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January 21, 2006

Septic Shock

With all the excitement over Mikey's thumbs up yesterday, it was especially difficult to hear that he took a turn for the worse today.

Septic shock is the current problem. His poor body just can't fight the infection -- even with the help of antibiotics -- right now.

The "virus" that was reported yesterday wasn't a virus after all. It was MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). You add that to everything else, and our Mikey has a pretty tough battle on his hands.

Despite the septic shock, he was still responding to Mrs. Mikey's touch and voice. He's in there. He's there. Keep praying, keep believing, keep hoping.


Posted by Da Goddess at 07:43 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Da Goddess at 07:43 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

January 20, 2006

Thumbs Up!

The nurse asked Mikey, who is still sedated, to give her a thumbs up and he did!

This is the best news yet.

He's being moved to a private room due to "something viral", according to Smash.

That's the latest. I'll update when there's more.


Posted by Da Goddess at 03:58 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Da Goddess at 03:58 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)

EEGs, CTs, and the Eyes

The CT was done and showed no new bleeds. A clot was identified but the doctors don't seem worried about it.

The EEG showed that Mikey's not "brain dead", which we all knew. It's just good to hear it officially. Nothing was said about other damage, but that's okay. There's plenty of time for that.

The eyes...Mikey opened his eyes spontaneously. Several times. And he was able to open them in response to Mrs. Mikey. He even opened them for Smash last night!

I have been stuck at home with a child with a belly ache for a couple of days. I'm excited about Mikey's progress, but I really want to see it for myself!

I've had some wonderful input from an ICU (neuro) nurse. She's helped fill in the blanks. I've worked with many patients, but not at this level of care and/or acuity. It's good to have expert input.

Don't forget to leave comments. They're being printed out and read to Mikey. His wife said that he gets "twitchy" when she reads them to him and it's good to think that he's hearing your words of love and encouragement.

If you'd rather send a card and/or donation:

Mad Mikey
c/o SMASH
PO Box 882353
San Diego, CA 92108-2353



Posted by Da Goddess at 11:03 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Da Goddess at 11:03 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

January 18, 2006

Pneumonia - Mikey Update

Today's news: pneumonia.

The medical team was able to obtain an x-ray and discovered the pneumonia. Chances are, a nurse was assessing him and noticed a change in lung sounds. That's how many pneumonias are found. This particular group of nurses rock! I'm not surprised they caught this so early.

So, the pneumonia's being treated. They caught it early enough that there shouldn't be any major complications.

The EEG is still pending, as are the angiogram and the CT. The EEG will likely be the first test done when the docs give the word.

In other news, Smash has set up a special separate PayPal account just for Mikey. We're going to help take care of some of the family's living expenses since Mikey won't be working for a long time.

To send cards or small packages to Mikey:

Mad Mikey
c/o SMASH
PO Box 882353
San Diego, CA 92108-2353

To donate to the fund:


Posted by Da Goddess at 07:36 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack (2)
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Posted by Da Goddess at 07:36 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack (2)

Paypal Account Open

Smash has the link to the Paypal fund to help Mikey out here.

Thanks to Smash, Da Goddess, and Gracie for all the support they are giving Mikey and his family.


Posted by Pixy Misa at 05:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Pixy Misa at 05:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tuesday - Part II

Okay, I've been to see Mikey and his wife. I told Mikey that he's gone too far in trying to empathize with Ariel Sharon. I was hoping for a laugh. Or maybe even a slug in the arm for being so awful. I didn't get either.

The movement I saw Mikey make wasn't exactly purposeful, but it's movement.

His tongue was very purple yesterday and is now a bit pinker. You're thinking, how on earth would you know that? Well, his tongue sticks out just a bit. The tubes that are coming out of his mouth sort of push the tongue to the side.

His labs looked good. He was given blood with his dialysis yesterday and that helped his numbers. They're holding steady. Today's dialysis required no removal of excess fluids. Yes! That's awesome news! But that part can change rapidly.

Blood pressure (BP) was a bit elevated when I saw him. Not terribly high, though. The ICP was lower, just not as low as I was expecting/hoping.

The EEG will probably be done tomorrow, but it's not 100%. The angiogram and CT will wait because Mikey's still too unstable to withstand that. He can take the head of the bed moving up and down a bit, but side to side is too much.

The nurse and the respiratory therapist were at bedside when I was able to see Mikey. Both were fantastic! I watched with my nurse's eye as they performed their tasks. They had no idea I was a nurse so there was no special performance for my sake. Not only were they thorough, they were exceptionally attentive to detail, checking everything. It was great to see them in action.

Let's see, what else?

He has a fever. This isn't unexpected. Considering that thermoregulation occurs in the brain, any trauma (like surgery) can cause temps to fluctuate. There is no sign of infection. Blood cultures have been negative thus far. This is good news. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this remains the case.

Little Dude wanted to go in and see him, but we told him he was too young still. He was very upset by the news. Mikey's one of LD's favorite people. Mikey's daughter is another special person in LD's life. They were able to hang out this afternoon and it did them both a world of good.

It's tough to be a kid and faced with so much fear and uncertainty. That's why friends and family are so important.

Which brings me to my next point. Mikey's family. Some of you have emailed asking me why we've talked only about his in-laws. Well, there's a very good reason for that. Mikey's mom is currently battling lung cancer. She's already been through chemo and radiation and they're preparing her for hospice. As you can imagine, his brothers have been pretty busy dealing with that. His sister will come if things take a turn for the worse. His father passed away not long ago. And his step-mother is down in Florida at this time.

All he really has is Mrs. Mikey and his daughter, Mrs. Mikey's family, and us. Friends do a great job picking up where family leaves off many times. And that's what we do. Especially for the good guys like Mikey.

