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Jacob Harm - Journal

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Posted 2014-04-11T17:44:00Z

April 11th, 2014

Yesterday and today have shown more of Jake's fighter spirit. Yesterday his pressures in his brain stayed below 20 for almost the whole day, sitting mostly in the low teens. Yesterday the nurses on staff let me clean his teeth after he started to warm up and with some pain medicine on hand. These nurses have been a godsend and amazing through all this.

This morning around 2 AM Jake was taken for a CT scan of his brain, being the fifth day with a head injury they wanted to see and make sure the swelling wasn't getting worse, which commonly happens with brain injuries around the fifth day. Jake isn't swelling anymore. The swelling to his brain has stopped and has started to go down. Jake also has some blood/fluid sitting on one side of his brain but your brain naturally drains that out, like when you get a bruise, that blood underneath the bruise will go away on it's own. 

Another fantastic event occurred, because Jake's swelling isn't increasing they are going to start lowering the sedation used to keep him unconscious and are now currently in the process of waking him up!! The doctors said usually it can take a day or two to for him to become fully conscious because they have to wake him up slowly. It is amazing news, we may even be talking to him this weekend. 

On April 10th the people who were with Jake when his accident occurred and called 911, came to the hospital. They wanted to see how he was doing. We have felt this amazing sense of gratefulness for these people that our family can never even express. They were an amazing couple who stayed with Jake and told me that even while he was down they were holding his hand and on their knees praying to god for him. They did exactly what they could. We were so grateful for these people. We hope to stay in contact with them and when Jake wakes up, even introduce him to their whole family. [...]

Posted 2014-04-11T04:45:00Z

Sending Positive Thoughts To My Jakey From Afar

Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Click here for driving directions.

This message is for my Jacob. This is Naomi, Jake's mother is writing this post- as I know he is waiting for me to return from Saskatoon, Canada before he will wake up from his long rest. I can hear him making jokes about where I am currently, the type of technology presentation I will present, and speaking the dialect to get me to laugh. He knows I am too serious at times :-) Us Minnesotian's and Canadian's are so very much alike especially when it comes to the large size portions of comfort food, choice in beverages, or outdoor activities and our unique dialects that seprate us from the rest of world. Jacob we are all very special in our own way, but not as special as you are. I miss you Jakey, and can't wait to see you very soon! [...]

Posted 2014-04-10T05:34:27Z

April 9th, 2014

Today has been another day of progress for Jake. On the 7th they started a procedure to induce hypothermia in Jake.The procedure involved inserting a tube like balloon into his vein and when his blood would pass by it would cool his blood down. Yesterday they started warming him up slowly with the same instrument and today he was almost at the temperature they wanted his body to be at. Jake's brain pressures were elevated this morning at about 20-22, ideal pressures are under 20. This afternoon they went back down and the blood flow to his brain was at the perfect amount.

Jeff and I noticed something while being in Jake's room with him. His brain has really been responding to when anybody talks directly to him or touches him. We try not to touch him often though, as it causes his brain pressures to rise.

These things are positive though, it means his brain is processing information and working like it should. I just can't wait until he wakes up. [...]

Posted 2014-04-08T22:35:00Z

April 7th, 2014

It was two days since Jacob was first admitted to University Medical Center in El Paso. During the first two days many ups and downs occurred with Jacobs condition and new facts were being discovered and dealt with. On Jacobs first day of being at UMC Jacob's neurosurgeon had told me he was without oxygen for as long as maybe 40 minutes.[...]