Jun 15, 2009

Despite Precautions...

The Great-nephew of one of my longest-known friends...a University of Maryland student... is in a coma in Washington D.C. today after he fell in a skateboarding accident a week ago yesterday. Matt was wearing a helmet, which is a reminder to us all that no matter what precautions we take, life is flimsy at best, and endangered every day. Matt's parents have a website set up to update friends and family...his Mom, Patti-Ann wrote last night: "Not much change today. Matt is still in a coma. He continues to respond to painful stimulation, but has not yet responded to commands. He has these outbursts where he becomes extremely agitated. His heart rate and blood pressure shoots up. He breaks out in a sweat and breathes extremely hard. It usually takes pain medication to settle him down, but he eventually does. It is very stressful watching him work through these episodes, but I really feel like he knows that I am there. " I know the family would appreciate any prayers you can offer during this difficult time. Thanks, Tim
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  1. Warm Southern BreezeMonday, June 15, 2009 5:20:00 PM

    You (or more accurately, "they") got 'em ol' buddy!

    Thanks for sharing about this.

    What your friend's wife writes are classic signs of TBI, or Traumatic Brain Injury, as we call it today.

    One of the things in his favor is his youth. I recall one of my patients was a young woman - under age 25 - whom (of all things) swerved to miss hitting a jackrabbit in the road in south central Tennessee. Most unfortunately, she had a single car crash and suffered significant trauma, including TBI.

    Naturally, we ran EEGs on her and monitored her ICP, or IntraCranial Pressure while she was in our care and service.

    One of the strangest things was, that she exhibited NUMEROUS sings INCONSISTENT with life, yet survived.

    It was a wholehearted joy to see her make a slow, yet definite and full recovery.

    (I think perhaps next time, she may just run over the l'il critters instead.)

    Though it's not stated, it would seem from his mom's writing that he may not be on a PCA pump with a rate. Why, I'm not certain, because frequently in such trauma cases, that is standard treatment, along with maintaining lowered glucose which can spike during traumatic injury, and thereby hamper effective healing and slow recovery.

    The boy, his family and healthcare team will all be in my prayers.

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