We managed to arrange for a ticket for Mrs. Mikey's mom. If you'd like to contribute to that fund (to reimburse the generous soul who purchased it so we could move forward), or to contribute to any other portion of the bills that need to be paid, head on over to Smash's site. We're going to assemble the list of expenses that need to be covered tomorrow and we'll get that list online as soon as we can. Smash has been chosen to handle the finances because, let's face it, he's honest as hell.

How are we handling the money? After speaking with a CPA/attorney, it was decided that we'd go the PayPal route. Setting up a trust at a bank would subject the funds to taxes. We'd rather have all the money go to Mikey and his family. Details will be over at Smash's.

As well, Smash has generously opened his P.O. Box for Mikey mail.

I think that's about it. I'm tired and having a hard time focusing. Rest assured, any new info will be posted here.


Posted by Da Goddess at 01:11 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (1)
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Posted by Da Goddess at 01:11 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (1)

January 17, 2006

Mikey Tuesday

I spoke with Mrs. Mikey a while ago and this is the update I received:

Sedation was lowered and Mikey responded. The nurse was wiping his face with a cloth, he seemed to like it, and turned toward her. She told him to turn his head back the other way but he wouldn't do so. Mrs. Mikey told him to turn his head toward her, and he did!

At one point, Mrs. Mikey was talking to her friend about him and he pulled her arm. She asked him if he wanted her to stop talking about him and he pulled her arm again. She stopped talking about him and he relaxed.

They've reduced his blood pressure medication because his blood pressure has come down. Yay!

His blood pressure and his ICP are lowest when his daughter is by his side.

This is all good news. Very good news. Still, he's not out of the woods yet. The doctor has told Mrs. Mikey that there is brain damage, no doubt about it. How much? They don't know yet. And the stroke occurred in the part of the brain that controls personality and cognitive ability. Mikey may not be the same guy he was before.

There will be more info later. I'm working on the plane ticket front right now and fielding a million phone calls. I'll be back.


Posted by Da Goddess at 02:50 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (2)
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Posted by Da Goddess at 02:50 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (2)

Hopeful Signs

Via Smash, some better news:

Mikey had a pretty decent night. They've lowered his sedation, and he's responding to commands. They tickled his feet, and got a reaction. His wife spoke to him, and got some physical responses. They also took him off the blood pressure medication, as his blood pressure was getting too low.
Mikey has a long way to go yet, but it looks like he's on the way.

Da Goddess and Gracie are setting things up so that we can send donations to Mikey's family; we'll put a post up here as soon as that's sorted out.


Posted by Pixy Misa at 02:21 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by Pixy Misa at 02:21 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

January 16, 2006

Monday Update

Went to the hospital today to see Mikey and he's holding steady. Sort of.

His intracranial pressure (ICP) was down to 12-14 when I first got there. His blood pressure was 129-130/50s and 60s. As the day progressed, all his pressures were rising.

Just before I left, he was receiving dialysis, along with some blood. The blood was needed because his potassium level was too high and frankly, he's "dry".

He's on a ventilator, has wires coming out of his head and chest, and requires total care. He will remain in the medically induced coma for a while still.

CT scan, EEG (measures brain activity), and angiogram are all on hold because he's too unstable to withstand those tests. They can't lower the head of his bed because of the ICP elevation.

His daughter and wife are both trying hard to hold it together. There's so much to process! His daughter, thankfully, has innocence and youth to bolster her spirits. His wife, well, all the friendship and loving support from others isn't the same as having her husband awake and talking, helping her through this.

As far as fundraising efforts go, we're compiling a list of needs and I'll be posting that as time goes on. The main item on the list is getting Mrs. Mikey's mom to San Diego. She's in Colorado right now and we need someone to donate miles or a flight voucher for her to get here. If you have the power to arrange this, please let us know!

You can leave a comment here or over at DaGoddess.com with your contact info for the ticket or you can leave a thoughtful comment and I will make sure that Mikey and his family receive copies of those comments.

Thanks to Pixy Misa for setting up the ability for me to post directly to this site. There are so many people to contact that I'm beginning to lose track.


Posted by Da Goddess at 07:57 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack (1)
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Posted by Da Goddess at 07:57 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack (1)

A Friend In Need

Mikey suffered a serious stroke last night, requiring hospitalisation and surgery to relieve the bleeding. The situation is uncertain at the moment.

Da Goddess is in touch with Mikey's family, and will be posting updates and passing along messages. Please leave comments here or at her blog.

I'll update this entry once I have more - and hopefully better - news.


Posted by Pixy Misa at 12:17 AM | Comments (28) | TrackBack (6)
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Posted by Pixy Misa at 12:17 AM | Comments (28) | TrackBack (6)

Calendar

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About Me

Who is Mikey?
Mikey playing with digital camera

Mikey is a forty-something U.S. Navy veteran that is currently taking a break from being a full-time student at UC San Diego studying electrical engineering.

He's also a husband, a father, a former Independent/Democrat and is currently dealing with dialysis and getting on the national kidney transplant list.

The words written here are his opinions and his observations on the stupid things in life. If you do not like them or do not agree with them: tough squishies. In America, you're entitled to Freedom of Speech not Freedom to Not Be Offended.

Help Mikey by not being part of the problem and instead, be part of the solution so that he doesn't have to comment on your sorry actions.

Contact Mikey

mikey-AT-madmikey-DOT-mu-DOT-nu

AIM: madmikeysblog

YIM: madmikey92037

Any/all e-mail sent to Mikey might be published if you get nasty or it's something worthwhile...

Donate

Help Mike deal with his mounting medical bills

What's this all about? Read this to learn more...


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Recent Entries

Septic Shock
Thumbs Up!
EEGs, CTs, and the Eyes
Pneumonia - Mikey Update
Paypal Account Open

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