Jess In The ICU

I am very sorry for the delay in getting information out to you guys, I realize I left you out on ledge with no answers. Again, sorry about that. Jess is recovering in the ICU, and by all accounts is doing as good as can be expected today. Almost immediately after writing my the last blog we got a call in the waiting room saying that one of us could go and see Jessica. Bonnie and Bob were gracious enough to ease my eagerness to see her and allowed me to go first. Or maybe I just left...When I arrived at her room, my heart sank. I found her screaming in pain, nearly hyperventilating, with tears streaking down her face.

Jess has an incredible tolerance to pain medications. It has been an issue with every single brain surgery. We thought we took steps to eliminate this prior to the surgery by informing anyone and everyone who would listen, and showing documentation the on her charts, but it did not help. Either the information never made it across departments or no one can fathom that Jess needs the same amount of painkillers as a women literally twice her weight. After entering Jess's room I quickly relayed all the information that we had already told so many people and after 45 excruciating minutes she started to feel the effects of the painkillers and began to level off. The nurse stated that she did not think anyone in the room would still be conscious after taking the amount of painkiller they administered to Jess. Needless to say this was extremely difficult and not what I was expecting. This experience started the cycle of me not leaving Jess until this exact moment. This is why I was not able to write an update blog and give everyone the information they were seeking.

Once Jess got her proper dosing in order, things have been going. The staff has been incredible (besides the obvious) and Jess is quickly becoming friends with every single person who enters the room. It is important to explain what 'good' means in terms of a craniotomy recovery. First off, I will say that she seems to be doing better then the previous surgeries relative to the same time frame. unfortunately what this looks like for Jess is; occasionally slurred speech and word finding issues, blurry vision, loss of motor skills and decrease in cognitive abilities. Lots of tears. Lots of stress. Lots of worry. Some of these deficits are an expected byproduct of surgery, but none are guaranteed to diminish. We all hope they will, but nothing is certain. There is an tremendous amount of healing that still needs to take place. There are going to be hard days in her future, but if there is one thing I know, it is that she has done it before and she can do it again. Amongst all this pain and worry Jess still manages to be polite and caring to everyone. After the tears comes one of those smiles, the type that somehow reassures everybody in the room. Just as quickly as she gets sad from not accomplishing something, she is elated at one of her tasks conquered and puts both hands up in the air as if she won the ICU rehab championship.

I only mention her deficits to ask everyone to be cognizant of her healing and remember that the work will continue long after we leave California. Please continue to send your love and prayers her way, she is very moved by the amount of support she is receiving. Thank you all so much.

Here is the girl..