The few things I know so far is that he’s going to have seizures for the rest of his life now. He had a stroke cause by the TBI. He will have a lowered indentation in the skull as I believe they used mostly his own skin and removed some of the circumference of the break in the skull and were able to reattach to himself. There are still so many unknowns as of this moment. But what is known is he will never be able to take care of himself in any form. I will be helping my mother take care of him and we will have to get a in home nurse for him.
Just got an update, they did another ct scan this morning, seems he’s diminished some more over night and they’ll be doing a tracheotomy soon. They had to sedate him more so could also be need for it due to that I’m hoping.
The updates I’ve gotten recently have not been good ones.
Thank you to everyone who’s helped out so far and those whom will.
He’s got build up happening in his lungs and last time I was there his pee bag was showing lots of red build up and clouding so I’m sure he started having an infection. Once they closed up his head the wound was no longer venting so it started building up pressure and his eyes are swollen.
My brother now has a very long road ahead, we are still waiting to find out what his mental capacity may be. He’s been able to sit up and try to talk or say hello. He has a very large zipper across his head now and a hairline that gives a receding hairline a run for its money. ( have to find some humor in this very depressing time sorry). His urine bag is clearing up and not looking to be infection or internal bleeding anymore.
My mother is up there currently with him as I had an appointment for my daughter so I will be going up there by tomorrow again. I hope that no one has to ever endure the challenges my family has been throw. This is truly a nightmare to live in.
Was told today that they’ll be moving my brother to the long term rehab this coming week. So that’s a positive. Hopefully we can soon get some determination on how competent he may be. He was smiling at my mom yesterday on a video chat so I mean there seems to be tons of hope. When I seen him he was able to respond and understand things and move around. But holy fuck the drs have been so amazed that he is even alive. He had one bullet go right though the arm not even nic a bone or artery and the one in the head entered and left out and just put a gaping hole and bones where they shouldn’t be. Which he can’t ever have removed….. so they just closed him up and he’s doing what he’s doing now. It’s insane to me that 9 days ago he was supposed to be dead
They haven’t moved him yet, we had some unreal rain fall out this way and made roads pretty messed up, he has been able to walk with assistance!!! He is breathing on his own again as well! No more traych tube. Seems he may not have the complete motor functions though or possibly forgot how to actually write… still unsure of all brain activity but this possibly gives a little insight on what happened due to the stroke he had from the injuries.
The brain is a very strong muscle… seems like hes making much process. I had my brain drained because of swelling due to a car accident, and while it was swollen; i lost the ability to talk and for a while. I was able to write but there was a disconnect. Hopefully when the swelling goes down… Your brother will regain the ability to write. Sounds like a lot of positive news considering what happened. Good luck brother..
One of the few folks I know that have been through something similar. Thank you for the words of encouragement brother. I know you’ve made a he’ll of a recovery in life after what you’ve been through and I only know one other person who’s had a similar accident or tbi, seeing your progressions throughout the years on how well one can recover and seeing the milestones my brother is already getting back to amazes me with how the brain functions. It’s so hard wondering all the questions that want to be answered though. I want to know if he’s still him. I want to know if he will be able to ever take care of daily activities again. It’s just hard seeing someone you’ve known your whole life go from being a fully functional adult to having death on their step and now possibly having the functions of a toddler.. I hope everyday he recovers with ease.
I’m sure you will meet and talk to more people in the future who have dealt with a traumatic brain injury.
If this story helps, a friend’s brother was attacked when he was a toddler and stabbed through the skull multiple times with a kitchen knife. He spent almost two years in the hospital and to start over like an infant re learning everything. He recovered, at least to a remarkable extent. He walks with a slight limp and can be a little quirky or eccentric, personality-wise, but other than that he was raised to not accept the idea that he is disabled and has always lived a productive life.
It’s really amazing what the human brain is capable of doing and being able to protect itself and have the ability to navigate most challenges we face.
To be honest my brother is very hard headed and I keep joking that his forehead was so thick that’s probably why the round didn’t lodge itself in, from what it looked like on X-rays and what I understood is that he was either hit from the side like offset or it was direct to the forehead and diverted off and out.
My dad had made the joke he could be 10 second John or we could have him back as he was or almost so. Until being able to test his cognitive functions it’s still so unsure. But he seems to have so much promise to it so far. They’ve even had to recommend a new facility for him on rehab as he already progressed further than what the other facilities called for as in terms of care needed.
Thank you for your kind words & to everyone who has chipped in to help out with this unfortunate time for my family once again.
You are a warrior I know I don’t know you personally but to handle something like this with the grace you have shown is remarkable, I commend you for that. The progress so far sounds amazing, I am hoping he can continue to progress at an exponential pace. Will continue to pray for you and your brother!
Thoughts, prayers, and positive vibes for your brother, you, your mom, and the rest of your family. If he’s anything like you, he will pull through and surprise everyone with his strength and resilience. He is lucky to have a great brother, and lucky to be given another day to fight. We are all a spark of the light, and it can show us amazing things. Keep faith in miracles, and keep showing him love! I have no idea the pain you are all going through, but I’m always here if you ever want to talk. Take care brother!
