July 23rd (Monday): 3pm

Mid-afternoon update.    Rich was given another CAT scan this morning, as the doctors wanted to check on everything.  Because he still is pretty confused, they wanted to especially recheck his head, to make sure that the head trauma he had in the accident wasn't bleeding, etc.   The CAT scan thankfully showed there was no bleeding and it looked "good".   The scan did reveal some fluid build up in his chest, so a drain was put in to take care of it.  The doctor said that was not an unexpected complication, and the overall situation with Rich is that he is continuing to improve, and his doctor feels we may see "significant improvements" over the next couple of days.   Right now the periods of alertness seems to be increasing, and his meds were modified to help this.   He has a 24/7 room sitter, in addition to the ICU staff, because when he wakes he is very confused, and has tried to unhook himself as if he wants to go somewhere.   

Jeannette:  Sam reports that Jeannette continues to be stable today, and her blood pressure is steady.   Her doctors visited this morning.   As of right now, the nurses are changing her dressings, which because of her injuries isn't all that simple of a task.   There are no big changes to report with Jeannette; except that she is "holding her own" and that's a big plus.  Every hour and every day she can do that increases the odds for a full recovery.

- note by John