06/30/08 Italy Update delayed due to travel

I spoke with Sue about an hour ago, she & Johnnie were able to spend about 45 minutes
with Dad until they were rushed out because of another critical patient. 
They both said that dad looked good, more comfortable.I just got off the phone with
Dr. DiMaio and she gave me the run down.  Dad remains stable & his ICP remains normal. 
They did another CT scan this morning & saw no additional hemorhaging (yeah!!). 
I asked if they would notice if any of the "old" blood had been absorbed, she said
it is too soon for that to happen.  They do neurology exams daily in which they lower
the sedation level & check for movements & reactions.  The Dr said his left side is
almost totally normal, but there is still no movement on the right.  They expect the
right to have some problems as that corresponds with the left side of the brain where
the most damage is.  There is a little hemorhaging on the right side, but the
majority was on the left & the left side of the brain controls the right side
movements.  The neuro sergon said that he may be able to recover movements on his
left side.  The quality of recovery is not tested until 6 months after the injury. 
Sue said that dad coughed & Dr. DiMaio said that is a good sign, but she does not
want him to cough as it increases ICP, but he only did this once as I understand. 
The plan for the next two days is to keep him sedated & continue to do the neurology
tests daily.

This is all moving in the right direction!  I asked Dr. DiMaio if the "thrashing"
& agitated state he was in after he was moved to the neuro ward could have caused
any of the complications leading to surgery.  She said absolutely not.

That's all for now.

Steve