Heading to see my brother Monday down in Phoenix with my mom. They did his transfer yesterday to the rehabilitation center. Hopefully it went well, I did t hear anything about how the drive went for him but he is breathing on his own again and they capped off his traych. He’s been able to walk a little more and of course with help and stabilization.
Thank you to everyone for the kind words I really appreciate reading them from yall.
I woke up today feeling blessed that my family hopefully is finally back in a good direction. Hopefully they all follow and feel that same suit.
Just got back home drove 500 miles today. 7-8 hours on the road I forget…
It’s so fucking heart breaking seeing my brother in his current stasis. He’s got the functions of an adult (almost) but the control and impulses of a 3-4yr old… he’s lost 2-3 years of his memory currently…. He is under the belief he’s still living in the house that started this thread with his girlfriend and ALL of the kids still alive…. My heart aches so bad for him. He remembers me and my wife and can TALK!!! After we had left today he ended up pulling his traych out. That’s 2x since he’s been in this rehabilitation center which unfortunately they don’t restrain patients so that they cannot do things as such… which is it persists there will be complaints made about the nurses as we noticed today that the nurse in charge of his room (they have 24/7 overwatch nurses) was quite literally just looking at his phone the whole fucking time which really pissed me off. Then they also lost his bandana and Spider-Man plush doll… both of those items he showed up with BELONGED to his oldest son and his youngest son that passed away. How fucking dare they loose track of his items and say oh well “he didn’t show up with them” the fuck!!’ Yes he did. They literally told us “oh they got sent to laundry cause he dirtied them, but now the fucking spider man is missing, yet they found the bandana. Fucking pricks. I’m sorry for being vulgar but I’m so beyond flabbergasted with how this is currently being handled by the lot of people around him in that center and by my own family that has no clue how to go about some of this shit.
Thank you all again for listening to me rant and update about my brother. I’m just so torn today knowing he is in that stasis. My head is heavy today with sorrow.
I’ll be headed to go see my brother tomorrow with my mom. She needs to begin a power of attorney petition for him as there is a a lot that needs to be taken care of for him and he is in no state to be able to do so and may not ever be… my mom didn’t realize it’s going to take a undetermined amount of fees just to be able to get his truck back out which thankfully is in my moms name so not as hard but still she’s on ssi and I’m doing all I can to help out. Honestly idk if the truck may be worth it since it’s got holes in it as well…. I’d rather them have insurance write the dang thing off
The hits just keep on coming. I am so sorry about the care facility. When our nurses don’t care, we have a bigger problem. Keep doing the next right thing. God bless your Mom and I sure hope they find that spiderman.
I guess a majority of the clothes he was sent to this facility with are now missing and so is the spider man still. In the way home last trip I saw one that looked exactly like it so I bought it and gave it to my mom for him and she gave it to him with his name on it two days ago. So we will also be taking up more clothes for him and have to start POA paperwork.
I went through the incompetent staff experience when my grandma was in the nursing home, which led me to look up the relevant laws, especially when they took my cleaning supplies away because they were “illegal.” It turns out the rule was just that they had to be locked up, so a foot locker with a lock solved that problem.
The law is actually an administrative code. Here’s a link for Arizona. Article 4 is most relevant. The code tells you your rights and also the responsibilities of the institution.
I cannot begin to fathom the shit I witnessed today in this facility when we got there. My brother had been sitting in his own piss for who the fuck knows how long. His bed was pissed in and drying long enough that it was almost dried.. there was piss all behind his bed and chair and he was sitting in a wet gown. HE HAS NO MORE FUCKING CLOTHES?!?! They misplaced ALL of his clothes now. But guess what the spiderman doll FINALLY showed up at the front desk. Meaning an employee turned it in. I’m fuming as can fucking be. My mother now has POA and we will be removing him and placing him into a facility closer to home and one that we can vet prior.
So not only did we see all this, but his nurse yet again was sitting in the corner just on the phone. Not paying attention to shit. My brother pulled out his iv and another tube and my mom asked me to help which my response was his fucking nurse is right there why is he not doing this?! Neither of us are medical professionals by any means but the fact that my own mother HAD TO CLEAN UP MY BROTHER AND HIS ROOM AND BED AND CHANGE HIS FUCKING SHEETS?! You bet your ass I’m going to be filing charges on this place. North mountain medical & rehabilitation center can count their fucking days now.
This is tough and I wish it was surprising. My MIL was recently in a SNF and we had similar challenges. She was in “indigent” clothing for a week while they tagged her clothing that we brought. She was not a fancy lady, but she had standards and it was demoralizing to be in stained, dead people’s clothes (mostly men’s wear) from the homeless basket.
We found that we had the most impact on her quality of care when we were positive and present. Just knowing that you are going to be there will get your brother better care than the poor schlep in the next bed who doesn’t have an advocate.
Every state has an Ombudsman program where auditors go into faciliites and advocate on behalf of patients. If you really think this place is neglecting their residents, I would call the Ombudsman’s office and see if you can have them come out. Have you searched the state database for complaints at this facility? Hold onto your hat. When we did this for my MIL the founded allegations were pretty shocking for place that are allwed to continue in business.