Hospital Report
Went to the hospital today to see Matt and he's holding steady. Sort of.
His intracranial pressure (ICP) was down to 12-14 when I first got there. His blood pressure was 129-130/50s and 60s. As the day progressed, all his pressures were rising.
Just before I left, he was receiving dialysis, along with some blood. The blood was needed because his potassium level was too high and frankly, he's "dry".
He's on a ventilator, has wires coming out of his head and chest, and requires total care. He will remain in the medically induced coma for a while still.
CT scan, EEG (measures brain activity), and angiogram are all on hold because he's too unstable to withstand those tests. They can't lower the head of his bed because of the ICP elevation.
Matt looks so fragile and frail right now that it's hard to imagine him as the same Matt we all know and love. But imagine him that way, we must. It's too difficult to imagine anything else.
We tried to tell him that CodePINK heard about his hospitalization and were protesting outside the hospital, but that wasn't enough to rouse him from his current state.
His daughter and wife are both trying hard to hold it together. There's so much to process! His daughter, thankfully, has innocence and youth to bolster her spirits. His wife, well, all the friendship and loving support from others isn't the same as having her husband awake and talking, helping her through this.
Their Costco membership was renewed last night so Mrs. Matt can continue to get gasoline at a better price. We're going to get cash/gift cards to a local grocery store. And, we're going to determine what their needs are as far as utilities and other living expenses so that there are fewer things to worry about. The list is developing and we'll get it all together in the next couple of days.
One of the big things is that we need to get Mrs. Matt's mom here to help with keeping the house running. She needs her mom. So, anyone with flight vouchers or such should speak up and help us do this. Mrs. Matt's mom would need to fly out of Colorado Springs into San Diego.
Is this something YOU can help with? If so, let us know.
Matt may be only 38, but he's been through so much already. We could scream and cry and wail about how this isn't fair (and it isn't - it never is), but that won't help this family. What we have is someone who has always been there, smiling, helping, giving...who needs all that and more from us now.