Sunday Afternoon/Evening

Update 9:19 PM - They took Jack down for his CAT Scan this evening. While they were down their one of the nurses though she felt him squeeze with his left hand. Then he tried to grab his feeding tube by lifting his left hand completely up. This is very positive news as he had not been moving his left side at all practically. It could mean that whatever pressure was causing this left side to be immobilized from the initial brain bleed may have corrected itself. We will have to see how this progresses during morning rounds tomorrow. Preliminary results of the CAT scan show that the swelling has gone down and this most likely means their is no additional bleeding. They will need to do further examination to be sure.

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Update 5:47PM - They are going to give Jack a low dose of insulin shortly. After monitoring his blood sugar level it is a little higher than they would like. They will keep doing readings hourly.

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The doctors have decided to continue to give Jack steroids at a lower dose and they have seen some improvement in his white blood cell count. The central line in his jugular is working so they removed the line from his leg. The are planning on doing another CAT Scan shortly. It is confirmed he does have bilateral pneumonia which we were aware of when he was first admitted. However, the secretions are clear which is a positive sign. He is still on the respirator but only to be given oxygen, right now he is breathing on his own.

Even though it was a little stressful at the end, he was able to listen the Phillies game this afternoon and got some satisfaction from that

Sunday Morning

Overnight, Jack's anesthetic started to wear off and he got very uncomfortable and ended up removing his feeding tube. They put it back in and then restrained him again to make sure that he didn't repeat this. He is back to being aware of people around him and is following commands (squeezing hands, opening eyes, etc). Squeezing people hand's and slightly nodding is how he is really communicating with people right now. The doctor's came by on rounds again about an hour ago and his condition has remained the same. Jack was given a transfusion last night. His white blood cell count is still extremely high and his platelet level is around the same amount it was yesterday (around 60). Ideally, the neurologists would like it to remain above 80 for consecutive days. They have also increased his oxygen levels again to help him breath better. The oncologist mentioned that if Jack can remain stable they may try a low does chemotherapy soon but this will have some level of risk since he had his original chemotherapy about 2 weeks ago. If I get more information I will post another update today.

Note: Added a section to the right side of the page where you can post your thoughts and prayers for Jack.