Friday March 30, 2012

Brandon is having a much better day today. He is back to having his trach buttoned which allows him to breath on his own, speak and have small sips of juice and water. He was also able to go down to radiology in the afternoon to do the barium swallow study where he found out he can now eat pureed and soft food such as ice cream and cheesecake. He had his first real meal in over 3 months! He was so excited to eat mashed potatoes, chicken soup, cheesecake and hot chocolate.

Congratulations Brandon!!!

Thursday March 29, 2012

Brandon had a rough early morning on Wednesday. He began running a fever and needed a bronoscopy to clear out his lungs again. He was then put back on the ventilator to reinflate the right lung. Results from his lung cultures showed he has another infection. This means his moving back to the Rehab has to be postponed once more.

Tuesday March 27, 2012

Brandon has continued to ride the roller coaster of health issues. It was decided that he would wait another day in the ICU to continue to prepare to have his esophagus dilated on Tuesday. He has been working hard to stretch his mouth to allow for the bite block he needs to wear for the procedure. He is now able to fit 14 tongue depressors between his molars on both sides of his mouth. Brandon, no one can call you a big mouth!

The procedure went well Tuesday afternoon and the doctor was able to stretch his esophagus from 5 milimeters to 8 milimeters. He will have more dilations every two weeks until he gets to 18 milimeters.This is still quite small so Brandon will have a barium swallow study to determine what food he can actually eat.

Remember...Baby Steps!!

Wednesday, March 21st

Brandon spent a few days at the rehabilitation unit but was then transferred back to the ICU because he was having difficulty breathing again.  Doctor's and nurses have been working to clear out the infection in Brandon's lungs with medication, suctioning, and this strange vest that shakes him and helps loosen the mucus.......

Brandon's lungs are doing really well today.  Hopefully he can be taken off of the ventilator in the next few days and get back to rehab early next week. 

At times Brandon's spirits have been low but he is finding strength in his friends, family, and faith in the gospel.  It has now been almost 3 months that Brandon has been in the hospital and he is beginning to feel like life in the outside world is distant.  We, as a family, want to encourage any family and friends to come and visit Brandon any time they can.  Please call or text Ron or Suzy at 801-358-0627 or 801-636-5327 to arrange a time.  It would mean a lot for Brandon to know that everyone still thinks about him and is still hoping and praying for his speedy recovery!

We love you Brandon!!!!

Wednesday, March 14th

There was a change of plans for Brandon over the last few days....and nothing ever goes as planned.  It was decided on Monday that Brandon would have the first, of many, procedures to expand a restriction in his esophagus.  He was very excited about this because he feels like it has been an eternity since he has been able to eat or drink.  He was moved from the ICU to a standard patient room on the 7th floor of the hospital so that he could have the procedure done.  However, once he got there, they realized that they could not open his mouth wide enough to do what they needed to do so he was sent back to his room.  This was very disappointing for him.  We were then told that he would be moving back to the rehabilitation unit to continue with his therapies and an xray would be taken to determine the current extent of his esophagus stricture.  Later it was decided that he would stay in the 7th floor for the xray and it has been scheduled for 3:00 p.m. today.  He is doing well with his breathing but is having some congestion that he needs help removing.  Brandon feels like there has been a lot of time wasted lately and is very anxious to start working hard at the rehabilitation unit. He is in relatively good spirits, considering that he has been shuffled around quite a bit over the last few days.....

Hang in there Brandon!

Monday, March 12th

Brandon has now been moved from the LTAC facility to the Rehabilitation center at UVRMC!  This is exciting for him because he knows that he is one step closer to getting home! He was able to get settled into his new room on Tuesday but was having a bit of difficult breathing.  On Thursday, he was transferred to the NST ICU because his oxygen level was very low.  They discovered an infection in Brandon's lungs and are treating him with antibiotics.  He did very well over the weekend and is in very good spirits.  He is doing so well that he will be moving back to the Rehabilitation unit today to get moving on his therapies!  Brandon's breathing has improved dramatically and he is breathing without the ventilator and with just a little help from oxygen through his nose.  This is nice because he can spend more time talking and is sounding more like himself every day!  Another huge change in Brandon has been with his emotions and attitude.  He remains much more positive and less emotional and agitated throughout the day now.  This is a great indication that he is recovering well from his brain trauma and is now ready to focus on what he needs to do to get home!

Keep it up Brandon................                                         or should we call you Superman!

Friday March 2, 2012

Brandon has done well progressing on his ventilator weaning this week. He has been breathing independent from the ventilator with a T-Piece all week. He will have his trachiostomy buttoned today to see how well he tolerates it. We're all very excited for this next step in the weaning process. Earlier in the week Brandon was given a series of swallowing tests to see if he can swallow without aspirating into his lungs. This meant he had to swallow water with a dye followed by a suctioning of his lungs to make sure no dye showed up in his lungs. He had to pass this test three days in a row. He passed the test and was told he could now have ice chips and small amounts of water. He was very happy about this.  


Way to go Brandon!