Saturday, June 8th 7:00 pm Jim just called to say that today was a great "stable" day...and it was very welcomed after the last few days. Daniel's oxygen level is stable (and he is still on his stomach) which has helped his lungs considerably. He has quite a bit of swelling again...but all in all, Jim and Toni are thankful for today. They will sleep well tonight!
Sunday, June 9th 8:15 pm Mindy spoke to Jim tonight and he said that today was another stable day. His vital signs are good but he is still on 100% oxygen. His lungs are still not responding well but again, his vitals look good. They turned him on his back today and he is very swollen...
Monday, June 10th 6:45 pm Jim reported today that Daniel is stable today and his vitals are about the same as yesterday. His lungs are not any worse even though he is on 100% oxygen. He is still very swollen but the swelling is decreasing since they turned him on his back yesterday. The doctor said he is still very "cautiously optimistic.." Jim has decided to stay a few more days.
Tuesday, June 11th 6:30 pm Today was a good, stable day with the
doctors reducing the oxygen to 80%. They also reduced the pressure on the
respirator. Vital signs were good.
Some of you have asked for additional information since day by day, it seems
like baby steps forward... then some days it seems like he jumps backwards.
And those of us who are following him closely are praying for a speedy
recovery. But this will take time. The lungs pose the greatest threat and
are still life threatening. I asked Jim a week and a half ago (when he was
progressing so well), if he was out of the "life threatening" stage. He said
that until the heart surgery and facial surgery are successfully completed,
only then will he be out of the woods. And they can't even talk about a date
for those surgeries now. He *must* have one strong lung since one must take
the load for the surgery on the aorta. Daniel was most critical a couple of
weeks ago, when his kidneys were failing along with the lungs.
He does not appear to have any paralysis other than the chemical paralysis.
It is difficult to assess brain and other functions because he is so heavily
sedated. I asked his sister Emily about his "wakefulness" and she said that
when his eyes were open, he just stared in a gaze. There was no recognition.
However his eyebrows were expressive and he was able to follow verbal
commands. So, I think the doctors believe his brain is functioning. He is
sedated heavily to keep his blood pressure and other vitals under control.
Hope this helps!
Wednesday, June 12th 7:30 pm Today was an interesting day. Daniel
started out with good stable stats and then this evening his oxygen level
began to drift downward and declined. Apparantly, when it reaches 89%
absorption, an alarm goes off. After the nurses and doctors worked on him a
bit, they decided to turn him on his stomach again. In order to do this,
they have to disconnect some tubes and also remove his neck brace. When they
removed it, his oxygen shot up to 97% again! They did not have to turn him.
Right now the bed rocks only to the left. I asked Jim about the excess
fluids since he told me yesterday that he weighs about 220 lbs (and normally
weighs about 145). He said that this fluid retention is a natural defense of
the body to protect the injured areas (mucb as a strain would be...). Also,
all of his medications and fluids are entering his body intravenously and the
kidneys can't handle the excess volume. So today turned out to be a stable
day after the brief dip in oxygen attributable to the neck brace. Jim plans
to head home Saturday; Toni's sister Sandy will fly out to be with Toni on
Sunday.
Thursday, June 13th 8:00 pm Stable day...rested very comfortably. Blood pressure and heart rate went up at the end of the day but pain medication brought it back under control. Jim and Tomi love those stable days!
Friday, June 14th 9:15 pm I spoke to Jim and Toni tonight and they
were happy to report that today was another stable day. Dr. Sophia Socaris
(one of Daniel's lead doctors) is fairly aggressive at adjusting Daniel's
respirator and today reduced oxygen and pressure to 80%. He responded very
well! His vitals were also stable today. Tonight, Dr. Socaris sent them out
to dinner to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.
Toni talked last night to Daniel's friend "Cricket" who was in the car ahead
of Daniel's and was at the scene of the accident. [Some of this I am editing
from what Toni told me and from an email Cricket sent me yesterday.] "We
who were there are as unsure [how this happened] as anybody. We're fairly
certain that Daniel was wearing a seat belt. I don't think that the
seatbealt malfunctioned. Although the seatbealt probably kept him from being
thrown through the windshield, the way the van crumpled probably made severe
injuries inevitable, seatbelt or no. The circumstances of the accident
(College students, Friday evening, etc) have led some people to ask me if
drugs or alcohol were involved, but I know for an absolute fact that they
were not. I am also completely certain that he was not speeding, because he
was driving right behind us and we weren't speeding."
Daniel's Bard friends held his hand as they waited for the police and
paramedics to arrive. Daniel was able to communicate and wanted to get out
of the car but couldn't. Toni told me that Cricket said that they kept him
talking about music bands while waiting for the emergency workers. As soon
as they arrived, they were moved back from the scene. The helicopter was also
overhead very quickly. They started an IV line immediately and used the jaws
of life to take off the top of the van. Cricket also noted that the damages
sustained by the van and the damages sustained by the Cadillac were very
drastic. Although it was basically a head-on collision for both cars, the
Cadillac was only mildly dented, while the front part of the van was
completely destroyed.... Cricket and others devasted by this accident were
counseled by many groups at Bard and the support they received really helped
them begin to heal from this experience.
One of Toni's fears was that Daniel was alone. His friends were right there
with him until the paramedics and emergency workers arrived. This in itself
was a great consolation to her. She and Jim are so thankful for all the
friends and medical workers who have helped Daniel along this journey.
Update from June 11th: I inadvertently misrepresented the facts when I stated
that Daniel *must* have one strong lung since one must take the load for the
surgery on the aorta. It is true that one lung will come "offline" when the
surgery is done on the aorta but it must be strong enough to kick back in
again when the surgery is over...Sorry if I confused you! Mary Ann
Daniel's friend Emilie (from Bard College) has also set up a link to pictures from this year.
Emilie's site
Jeff and Mary Ann Laun
618 Santa Rosa Rd
Arcadia 91007
(626) 447-8492 (h)
(626) 827-8492 (cell)
(626) 585-7833 (work)
Mary Ann's email
Mindy Sherman
home after 5/22/2002 (626) 447-8492
Mindy's email