Tuesday Afternoon 8/25

I got to meet with Dr. Wayman this afternoon, and to spend a little time with Dad before that. The big news actually has nothing to do with his MRI, but rather my encounter with Dad. He woke when I spoke to him, and then reached out and physically took my hand in a coordinated movement. I waited a couple minutes and then asked him if he'd squeeze my hand, and he gave me a good grasp with the hand. While he's squeezed other family members hands in the past few days, I've been of the opinion that it was a reflexive response, but I was careful to be sure I'd not trigger a grip response while holding his hand. This was very encouraging, and he generally seemed a little more with it today.

Also, I got a chance to view dad's MRI. On one hand, its very scary, as I know what all the structures are, and what's supposed to be there that has been obliterated by the stroke... but it's also encouraging because it doesn't show major changes in areas you wouldn't expect them. For examble, his left hemisphere looks pretty good, and his brainstem is in very good shape. There's a very good chance that Dad could recover a lot of function, so we're still very hopeful.

Also, the 24 Hour EEG is a great thing; if they can identify any seizure activity they can add more anti-epileptic drugs to his regimen and hopefully prevent the seizures. Consequently, this is a situation we can actively combat to help his recovery, where most other options that may be keeping him asleep we have no control over.