Getting back to Keith!
For everyone here is the lasted update:
Sunday, Sept. 26
We went to see Keith tonight around 5:00. He has no fever and is completely off the respirator. The lung cultures showed there was no pneumonia. The nurse was positive he had pneumonia, so I've decided your prayers worked! His stitches on his eyelid and nose have healed beautifully, I know he'll be glad he didn't mess up his pretty face! If you don't find him where he normally is, don't panic! The nurse said they will be moving him to a step down unit, probably ICUB, where he is not considered as critical. There, they will only check his stats every 4 hours. I asked Jennifer, his nurse, if she had anything new I could write about Keith to all his cyber friends. She began to talk about his right arm. This was exciting because several of you had noticed how he moves that right arm. I told her that the other nurses passed this movement off as being lower brain stem activity. She said this was different. Here goes my attempt at an explanation! She said this is not a motor reflex, an involuntary action or response, like blinking or sneezing. She said this was not withdrawal, which is a lower brain stem reaction. A withdrawal response is moving away from the point of the stimulus, i.e. when I pinch your arm, you will pull that arm away. She named the movement of his arm a localization response. An example of a localization response would be the pushing away of a painful stimulus. When she messes with his left shoulder, where he has several tubes, he picks up his right arm and tries to push her away. When she messes with his trache, he moves his right arm upwards to his neck. He hasn't moved his left arm or legs, but they're totally wrapped up! I finally got her to say that this was a GOOD sign, but she was so afraid to get my hopes up. She's right. My hopes are up. Any little sign of improvement gives us great hope. Pray he's feeling the pain from the injuries his body has endured, and next time he slugs someone!
Pray for healing.
On the way out, I had one of those GodStops again. That elevator seems to be a place for divine intervention. I ran into the chaplain that helped us Friday night. I don't think I told you about the two godly ladies that were our intermediaries the night of the crisis. They would go back and forth between the doctors and our family and give us constant updates. They were a godsend. Anyways, I ran smack dab into Leslie, and she said "Aren't you Keith's family?" How did she remember me? I stood amazed as I haven't seen her since last Friday night, and we're talking about Parkland, where she faces one crisis after another. She said she was on her way to check on Keith. She has a few patients that she continues to check on. Ones that have touched her in some way. I told her what a blessing she was to our family, and we both teared up, and went on our way. She felt something special about Keith, she couldn't stay away. We all feel the same way....
Once again, thanks for your interest in Keith's progress; we have a long road ahead of us. Only TIME will tell. We moved the things out of his apartment today. Special thanks to his friends that helped. It was a sad TIME. We felt like we were closing a chapter in Keith's life. His things are stored away for a TIME. But we anxiously await the TIME when Keith wakes up and yells, "Where is all my stuff?"
Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is an appointed TIME for everything. And there is a TIME for every event under heaven-"
God bless you all.
