August 28th

I don't count the days anymore. I just try and take it one day at a time and ignore duration of time passed because it's irrelevant and all happening in God's timing.

For those of you not following along via my Instagram stories...

After the covid test saga, we returned to rehab and Brian had a great week. He looked really great and everything seemed to be getting back to normal. We discussed a discharge plan for mid-September, which is still a work in progress (the short story - they feel they've exhausted all they can do medically for Brian and he just needs more time before he can return and participate in therapy once he's further along and awake). The good news is I believe we have found a local facility in Illinois that might be a good fit. There are a couple of options I'm exploring and feeling good about (but I mean...let's keep praying that God decides to wake Brian up between now and then, am I right!?)

Anyway, after this past hospital visit with the pneumonia and tracheitis, I became Brian's temperature police. If I wasn't in the room when they would take it, I would call them and get updates through the night to make sure he wasn't dropping low or spiking fevers. The first couple of days back, totally normal. But then Monday night, 95.3. Ugh. Low, but not terrible. Through the night, it elevated back to normal. No biggie.

Tuesday through the day, normal. But then Tuesday night, just before bed, 95.6. Okay, not crazy, but don't love it. Through the night, elevated to normal, max at 100 (but technically not a fever). My gut instinct was that something wasn't right since his body did this before he got sick. So I was a little unnerved. What now?

Wednesday totally normal day. Hooray! Before bed, vitals were perfect. Relief! 

Thursday I get an early morning phone call from the doctor: 'Brian's heart rate has been in the low 30s-40s all morning with low blood pressure. We gave him atropine, a medication that should elevate both of those things temporarily and we was not receptive to it so we are currently sending him to the ER again. The low heart rate he's experiencing is called bradycardia and we want cardiology to consult and figure out what might be causing it."

😑😑😑😑😑😓😓💔😭😭😭😭😭😭

I'll be honest. I felt numb. How could there be another thing bringing us to the ER, just one week after we finally left that hospital!? How is there another thing that blindsided me? This was really unexpected and outside the realm of things I imagined having to deal with within Brian's brain injury. But ok, let's pray through it and get it figured out. Every other time I've gotten these kinds of calls, I panicked. Cried, hyperventilated, etc. This time, I just walked numbly to the ER, praying for God to give me, but mostly Brian, the strength to endure this next trial. My brother, Erin and I spent the day with him as neurology, internal medicine doctors, cardiologists, ER doctors, and nurses examined Brian and tended to him. Reviewing labs, vitals, x-rays, CT scans...nothing. All of them scratching their heads. At one point they were talking possibly placing a pace maker. 

All the while, Brian's heart rate was staying in the low-mid 30s. I stared at the monitor all day watching it drop, worrying like crazy, not fully understanding what was happening. The silver lining: he started to respond to Atropine, the drug that didn't work in the morning. It magically started to work! It elevates the heart rate for up to 3hrs, so doctors were able to buy some time and come up with a plan. 

They decided to monitor him overnight in the cardiac CCU to keep a close eye on him, while neurology hooked up a constant EEG so they can monitor brain waves simultaneously to see if any of the heart issues were correlated to brain activity. Their best guess of the cause of the low heart rate (bradycardia) is dysautonomia, which is a result of Brian's brain injury (aka his brain's struggle to regulate certain things). 

This morning I called the nurse to see how his night was, and he did great! He didn't have any other low heart rate episodes, just one low temperature, but it didn't last long. He looked better today and so they admitted him to a normal floor in the hospital to keep an eye on him while doctor's adjust some meds to see if those may be contributing.

So no pace maker! And the problem is not stemming from his heart, which is a relief! Should be back to rehab again in a few days, barring any other issues. Please pray for stability! Pray that these things he's experiencing are signs of his brain healing and his emergence! 

Yesterday was hard. Today was a relief. Thanking God for making a way, for resolving yesterday's fears, for endless support, for all the progress to come!

Thank you for praying alongside me and rooting us on. I believe we (Brian) will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Praying that day is soon!!