Dad's Progress

Scroll down: Updates are posted below the pictures (below) with the LATEST entry first

My Dad had a bad fall down some steps at home on Thursday night (27 May) and hit his head pretty hard. He's been in Suburban Hospital's (Bethesda, MD) Intensive Care Unit since then in a coma. He had surgery Friday morning to remove a clot on his brain and insert a drain to remove fluid which causes pressure on the brain. That procedure went very well and the doctor said Dad's brain/head looked good (except for the obvious trauma). Or at least there was nothing he saw to indicate things were worse than expected.

Since the devastating news I received in a call from my Mom and a nerve-racking first day, things seem to be getting better. His follow up CAT scans show improvement, he is responding to stimuli like a pinch or if you tickle his foot. He coughs, yawns, etc. He grips my hand tightly too and we speak to him and speak in his presence as if he can hear and understand what we're saying (he looks like he's asleep). All these responses could be reflexes or voluntary but we'll take what we can get. We're just waiting for him to open his eyes at this point, which we expect to happen at any moment.

As I write this email it's been less than 48 hours. Lord only knows how things will go but please keep my Dad in your prayers. It doesn't seem as if his life is in danger but his brain just needs to gradually wake him up.

Jim Lampe

"I wanted a perfect ending...Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next."

-Gilda Radner

I created another page for the updates subsequent to 25 June 2004. Please click here to go to that page. I will still update this page with photos and videos but will post text updates to the new page.

Dad was back off the ventilator again today so it'll just take practice on his part to breathe consistently again on his own. There isn't much else to report today. Mom went to see Dad and said he looked great. He looked her in the eyes and seemed to be "with it."

I'm going to be hitting the road again Sunday and have business trips to various places planned for the next 3 weeks. I'll be updating this site daily from the road.

NOTE: In the next few days I'll probably add a new update page on Dad. You may have noticed that this one is getting kind of long. When you enter the site you'll be redirected to the new page displaying the most recent updates. This page will still be available as a link off the new page. I may end up creating pages for each month, for as long as it takes.

As of this afternoon Dad had been off the ventilator for 48 hours. You can tell though that it zaps most of his strength (breathing on his own) because he was pretty quiet all day. They try to keep him off his back as much as possible so he was turned to one side or the other for most of the day. Mom went to see him and said he wasn't moving too much partly because of his positioning.

Tonight we called the nurse who told us that they put him back on the ventilator for a while because his heart rate was up.

Mom is here with me at this late hour, as I update this space. She is staying over tonight after coming down for her birthday dinner. She maintains it's her 53rd birthday so I'll go along with the story. By the way, Bud is my dog (see cake below). His birthday is on the 28th.

I just got back from the hospital a few minutes ago. I went to see Dad tonight until they kicked me out at 10:30pm (EDT).

He was tired from a long day of being back in the chair and breathing on his own. Dad has been off the ventilator for 24 hours!! Once he's been off for 48 hours, which is probably when I'll next update this space, the medical staff will feel confident enough in his ability to breath without assistance that he can be moved out of the Step Down Unit.

We're getting closer to the moment when Dad leaves the hospital and enters a rehabilitation facility. If Dad was still on the ventilator, he would have to go to a facility that cares for ventilator patients. The list of those places is not long and you don't always get to pick where you want your loved one to go. If Dad continues to stay off the ventilator, then there are many more facilities available. These other facilities would have a more aggressive rehabilitation program where someone would work with Dad daily, providing him the best chance for a meaningful recovery.

I couldn't resist showing the picture you see to the right. I had the webcam going again tonight so my sisters could look in on Dad from CO. My wife and Mom (home resting) actually looked in too. Dad was awake for a while then drifted off to sleep. The image you see in the webcam image is the last one before I shut the camera down. I had to rename the camera the "Busted Marine Cam." Hey, I suppose it's a true description.

There was a different nurse on tonight and she about hit the roof when she saw the webcam. I told her we had to sign a release to take photos, etc. when this whole thing started. She called her supervisor to make sure it was OK. She came back and said it was OK as long as I didn't film other patients! Oh well, I guess I'll have to continue just filming Dad.

There was some other good news today in addition to Dad being off the ventilator for 24 hours. One of the nurses walked into Dad's room this morning and said, "Andy, move your arm." Dad immediately responded by moving his arm. That's the first time that's happened.

