Week 2 - Jeff's Head Injury

We realized that we haven't said much about the injury Jeff has suffered to his brain and that we need to pass along what we know.

Jeff's trauma has been more precisely diagnosed as DAI - Diffuse Axonal Injury. This is a very severe injury, and though everyone seems certain that Jeff will regain consciousness, he may experience some neurological and/or physical deficits or impairments once he does regain consciousness. At this point, none of the attending physicians are providing a clear prognosis, nor can they.

We won't know the effects of the injury until he wakes up and the doctors can interact with him. We'll just have to wait and see.

Week 2 - Recovery

On Friday, 7/28, Jeff had surgery to repair his broken pelvis. Rather than internal plates, pins, and screws, he has an "external fixator" -- two vertical steel bars on each side of his hips with a horizontal bar connecting the two. This fixator will be in place for a minimum of 6 weeks and could be for as long as 12 weeks. It's purpose is to keep the pelvis rigid and immobile so that the bones can fuse and heal.

The surgeons had no qualms about installing this fixator even though Jeff has not awakened. The procedure lasted about 45 minutes, with no complications.

Following the pelvic surgery, Jeff also had a tracheostomy and had the original breathing tube removed from his mouth. Jeff will continue with the trach and the ventilator until he is able to breath on his own. We're all very hopeful that this might occur by the end of next week.

Jeff's Injuries

Jeff suffered head trauma, broken pelvis, fractured ribs, lacerated kidney and several minor cuts. The most serious is the contusion on the brain stem -- and the fact that he has not awakened. He needs surgery to repair the pelvis, but must wait until the pressure on the brain stabilizes to a safe level. The ribs and kidney heal on their own with no specific treatments required.

He is wired to innumerable monitors, measuring everything from blood pressure and pulse to oxygen levels in the bloodstream. Jeff is able to move his arms and legs ... which sometimes gives his ST-ICU team a hard time! (This was particularly true when they were intubating him -- give 'em hell, Jeff.)

We do not know how long he must remain in the Shock Trauma unit nor how long it will be before he wakes up. The attending physicians are making no guesses, either.

The Accident

Jeff was in a life-threatening accident on Tuesday, July 18. Details are sketchy, but something happened to the vehicle he was driving (a company truck) and he lost control. An 18-wheeler then ran into him on the driver's side door. He was Life-Flighted to Hermann Hospital and admitted to the Shock Trauma ICU.