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<blockquote data-quote="BloodiedButUnbowed" data-source="post: 718905" data-attributes="member: 13303"><p>Thank you everyone,</p><p></p><p>I am taking a "day off" from the hospital today. Our laundry has piled up, the dishwasher is full, the cupboard is bare and I am returning to work tomorrow. No matter how hard you are hit by life's twists and turns, there is a comfort in routines. In many ways these little things are helping me to keep my sanity. My wife just left and will keep me updated.</p><p></p><p>My stepson is stable at this time. He remains on life support, both chemical (medications) and mechanical (dialysis, ECMO heart and lung machine). They have already begun removing some of the medications and he has tolerated that well. If all goes well they will begin to remove some of the machines today and completely take him off life support tomorrow. There is a good chance he will continue to need dialysis as the kidneys take longer to recover. We are praying that he can come off life support as soon as possible, because after about ten days, the life support machines start doing more harm than good and can cause complete organ failure among other things. He is on his fifth day of life support as of tonight.</p><p></p><p>His right leg is essentially mangled from the knee down as a result of the invasive procedures required to hook him up to life support. He will need extensive physical therapy and probably surgeries to repair the damage, but it is a small price to pay for his life. </p><p></p><p>We still have no idea about how he has been impacted neurologically by all of this. Once he is taken off the heavy sedatives, they will be able to tell us more. If he is very lucky he will retain most, or even all, of his cognitive capacity, though I would be very surprised if we did not see some changes in his personality and of course his memory. Some of the doctors are optimistic that we will see this kind of result. If he is less lucky, he may have sustained traumatic brain injury from his initial cardiac arrest and multiple resuscitations afterwards. There is brain activity measured on the EEG so he is not brain dead and for that we are grateful. Physically, his heart is doing much better and his lungs are slowly improving from the aspiration pneumonia.</p><p></p><p>Difficult Stepson has been around regularly and he seems to be coping pretty well. He has been quiet and keeping to himself mostly. He seems to have gotten back together with his girlfriend. I am glad he has her to support him through this. After this experience, as you might imagine, Difficult Stepson's issues seem quite minor.</p><p></p><p>If anybody knows of any forums similar to this one for those affected by attempted suicide, please send me a private message. I have found many resources for those whose loved ones have completed suicide but not so many for people in our situation. We will certainly be seeking out professional help to cope with this tragedy as well.</p><p></p><p>More updates as I have them Thank you all.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BloodiedButUnbowed, post: 718905, member: 13303"] Thank you everyone, I am taking a "day off" from the hospital today. Our laundry has piled up, the dishwasher is full, the cupboard is bare and I am returning to work tomorrow. No matter how hard you are hit by life's twists and turns, there is a comfort in routines. In many ways these little things are helping me to keep my sanity. My wife just left and will keep me updated. My stepson is stable at this time. He remains on life support, both chemical (medications) and mechanical (dialysis, ECMO heart and lung machine). They have already begun removing some of the medications and he has tolerated that well. If all goes well they will begin to remove some of the machines today and completely take him off life support tomorrow. There is a good chance he will continue to need dialysis as the kidneys take longer to recover. We are praying that he can come off life support as soon as possible, because after about ten days, the life support machines start doing more harm than good and can cause complete organ failure among other things. He is on his fifth day of life support as of tonight. His right leg is essentially mangled from the knee down as a result of the invasive procedures required to hook him up to life support. He will need extensive physical therapy and probably surgeries to repair the damage, but it is a small price to pay for his life. We still have no idea about how he has been impacted neurologically by all of this. Once he is taken off the heavy sedatives, they will be able to tell us more. If he is very lucky he will retain most, or even all, of his cognitive capacity, though I would be very surprised if we did not see some changes in his personality and of course his memory. Some of the doctors are optimistic that we will see this kind of result. If he is less lucky, he may have sustained traumatic brain injury from his initial cardiac arrest and multiple resuscitations afterwards. There is brain activity measured on the EEG so he is not brain dead and for that we are grateful. Physically, his heart is doing much better and his lungs are slowly improving from the aspiration pneumonia. Difficult Stepson has been around regularly and he seems to be coping pretty well. He has been quiet and keeping to himself mostly. He seems to have gotten back together with his girlfriend. I am glad he has her to support him through this. After this experience, as you might imagine, Difficult Stepson's issues seem quite minor. If anybody knows of any forums similar to this one for those affected by attempted suicide, please send me a private message. I have found many resources for those whose loved ones have completed suicide but not so many for people in our situation. We will certainly be seeking out professional help to cope with this tragedy as well. More updates as I have them Thank you all. [/QUOTE]
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