I went to see Dad today with Mom and when I walked in the room he was sitting in a chair. See photos below:

He was off the ventilator for most of the day and breathing on his own. In the photos you might see what looks like a ventilator tube but it's simply oxygen going in through his trach. Breathing on his own does take some of his strength so he seemed a little more tired today. There were times though when he makes certain expressions, looks around, etc. that again tells you he's in there trying to get out.

It's when we say we're leaving and prepare to leave that he really starts moving his arms and looking in our direction. Then of course we have to stay a while longer. Today he stared at Mom and had a sad expression on his face. It looked like he was about to cry and I pray it's because he's filled with love and hope and joy at his progress and not sadness and frustration that he can't communicate with us or fear that he'll be this way forever. I leaned down to kiss Dad and he brought his arm up towards me. Mom said he was trying to hug me so I put my head down on his chest and she put his hand on my head. Dad just slowly closed his eyes for a moment.

The picture you see to the right is from the DadCam today. He was looking over at me while I made some video messages to send out. We also had him on the webcam so my sisters could look in again for a while via the internet.

I did forget to mention one important thing the last few days. Dad is technically out of the coma. It's hard to say where he is actually. He is not really in a vegetative state (see descriptions here) rather he just doesn't respond too much.

You see there are moments when you know he is completely aware of what's happening. Take today for example- Mom usually keeps the TV on in Dad's room and tuned to CNN (they don't have Fox News which is what Dad and I watch normally) and the volume is up fairly high so Dad can hear it (he wears hearing aids). Today he motioned to Mom by moving his hand up towards his head. Mom said, "what is it, is the TV too loud?" DAD NODDED! Mom said, "do you want me to turn it down?" DAD NODDED! Mom turned it down and asked, "is that OK?" DAD NODDED!

Now Mom swears she's not crazy and that she knows she saw Dad nodding in response to her questions. Those are the kind of moments that get you excited!

I went to see Dad today and he looked great. It is really amazing the difference a week makes. We spoke to Dad a lot today and he tries so hard to move his mouth. He'll move his arm upward as if pointing or gesticulating (Dad's a bit of a sesquipedalian) then his lips will move slightly but with purpose.

His temperature was around 100.4 degrees which is a little higher but he's still dealing with the infection. He was on the ventilator a lot today so he'll have to keep working at breathing on his own.

There are some unique but familiar expressions starting to appear on his face. Today, we even saw "the Look." "The Look" is common to a lot of men but basically it's a non-verbal way of asking, "what the hell is going on?"

I had Dad on the webcam today in Dad's room (click here for the webcam) so my sisters in Denver could look in on him. If you go to the link you can see the last updated picture from today.

It's so hard to leave Dad after visits now because he watches you leave and you know that he knows you're leaving. It's tough.

Mom just spoke to one of the nurses who called to give an update on Dad. The nurse said that you can really tell when someone is fighting to come out and Dad sure looks like he's trying. She is keeping the TV on for him and he's intently listening to the situation in Iraq.

I'm excited! I went and saw Dad today and as I was getting my gown, mask and gloves on before entering the room he looked over at me in the doorway. He not only looks in your direction when you speak but he obviously can see with his peripheral vision. Mom put his glasses on him so he can see better.

Many times Dad followed us with his eyes and would turn his head in our direction. He moved his arm when we were speaking to him and he seemed to try to speak. His mouth was opening slightly. Mom said when I went to give him a kiss he puckered his lips!

I took some pictures of Dad today that I'll post here later tonight (I'm updating this from the road now). I've been documenting Dad's ordeal from the very beginning.

Dad looked better today. He was definitely more awake. He tracked Mom and the nurse around the room a number of times and when I called to say hi, Mom said he really seemed to listen with his eyes. She helped Dad open his left eye (still weak) and then he's able to hold it open by itself. You can tell it helps him focus and see better.

The medical staff had Dad off the ventilator for about 4-5 hours today! Once Dad gets off the ventilator he'll probably be moved to a skilled nursing facility or rehab center to continue his recovery. We're having to consider those options next.

