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Jonathan's Medical Condition - Prior to Sept. 17, 1999
Update as of September 16, 1999
Jonathan is continuing to suffer from muscle contractions and the contractions were so bad on the weekend, despite some
medication to tranquilize him, that he was
straining too hard against his arm splint. This was causing his hand to turn blue and the splint had to be cut off. Joe thinks
that they are probably going to have to resort to
the botulism toxin as a treatment.
This involves inserting an altered form of the toxin that causes botulism in Jonathan's muscles so that it kills the neurons
that link the muscles and the nerves for a period
of about 4 months. This may allow Jonathan to go through a more comfortable period while his neurons regrow and reconnect to
his muscles. The injections are very
expensive and the costs are not covered by OHIP.
Joe and Lozanne's concern is that this is one more assault on Jonathan's system but they also want what is best for Jonathan
and they can't stand to see him suffer.
Jonathan was also tested on the weekend to see if some of the tissues in his muscles are calcifying. This sometimes happens
when a persons muscles are inactive for
long periods of time. Some of the muscle tissue actually turns to bone and this may be complicating Jonathan's recovery and
contributing to his pain.
Joe and Lozanne are very grateful that they live in Canada. Joe had been receiving Emails from people who belong to an online
support group who have family members
who have had traumatic brain injuries. In the United States, even those with medical insurance have been told that they have
to take their loved ones home in the condition
that Jonathan is in because their medical insurance has run out. In one case, a woman whose 36 year old husband has been
injured in a car crash, has to take him home
and she has three small children that she has to care for. She does not know how she will cope.
Joe and Lozanne are so impressed at the medical care that Jonathan has received so far.
At the Hospital for Sick Children, Jonathan had a team of world-renowned surgeons who specialize in brain surgery for child
victims of trauma operate on him. Several times
the chief surgeon felt that Jonathan would not make it, but he refused to give up on Jonathan even though he had worked many
hours that day and had already performed
several other surgeries. He pulled Jonathan through.
Joe and Lozanne look forward to the day when Jonathan can thank the team personally for his survival. The whole team at the
Hospital for Sick Children- both in the
Intensive Care Unit and then the Trauma unit were extremely caring and professional. Joe and Lozanne are very proud of the
access to top-notch medical care that
Jonathan had access to. They are convinced that without this kind of care Jonathan would not have survived.
At Bloorview, the whole team has been instrumental in using therapy to try to advance Jonathan's health and to provide for the
emotional well being of not only Jonathan,
but of Joe and Lozanne.
Despite his extreme pain, we all continue to hope that this is a necessary step in Jonathan's recovery and that although there
will be periods of great hope and great
despair, in the end Jonathan will prevail. It will take a long period of time and a lot of time on the part of Joe and Lozanne
but we are all sure that it will happen. It is a roller
coaster ride for Joe and Lozanne but they are absolutely committed to his recovery.
The terrible thing that Joe and Lozanne have to cope with is, none of this had to happen.
Update as of September 10, 1999
We visited Joe, Lozanne, Jonathan and Sammy last night. Joe and Lozanne were very concerned about the amount of pain that
Jonathan has been in lately.
Lozanne's Dad had come over to give them a bit of a break and to allow them to go out to grab a bite to eat rather than trying
to cook in their room. But they send
him home as Jonathan was in such bad shape they didn't want to leave him. So they made us pasta with fresh tomato sauce in the
room.
Jonathan has been having a lot of involuntary contractions of his muscles which are causing him a great deal of pain. It was
very hard for us to watch him crying out in
pain and to watch his body shaking from the contractions. We can only imagine how hard it must be for Joe and Lozanne.
They see this happening at least once a day but lately the contractions have been much worse. Lozanne is up every 15 minutes
during the night to try to comfort him
and since she is involved with his care all day she never gets a chance to rest. She looks so very pale and totally exhausted
that we wonder how much more she can
take. Only her love for Jonathan seems to keep her going.
Lozanne is encouraged by the fact that Jonathan's swallowing exercise are going well. We also noticed that his other eyes has
started to open up a bit over the last
week.
Update as of September 09, 1999
Just spoke to Jonathan's Dad today. Had planned to visit Jonathan tonight but was so tired when I got home I fell asleep and I
didn't wake up until it was too late.
Jonathan has made the first voluntary movement of one of his limbs. The situation was a painful one, but nevertheless a
significant step in his recovery...
Jonathan was sitting in his wheelchair and was crying and seemed to be in a lot of pain. Joe and Lozanne were trying to figure
out what was the matter. All of a
sudden Jonathan started banging his foot against the wheelchair.
