waking up

Hello everyone!

Well it sure has been a roller coaster ride for the last few months but we have never lost hope. Today they have started weeing dad off of the sedation and plan to try to get him off the breathing machine tomorrow. The doctors seem hopeful although it is still a waiting game. He is following short commands such as wiggle your toes, squeeze my hand, and can shake his head yes or no so he is still there!!!

He did have a few episodes today of petite mal seizures but they lasted maybe a minute and then were over. Dad said he knew they were coming on when he nodded his head yes after we asked him if he began to feel weird before they happened.

I think we will have some more information tomorrow after the breathing trails happen...keep praying and sending great thoughts!

-Carrie

Well, I wanted to post a picture with dad, and it happens to also have some people that are special to our family and who loved Hal dearly. My grandmother and her husband, Jim, as well as Harvey and Gerry Klass, good family friends of ours. We do not have much news to report. Things are still the same with dad. No change has occurred and we are still waiting to see if he wakes up. His doctor was extremely busy with emergencies today, so those took priority; not that my father is not an emergency, but I suppose they are considering him "stable" in terms of his vitals. He has yet to truely wake up, although he is showing some signs of alertness. But we are really unsure if they are more reflexes or purposeful movements. It is really hard to tell without the background in neurology. Tomorrow morning we anticipate meeting with the neurologist, and we have a lot of questions. We will pass the information along once we know.

Please keep sending good energy our way!!! We really need it!

Love,
The Pollacks

still waiting...

Well, I am sorry but we really do not have much to share. Dad is still somewhat nonresponsive and sedated. He did not do well on his breathing trial yesterday, so they were reluctant to try again today. They did turn off one of the sedatives completely, which will take a few days to metabolize. The other sedative is shorter acting, so they can shut it off and it will be gone in half an hour, which is what they did yesterday when they tried him on the CPAP machine. He did appear to wake up a bit this morning, but what we are seeing as a family may be different than what the hospital staff is seeing because we do not have the medical/neurological background. This morning after being with dad for a few hours and feeling really sad and hopeless, he began to try to open his eyes and slightly move his right arm. Now again, we are unsure if this what purposeful or a reflex, but nonetheless, we were quite pleased to see him move at all!

This evening when Carrie and I went, his feet appeared more ticklish (I know it sounds cruel, but right now we are ok torturing him if it gets him to respond!), his right arm moved a bit more, and he was coughing quite a bit because he felt the tube in his throat more. These signs give us hope, but of course we have to also be realistic. We are just really unsure right now, and still have no answers or new information.

Hopefully he will be able to go for a CT scan sometime soon, as well as participate in breathing more. His vitals are good, which we like to see, and his coloring is also good. The nurse last night gave him a shampoo, so this morning when we walked in we saw the Hal we all know, love and thinks is so handsome!

So as soon as we have the information, we will pass it along, but for now it is another waiting game, which is quite intolerable and draining.

We love you all and thank you for your care and concern.

Love,
Tracy, Carrie & Linda

We have no answers...

So, as you all know my father is back in the ICU as of Sunday night. He had been having a continuous seizure, which I suppose can also be looked at as a stroke. What type of stroke, we are not sure because they have been unable to take him for a CAT scan due to his critical nature. He is on a ventilator again, not conscious, heavily sedated, and non responsive. We are really unsure as to what is happening, or to what the prognosis is. We just don't know, which of course is extremely scary. Right now what the doctors plan to do is to decrease sedation, decrease the vent, and see how much he can participate in breathing on his own, as well as get him stable enough to take him for a CAT scan. Once this happens, we will have more information about the damage that has been done and what we can expect. So until then, I am sorry but we just don't have any answers. My mom, Carrie and I are all together in Florida. Aunt Jinny is here taking good care of us. We are sticking together and providing as much strength and support as we can for each other. It is really hard right now, and we are all very sad and in pain. When we know more, we will certainly let you all know who have been so diligent about following my dad's progress. Thanks again for the love and support. We really need it right now!

I am sorry to report that we have taken a huge step back.....

Hal was taken by ambulance from Chatsworth Sunday night to the emergency room at Palm Beach Gardens Hospital, after he had a seizure.

I met the ambulance there about llpm and stayed with him until they kicked me out at 5am. St Mary's did not have an ICU bed so they put him in ICU at PBG Hosp.

He is in an induced coma, and as of this morning his EEG showed that the brain is still having seizure activity. They can't really give me much information, other than he is in NO pain, and it is important to let the brain rest and cool down. So he needs time and it looks like another waiting game.

Please continue your good thoughts and prayers...WE REALLY NEED THEM.

My daughters join me in thanking you for your continued support.

Much love, Linda

Hi Everyone,

Hal is doing fine at Chatsworth.

They are working him hard in physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. He isn't always happy, but I remind him of how lucky he is and how far he has come. His long term memory is good, but short-term memory is not so good. He does not remember the accident at all or the many weeks he spent in ICU.

The visiting hours are very lenient, but the therapy sessions are scheduled sporadically, on weekdays. I have found the mid to late afternoon usually works the best, BUT there are no guarantees. On sat. and sun. they have less therapy, so more free time.

Chatsworth is very easy to get to. From Mirasol: Take PGA to Ryder Cup Blvd through PGA National to Northlake Blvd. Turn left on Northlake and make the very first left turn. You will be crossing the oncoming traffic onto Hiatt Drive. staying on that road, Chatsworth is a two story bldg., yellow and pink to the right.

Friends visiting are very helpful, but please don't be offended if he does not recognize you...just tell him who you are.

Once again, I thank all of you for your caring and support.

Love, Linda

Hi everyone,

Linda here.

Well I have very good news! Hal will be going to Chatsworth tomorrow. This is really huge, and means that he has made great strides. St. Mary's Trauma Center is now calling him a "miracle". He truly has come back from the "dead".

Chatsworth is a sub-acute rehab/nursing center that is connected with Devonshire of PGA National. YEAH, he will be right across the street from Mirasol, and not only that, but it is a "pet friendly" facility.....SO, I can take Dexter with me when I visit him. Dexter is going to be so happy to see PopPop...he misses him.

This also means all of you who have been wanting to visit Hal can now go see him without it being an I95 trip. I will find out the visiting hours and post it on the blog.

Can you believe it???? The next stop for him will be home.

I attribute this to the love and prayers from all of our friends...I cannot thankyou enough.

Love, Linda