Dad had the gastrostomy today and it went fine. He was sedated for the procedure and as a result Dad was pretty sleepy most of the day. He did open his eyes once or twice but was otherwise pretty quiet.

I have to admit I've dreaded the day when absolutely nothing happened and the update would be kind of boring. Well, that day is not today because there was another exciting development!

First of all, when Mom went in to see Dad today and said, "how's it going," he immediately opened his eyes. He opened both of them today. They don't stay open long, but they're open.

Now for the development- Mom told the one of the P.A.'s (physicians assistant) that she thought she saw Dad tracking her with his eyes and a little head movement. The doc asked Mom to walk from one side of the room to the other (kind of around the end of the bed) and they both saw Dad follow Mom with his eyes and move his head (very slightly) to follow her. The doc said, "he's tracking you!" Mom told the doc, "I'm hopeful" and he said, "you better be!"

Tomorrow Dad will have a gastrostomy. That's when the feeding tube is inserted into the stomach. Its a procedure that's performed right at the bedside. The feeding tube right now is still through his nose so tomorrow Dad's face will be free of tubes, finally.

Dad looked good today! He had his eyes open wider than we've seen. His right eye was wide open and the left, however weaker, was more open than its been so far.

They took Dad off the ventilator for about 30 minutes before he got tired. They will start to try and wean him off in greater increments.

The nurse repeated to Mom today the good news on Dad's spinal fluid culture but we still haven't heard officially from the doctor. Mom will see him tomorrow. By the way, yesterday it was the on-duty ICU doc not Dad's neurosurgeon who read the results of Dad's culture.

Dad had his eyes closed most of the time today. When Mom spoke to him he sometimes opened them. As Mom left today she kissed him goodbye and he opened his right eye. He's in there somewhere!

Thanks for asking about Dad at the grocery store. Mom just told me how many people she runs into there that ask about him. It really helps having so many people out there pulling for Dad. He's going to thank you all personally someday!

They outfitted Dad's bed with retro-reflective conspicuity markers (3M folks will get the reference) and moved Dad out of ICU!! He's been transferred to the "Step Down Unit" or what I call "ICU- light." This is of course good because it demonstrates the medical staff's confidence in Dad's increasingly stable condition.

The room is beautiful! Nice shelves for the pictures, TV and VCR...really nice. Dad had his right eye open a lot today and Mom shoved pictures in front of it while he was awake. Today was a more active day where you think he'll wake up at any moment.

The doctor said nothing is growing on the culture they took of Dad's spinal fluid so that means the positive test (for a "bug") on the original culture was some kind of contaminate. That means someone touched it or something but whatever it was, it didn't come from Dad. That's great news. We still have to wear the mask, gown and gloves when visiting Dad while the MRSA is treated.

Mom and Dad have been members of St. Mary's Church in Rockville, MD for 32 years. I grew up in that church as did both my sisters, Laura and Linda. The choir at the church was selected a while back to sing for the Pope in Rome. They will take along the petition book from church to have it blessed by the Pope. Dad's name is in the book along with others from the church who are sick, injured, etc.

I went and saw Dad today. When I arrived Mom had already been there for a little while and Dad was resting. I said hello and held his hand and I saw his right eye open a little. He tried to open the left eye too but he is definitely stronger on the right side.

Most of the time we were there today Dad was resting so there wasn't much movement. We just sat with him for a while, talked and then left. There might be plenty of days like this ahead but we know Dad is healing inside and it's just a matter of time.

The doctor found a "bug" in Dad's spinal fluid culture. They took another one today and if the bug is still there they'll have to treat Dad with antibiotics by basically injecting them straight into his brain. The body does an awesome job of protecting the brain but it creates a challenge when there is an infection present.

Dad is back in his room. He ended up not going into surgery until after noon EDT but it went well. When they brought him back to his room and were shuffling him around in bed to reattach some of the tubes, his eyes were again open. Both eyes are open but the right much more than the left. He's sleeping now.

The doctor told my Mom not to "read too much into the fact that his eyes were open." He mentioned that we still need to see more movement in them like tracking of objects, etc. But we're excited nonetheless.

Mom entered Dad's intensive care unit (ICU) room this morning and saw Dad staring at the ceiling! The nurse said he opened his eyes around midnight. Thank God! Dad's right eye is fully open and the left eye is partially open. Throughout this coma Dad seemed to favor the right side so we'll probably have to do a lot of work (therapy) on his left side to make it catch up.