As I noted earlier, Jonathan has had to have splints put on his feet and hands to try to straighten his limbs. Seems the
splint had been put on incorrectly and was
causing him a lot of pain. The only way he could communicate this was to bang his foot. When Joe and Lozanne took off the
splint to look, Jonathan had a large welt
on his foot from the incorrect position of the splint.
An unfortunate reason for Jonathan to have to communicate.
Update as of September 04, 1999
From Karen Penny:
Jonathan was not having a good day and was very uncomfortable when we arrived. He was in his chair which they try to keep him
in as long as possible through the
day - it is good for his circulation and lungs and overall helps in keeping him alert and responsive.
Joe decided to put him back in bed before they left and once in bed Jonathan seemed to be much more comfortable. Shortly after
Joe and Lozanne left Jonathan fell
asleep - head trauma patients require a lot of sleep.
One problem Joe and Lozanne are up against daily is that they can be up all day and then again at night to accommodate
Jonathan.
Jonathan is moving his tongue and mouth more - this is really great - once he can control everything properly (i.e.. tongue,
mouth and swallowing) they can give him
real food. Right now all they can do is rub a sucker or a small amount of something on his tongue and give him a new taste -
new as in he hasn't tasted anything for
two months. Joe has also put a very small piece of cheesie on his tongue and Jonathan has tried to manoeuvre it around his
mouth trying to chew.
The patience and love which Joe and Lozanne give on daily basis is nothing short of incredible - yes, they are his parents,
but what they do day in and day out is
really something. We are sometimes more concerned with their well being, as we know Jonathan is receiving only the very best
of care.
Laughter of course is great, it creates endorphins, and the stimulation can make a very big difference, so anything to create
laughter along with all the other stimulation
is a bonus for Jonathan - when they came back that evening Jonathan had been out for a walk and was rested and comfortable, so
they had him laughing as soon as
they got in - it was so nice to see.
Update as of September 02, 1999
On Tuesday Joe and Lozanne were delivered devasting news from their doctor who said Jonathan will remain at Bloorview for at
least another nine to six months.
"We were quite disappointed with that," Lozanne said, adding it will be at least a year until nerve pathways from his brain to
motor actions are improved. "He's
starting to form pathways but its only just started. The doctors say Jonathan's injuries are very severe."
Doctors also told the Wambacks they believe the original intelligence Jonathan had won't be affected, but his responsive
skills will.
"It's still very up in the air, they can't be specific at all, but we do think he is waking up from the coma. He may be moving
to another level of consciousness," she
said.
Jonathan's body continues to go through a series of painful seizures involving his various muscle groups requiring doctors to
cast his left arm and splint his fingers and
foot.
"There are times when his whole body is as stiff as a board."
Joe called from his cell phone on the way to work this morning to let us know. He and Lozanne hadn't mentioned this when I was
visiting the night before, as they
didn't want Jonathan to overhear.
They know that he listens to a lot of what is going on around him and they only want him to hear positive things about his
progress. You'll notice in some of the
pictures that I took of Jonathan and put up on the website today that there is a sign behind his bed that says "I can hear".
Joe and Lozanne were finding that in some
cases those who were coming to visit were talking about the terrible thing that had happened to Jonathan and he was getting
upset at their comments.
Update as of September 01, 1999
Visited Jonathan again tonight. Took some pictures with a digital camera which I will be loading up to the website soon.
Joe and Lozanne were in good spirits tonight and Jonathan seemed to be much more alert and was not as obviously in pain as he
was the last time I visited.
Apparently he slept right through the night from 2:00 AM on, which is the most he has slept in one stretch for quite some
time. Lozanne doesn't want to get her
hopes up about him sleeping well every night just yet - he has a lot of ups and downs.
Joe and Lozanne are able to make Jonathan laugh by tickling him, giving him "Eskimo" kisses with their noses and by telling
him goofy jokes. He really laughed when
Joe told him he was puffing up his tummy while he was blowing on his toe.
Jonathan also laughed when his father put the phone up to his ear so that he could hear his girlfriend talk. She must have
said something funny to him as he laughed
and really smiled.
Lozanne noted that Jonathan is using his tongue when they feed him small amounts of pudding and he is starting to get some
therapy to assist him in learning to
swallow again. Lozanne says that they are letting him lick on lollipops and he is enjoying that. Does anyone know where you
can get Root Beer flavoured lollipops?
