Hello from floor 11!  Today was not a day of big news, but we had a series of small positive steps.  Steffan still has fluid in the lower left lobe of his lungs, and they continue to administer antibiotics to get his lungs back in tip-top shape.  But with the help of a cooling blanket and a fan, his temperature seems to have calmed down to normal, which is a great sign.  Lab results showed that the infection appears to be isolated in the lungs, which is much better than an infection in the blood or brain.  He is also starting to be encouraged to breathe on his own, which is a step toward getting that nasty tube out of his throat.  That said, we are looking at Friday as the earliest day that would happen.

The doc who performed his angiogram came around in the morning, and reported that the surgery to clip his aneurysm appears to have gone very well.  They did detect some vasospasming during the angiogram, but used a balloon to open those vessels up, and were very upbeat about the results of that procedure.  A Doppler scan today (think your local weatherperson except she’s reporting on a brain instead of clouds) indicated that no further vasospasming has occurred, which is great.

The neurologist also came by to check in on Steffan, and was encouraged that his eyes were tracking and his blink reflex was working.  And we never thought we’d be more excited to see Steffan grimace, but when the neurologist pinched his right shoulder, Steffan made the nastiest face and moved his arm – all good signs.

In the past two weeks, we’ve also come to be acquainted with other people in The Waiting Room dealing with traumas occurring to their own loved ones.  We do our best to lift each others’ spirits, and to commiserate when people need to vent. There is John, the musician from Fresno who is living in a hotel room as he waits for his wife to get better.  There is the extended family of a man from Napa who was told by his original hospital that he had a pinched nerve, only to end up here in Neuro ICU after a stroke.  And there is a mother who came down from Mendocino County after her son was admitted after having a serious fall.  She’s been sleeping in The Waiting Room for the past several days waiting for things to get better, and today she told us her son passed overnight.  It’s a painful reminder that we have little control over how this all plays out.  So let us count our blessings, hope for the best, cling to these positive steps, and trust in Steffan’s strength, because he is one strong muthafucker!