Mom said Dad may have followed her around the room once with his eyes but otherwise he kind of looks straight ahead. He blinks a lot when Mom speaks to him and the way he blinks, etc. makes her think he's possibly (kind of) understanding her. Mom pointed out to him the pictures we have on the wall in his room (I printed out 8 X 10s) of the grandchildren.

Dad's Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score by my calculations should now be 11. Opening the eyes spontaneously gives him 3 more points.

Dad goes into surgery right about now (9:40am EDT) to have the shunt (ventricular catheter) inserted in his head. Mom will be there when he gets out and I'll have the usual late day update this evening.

Thank you so much for your kind notes, thoughts and prayers. We appreciate them so very much and so does Dad.

Mom went to see Dad today. She can't decide if it's better to have an optimistic nurse or a pessimistic nurse. One nurse last week apparently asked the doctor, "Have you given the family the prognosis yet?" Her tone of voice giving away her pessimism. The doc told her he didn't even know the prognosis himself! Then today when my Mom arrived, the optimistic nurse (you know, the IV-bag-is-half-full type) said she was tempted to call the doctor because Dad seemed like he would wake up at any moment.

Now, of course we love the optimistic nurse but my Mom doesn't think Dad was doing anything he hadn't already done and this nurse was new to Dad so she had no point of reference regarding his movements over the last 2 weeks. The point is that when you're in this position you are already all-over-the-map emotionally. Couple that with trying to read the minds and hidden prognoses of every optimistic/pessimistic nurse, neurosurgeon, trauma doctor, physician's assistant, respiratory therapist, orderly, cafeteria lady, etc. and you get a bit crazy!

The most recent CAT scan showed that Dad's ventricles were enlarged (condition known as Hydrocephalus) which occurs when the spinal fluid builds up causing pressure on the brain. For this reason, the doctor will operate on Dad tomorrow to insert the shunt (ventricular catheter) . This provides a conduit for the spinal fluid to run all the way to Dad's belly. The shunt will channel the spinal fluid until Dad's body again absorbs it naturally (spinal fluid). Up until yesterday, Dad had a catheter sticking out of his head for this purpose but they couldn't leave that in forever.

Dad's fever was back up again today between 101 and 103 degrees. This most likely a result of the infection (MRSA) or early pneumonia, which is very common in coma patients.

A nurse went to prick Dad's left arm for blood today and he moved it quite a bit and grimaced. That's exciting because he doesn't move his left arm much and it's just another meaningful response.

Dad had the trach put into his neck today in a quick and routine procedure. The doctor decided to hold off on inserting the shunt (ventricular catheter) into Dad's head for a few days. The catheter line will run near one of the other catheter points on Dad's right shoulder and they want to minimize the risk of infection. They'll take that catheter in his shoulder out today and give it a couple of days to heal.

I personally saw Dad's eyes open a little which was exciting for me. The doctor administers some pain stimulus and Dad grimaces and then opens one or both eyes very slightly. He looks like he's about to reach up and slug the doctor squeezing his shoulder and we say, "come on Dad, let him have it" to try and get some more response. Of course we don't want Dad to hit the doctor but you understand.

Dad looks so much more comfortable without the ventilator tube in his mouth. He is moving his lips every so often (not forming words) as you might while sleeping. Also the bandages were removed from his head and reveal his "high and tight" haircut. He looks like a proud, battle-hardened Marine lying there.

I taped President Reagan's state funeral so Dad can watch it in its entirety when he wakes up. As the patriotic Battle Hymn of the Republic was played, I thought of Dad lying there in his bed fighting a battle of his own and of the struggles that surely lie ahead. Dad, we're ready to fight with you!

Dad opened his eyes again today during some of the stimulus tests. The doctor is trying to keep us grounded by telling us not to read too much into that but who cares, he again opened his eyes!

Dad will go into surgery again tomorrow to have the shunt (ventricular catheter) "installed" in his head. Mom and I will see him about 8-9am before the surgery. Dad's ICP (Intracranial Pressure) was back up a little overnight so they'll put in the shunt to ease the pressure. They'll also put the trach in Dad's neck for the ventilator.