Apparently that is one of Jonathan's favourite flavours! Let us know.
Lozanne also noted that Jonathan's neck is getting stronger and he can almost hold his head up by himself during physical
therapy.
Jonathan's fingers and legs are still quite stiff and so he will be wearing splints on his fingers and his legs for short
periods of time each day to help straighten him. He
is already on the second stage of the splint that is working to straighten his arm.
Mike Penny, a friend of Joe's since high school, and his wife Karen, are dear friends of Joe and Lozanne and are looking after
Jonathan on Saturdays to give Joe
and Lozanne a short break. Karen has offered to give us updates from her Saturday visits for the website as well. She tells me
that she has noticed Jonathan laughing
for several weeks now and she sent me this example today :
"Two Saturdays ago I brought some cheese, crackers and stuff for Joe and Lozanne to take home and enjoy while making dinner.
When they returned I asked how
their dinner was.
They said that the dinner was fine and the cheese and stuff were pretty well gone by the time they got home. Joe made a
comment that Lozanne had eaten most of
the cheese. He mentioned that he had asked if there was any cheddar and she replied "Well there was". He then made some
comments about not getting a lot of
cheese.
Jonathan started laughing. He had listened to the whole conversation and obviously thought it rather funny that his dad had
his cheddar stolen! It's neat little things like
that, that confirm my belief that he will make it back."
Update as of August 31, 1999
Talked to Jonathan's Dad on the phone yesterday and Jonathan is using his tongue more - even used it when his Dad tried to
feed him some pudding. He is also
laughing a lot now. Small steps but we're all hoping.
Will be visiting Jonathan on Wednesday night this week so will give you an update on his progress then. Going to take a few
pictures with a digital camera as well!
Update as of August 25, 1999
Just got back from the clinic after visiting Jonathan and his Mom and Dad. Good news ! Jonathan moved his tongue today. A big
step as this is a very good sign that
his neural pathways are reconnecting. The next step will be for Jonathan to move it voluntarily rather than as an unconscious
response.
Jonathan also looked much more rested today. He also seems to be able to "listen to" and "watch" what's going on around him
for a longer period of time. It is easier
for visitors to see improvements in his condition as they don't see him daily. His parents were celebrating this small step
tonight and Sammy was wagging her tail.
Update as of August 22, 1999.
Jonathan was 162 pounds when he was attacked. His weight is down to 128 pounds. His left arm will be put in a series of casts
that will gradually straighten his arm
to prevent it from seizing up, because his muscular system and his central nervous system are not working together. In fact,
every muscle in his body is misfiring.
As an alternative to the casts, Jonathan could have had an injection of botulism toxin injected directly into the muscle in
his arm which would effectively stop the
neurons from firing. But Joe and Lozanne preferred not to put his system through any more stress.
There are some signs of improvement over the last week. When Jonathan is awake he can now focus with his one eye for longer
periods of time on things that he is
interested in. Some of the muscles in his feet and legs have loosened up a bit thanks to the frequent messages Jonathan
receives from the staff at the Clinic and from
his Mom and Dad.
Jonathan is still unconscious although he is getting "lighter". This means that he is getting closer to consciousness. He is
starting to react to his surroundings.
Unfortunately this means that he is also starting to respond to pain and it is very distressing to his parents that he is
crying.
Jonathan has been in the same position for six weeks and so all of his muscles are very stiff and Joe and Lozanne, in
conjunction with the Bloorview medical staff, are
working hard at physiotherapy to try to loosen his muscles. They are also trying to get him used to sitting up as his neck
muscles are very weak.
Jonathan has recently had a tube inserted in his stomach at Sick Children's Hospital so that he can receive his feeding
without having to have a tube down his throat.
Although it meant another operation and it was hard on Jonathen, the tube was very uncomfortable for him.
Jonathan has a mouth infection called thrush, which his Mom and Dad are trying to get rid of by brushing his mouth with a
special medication. Jonathan had braces
on before the attack but his dentist very kindly came to the clinic and removed them as they were making the treatment of this
condition difficult. This condition
seems to be improving now that the braces are off.
Jonathan does not sleep well at night and his parents are up many nights trying to comfort him. This makes it very difficult
for them to cope the next day.
Jonathan seems to be more and more aware of his surroundings each day. He watches his favourite videos and he seems to follow
his dog Sammy with his one open
eye when Sammy comes to visit.
Jonathan was the most excited (he smiled and even opened his other eye slightly) when he was visited by his girlfriend from
school. She has cheered Jonathan up
greatly through her visits.
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