaped.  From what I saw of the video, it was a real nail biter : )  Dr. R came in to visit us first thing this morning.  He reiterated to us that he does not feel that Brandon has had a Stroke. From his extensive experience of actually operating on the human brain, he does not feel that Brandon displays the symptoms of a classic stroke victim.  The current theory of Brandon’s prognosis is that the tumor in his brain leaked to the surrounding tissues.  This type of chemical meningitis is causing him to have high fevers, difficulty breathing, fluctuating blood pressure, and a lack of response.  The results of Thursday's angiogram showed that the vessels surrounding his brain are working properly.  This is fantastic news!  Dr. R mentioned cases in which patients have woken after months with this type of trauma and urged us to wait patiently. Dr. R is anxious to see the results of the MRI of his entire brain and spine that Brandon is going to have later today.  We felt comforted with Dr. R’s prognosis when he left today.

Dr.  C showed up a little later in the morning and sat down to review the EEG that had been running through the night.  He pointed out the patterns of brain activity and some areas of synchronization which likely means some random minor seizure activity.  This type of seizure can be expected with this type of brain trauma. He verified with the nurses that Brandon is on Dilantin to treat the seizures and recommended that we continue running the EEG until Brandon was taken for his MRI.  During the day Brandon’s fever continued to fluctuate and his breathing and blood pressure were very erratic.  They were able to get his fever under control with the help of a cooling blanket.  His scan was scheduled for 3:00 p.m. but he did not actually go until 6:30 p.m.   The scan was scheduled to take approximately 4 hours so we do not anticipate any results until Saturday. 

We hope that tomorrow will bring good news from his MRI and improvement in his fevers and breathing.