Other than that a quiet day as I suppose there could be many more of before Dad wakes up. Thanks so much for the prayers and thoughts. We are very thankful to have so many people behind Dad and us.

Today the trauma doctor checked Dad's legs for clots and found none. Clots in the legs can develop in bedridden patients and create problems if not addressed. Dad localized pain again today during some testing. The ICP (Intracranial Pressure) numbers seem to be stabilizing under 20 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury), in the neighborhood of 14-15 mm Hg. Overnight they drained only 30cc's of fluid and the ICP remained stable whereas just a few days ago they were having to drain upwards of 200cc's. A check of Dad's pupils yielded the same good results as yesterday. Dad's temperature is lower, hovering between 98 and 99.2 degrees.

We just spoke to the doctor and he thinks he might be able to avoid putting a shunt (ventricular catheter) into Dad's head. The shunt would be a longer-term method to drain fluid off Dad's brain. They take the drain out (inserted from day 1) tomorrow and then take a CAT scan in a few days to monitor the results. After that they'll decide on the shunt.

In the next couple of days the doctor will perform a tracheostomy. This will allow Dad to be on the ventilator but without the tubes going through his mouth. At some point (maybe in the same surgery) the feeding tube will be inserted directly into Dad's abdomen. This will certainly make things more comfortable for him.

The doctor reminded us that the best recoveries from comas are those that occur early. Early means the first 48-72 hours or possibly just a day or two beyond that. It's now been 11 days that Dad has been in a coma. The doctor told us not to lose hope and that Dad still could have a better recovery than we've seen thus far. We are absolutely not giving up hope and expect Dad to definitely have a much better recovery than he has seen so far. He won't be the same as he was before but we've heard too many great recovery stories to settle for a "little better recovery than we've seen thus far."

He did not open his eyes today but the trauma doctor was administering some pain stimulus by squeezing Dad's fingernails and toenails and Dad would localize his response to the pain. That means he would move the extremity closest to the source of the discomfort. The doctor also shined (or possibly shone) his flashlight into Dad's eyes (while holding them open) and Dad would immediately look away by moving his head. His pupils are also responding normally. These are all great steps toward recovery. When we spoke to Dad today he sometimes lifted his right arm and even tilted his head toward us very slightly. We feel that Dad waking up is imminent.

The trauma doctor mentioned to me that Dad was pretty bad when he first arrived (last week) and he didn't look good. But now it appears that Dad could have a decent recovery. Of course we still have no idea when he will open his eyes and then what his "deficits" will be. "Deficits" refers to what skills Dad will lack as a result of the trauma to his brain (speech, balance, etc.)

Mom will visit Dad tomorrow morning/afternoon and I'll visit with him in the evenings. This is not a sprint but a marathon.

I arrived at Suburban Hospital and thought I saw three doctors ready to operate on Dad in his room when I remembered we had to wear the gown, mask and gloves because of the MRSA (it was Mom, Laura & Linda). My Mom was kind of excited because when she first arrived and began speaking to Dad he very slightly opened his eyes. That's a big deal. Eye-opening to voices is another positive step. Dad continues to move a little and even seemed to move his head more. His temperature is down a little and the ICP (Intracranial Pressure) number hovers anywhere between 14 and 20. They like to keep those levels under 15 so if it goes to 20 for more than 5 minutes they drain some of the spinal fluid to ease the pressure on his brain.

We all came back to my house for dinner and called the doctor whom we had missed at the hospital. He was happy to hear that Dad opened his eyes (again, just briefly) because the doc could not get that response earlier in the day.

Laura & Linda have to head home to their families tomorrow so it'll be just Mom and I for the foreseeable future. Dad will be sad to hear about Smarty Jones and President Reagan. Dad would have been glued to the TV today watching the coverage.

The doctor said that while testing Dad this morning with some of the painful stimuli (pinching the shoulder, rubbing the sternum, etc.) that Dad opened his eyes. It was brief and he has not opened them since but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

Mom, Laura and Linda went to see him today. His fever is down a little and he was moving around a bit. The doctor just told us on the phone that in addition to Dad opening his eyes that he thought he looked better. Dad reached to push the doc's hand away during the tests this morning too so with the brief eye-opening to pain, Dad is now an 8 on the Glascow Coma Scale.

We'll all go see Dad together again tomorrow. Thanks so much for all the emails and notes in the guestbook. It's amazing and comforting to know how many people have had experience with a loved one being in a coma and then having that loved one "wake up" after 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, etc. It really helps us keep positive and hopeful.

When I got to the hospital this morning Linda (my other sister) and Mom looked pretty down and there was a new machine in Dad's room. I was a little nervous at first, wondering what was happening, but the new machine was just a motorized version of the ice blanket from yesterday and Mom and Linda were down because Dad didn't look as good as yesterday. Spirits will be up and down like a roller coaster for the duration of this thing.

Dad's fever was 102 so they were trying to cool him off. We went with him up to the Operating Room floor and wished him well. It was only minutes later that they were bringing him back down to Intensive Care. The doctor had not yet arrived and they discovered that Dad had MRSA. It's a type of staph infection commonly contracted in hospitals. That might explain the fever at least. When the doc arrived they decided to go ahead with the surgery and it went well. The doctor removed the other clot from the surface of Dad's brain. He said there was quite a bit of bruising on the brain and that Dad must have hit his head a number of times (back and forth) during his fall.

Because of the MRSA, we have to now wear a gown, mask and gloves when visiting Dad. I thought it would be funny if I was standing over him in that garb and he woke up. I would tell him that he's been out for 5 years and I had decided to go to medical school while he was sleeping. Well, now we just have to wait and see if the removal of the second clot spurs Dad back to consciousness. It's a waiting game now since there seems to be no further neurological repairs needed. They'll also have to keep and eye on the infection.

Today was a better day. Dad looks good and the swelling from the surgery last Friday afternoon is down. Except for what looks like a white winter hat on his head and some tubes sticking out of his mouth, he looks great. I know that sounds silly but his color is good, and he just looks like he's ready to wake up and get the heck out of there.

As is common with intensive care patients, Dad still has a bit of a fever. The nurses put an ice blanket on him today and it helped plus I have to think the cold will help stimulate his senses. His eyes seemed to be moving even more today however they remain closed. He moved a lot today especially on his left side. His left hand moved and so did his left and foot. He bent his right leg at the knee for the first time that I remember. So he seems to be coming back one little bit at a time. He had some different expressions on his face and they were most evident on his forehead. The ventilator prevents him from doing too much with his mouth but he does smack his lips and yawn as one might do while sleeping. Dad has periods when he's asleep and looks quiet and peaceful. When we're speaking to him or when the doc is testing him for a response, you can clearly see activity in his eyes. They look like they're blinking except they never open. It's at those moments when you would not be surprised for him to just open his eyes. The doctor pinches Dad's shoulder to cause some pain and hopefully elicit a response. Dad grimaces and it's a strange sight. But it's necessary to get him moving.

The doctor isn't sure why Dad is not yet awake. Everything looks good enough for him to be awake. Dad still has the smaller blood clot on the surface of his brain. We decided after discussing it with the doctor and also with Dad's family doctor to have it removed tomorrow afternoon. The surgery is low risk as the clot is easily accessible and Dad's vital signs are strong. It's worth a try and that clot just might be putting enough pressure on Dad's brain to keep him in the coma. This is much less risky than Dad's earlier surgery to remove the bigger clot. That clot (hematoma) was much deeper.

Our sister Laura flies into Dulles tomorrow morning at 5am. I'll pick her up and then after a nap we'll all be with Dad before the surgery. I'll update this space as soon as I can.

This whole experience is so surreal. It's been nearly a week and it feels like nearly a year. We are absolutely positive and optimistic about Dad's recovery. The quote above from Gilda Radner is one that my Mom cut out and had on the fridge at home. Your prayers and emails are very much appreciated. I can't wait for my Dad to read them himself!

Dad's condition remained unchanged today as of this update. He had a CAT scan this morning and it showed that things were about the same as yesterday, which is good news. There is a clot still in his head (they removed the bigger of the two) but it is manageable. The medical staff suggested letting him rest some today because he was moved around quite a bit for the CAT scan this morning. His temperature is up a little hovering around 100 and the ICP (Intracranial Pressure) number is also elevated. They drain the excess fluid at various intervals.

He moves his right arm every now and then and seems to be stronger on his right side. Yesterday, the nurse said we should move his left arm every so often. In coma patients, if one side is stiller than the other the brain can actually focus more recovery effort on the side that's moving. It literally forgets that the other (still) side exists.

There are going to be exciting days and quiet days. Everyone says it just takes time...

Thanks so much for all the emails and calls! We're telling Dad he has a lot of people out there keeping tabs on his condition and pulling for him. Sometimes when we speak to him he suddenly makes a movement of some kind so I have to believe he is hearing us.

Happy Memorial Day! My Dad was pretty excited about the WWII Memorial Dedication so we'll have to fill him in on the details when he wakes up. He is a proud former Marine helicopter pilot and we set up some Marine stuff in the room along with some family pictures.

There was no dramatic change today. If you've ever been in this situation you'll understand what it's like to sit with a loved one in a coma and hang on every movement, yawn, cough, gurgle, etc. You might even manufacture things you swear you saw. "Hey, he moved his hand, Dad, are you there?" However, there were some genuine moments when by God he does move voluntarily. Today the nurse moved Dad's hand back onto the bed (from the side rail) and he very quickly moved it back to the rail. We all said, "Did you see that?" Then the nurse moved his hand again and again Dad moved it back to the rail. This went on 5 times. We stood and huddled around Dad shouting, "Dad, we know you're in there, come on out!" And his eyelids moved a little and his mouth seemed to move slightly and you know he's trying to communicate but then that's all. Then things kind of go quiet.

Later I went to shake his hand and he quickly grabbed me. He even lifted my hand by moving his arm up. I later asked the nurse if it was wishful thinking on our part to get excited about these slight movements. Were they just reflexes? The nurse said he (the nurse) would tell us bluntly if it was wishful thinking and in his opinion it was not. Dad really is moving on his own a little.

All his vital signs look good. He has a monitor in his head which measures ICP (Intracranial Pressure) and they have to periodically drain spinal fluid out to decrease the ICP reading. The brain produces spinal fluid all the time and as Dad gets better the circulation of this fluid normalizes to the point where it does not exert excess pressure on the brain. Dad is and has been on a ventilator. This is not necessarily "life support" though because it is only making Dad's job of breathing easier. Dad can breathe on his own and the vent is set very low but it's a precaution when patients are comatose. Of course Dad is being fed through a tube.

I read on a medical website that people in comas just don't wake up like in the movies and walk out of the hospital the next day. I guess anything could happen but we're already preparing ourselves for the long physical therapy that is ahead.

Things are heading in the right direction. Dad's neurosurgeon said that the latest CAT scans looked good and showed more improvement. He said other than where they removed the clot, the brain looked good and undamaged. The scans were much clearer today and they can see things they need to see to feel better about his recovery. The doctor pointed to areas of the brain responsible for speech (could you imagine Andy Lampe unable to talk?), etc. and they all looked good. Of course the proof will be when Dad wakes up and starts trying to talk, move, etc.

There is a measurement scale used for comas called the Glascow scale. Dad is scoring about a 7 out of 15. Patients get scored based on eye, verbal and movements. So far Dad can only localize pain (doc pinches his shoulder lightly and Dad reaches to push the doc's arm away). His eyes remain shut and he has not made any verbal sounds. When someone is coming out of a coma it's referred to as "getting lighter" and thank God, Dad is getting lighter. Today the doc spoke to Dad loudly and said "stick up your thumb" or "hold out two fingers", etc. Dad didn't respond but was moving his head a little and his eyes seemed to flutter and you just knew he was trying to do something. Dad grips your hand when you hold his but it could be a reflex. A wonderful moment occurred though when the doc asked Dad to release his grip on the doc's hand and my Dad did! The doc was upbeat (very different than just 36 hours prior!) and cracked a smile and said, "he just might make it out of this."

Later the nurse was checking on my Dad after he raised his arm himself. She put her hand down on his bed and Dad lifted his hand and placed it on her hand. That was no reflex! "He's even beginning to flirt with the nurses," my Mom said!

We're so optimistic and hopeful. It's all you can be but in our case it's more than wishful thinking. Dad is really getting lighter. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. I know a lot of people will want to know how he's doing so I'll update this page for as long as it takes.