Elite Sniper Corps

why would they still do the surgury on the skin grafs if they think he is brain damage and his lungs are so bad,,i would think they would concentrate on his lungs.........

Sending Prayers Pappy. Sorry for this terrible tragedy. Keep us posted when you can.

Rose perhaps I mis-spoke, or didn't word it correctly. The skin graphs will be ongoing over a lengthy period of time. They are treating his lungs as the highest priority but have to do skin graphs when they can for reasons I probably can't explain, or don't know. I guess it's part of the healing process. Neurological tests could not be performed because he was so heavily sedated it would not clearly indicate whether there was damage to the brain or not. They were weaning him off of his sedatives and pain medication the past few days in hopes he would show some sign that his brain was not damaged and react to stimuli or the pain itself. He has been in the drug induced coma since the day they brought him in and the lungs were the most critical issue.

HOWEVER, I am happy to say that on Friday morning he opened one eye (the other one is still swollen shut) and moved his toes when his mother tickled his foot. I was there for about 6 hrs and saw him flinch when the nurse cleaned his mouth with a sponge and an air hose. I saw him move both legs -slightly, but still.........I also saw him turn his head a short distance. He was still on medication for pain but nothing to keep him in the coma. That's great news.

The did a tracheostomy late Friday afternoon so they could remove the breathing tubes they had in his mouth (throat) and put him on a different ventilator. Although it may sound worse, cutting a hole for an airway in someone's throat, the Dr's said it would make him more comfortable overall and should help his lungs heal faster. To what extent, still, no one knows. With his mouth open and the tubes going down his throat they said he was still having bacteria enter the airway. The ventilator he was on was what they call an "aggressive" one - and they wanted to get him off of it - didn't hear the reasons. With the tube in his throat, they can seal the hole completely once they have the tube inserted.
Long road to recovery - but he seems to be headed in the right direction. He has an excellent "TEAM" of Dr's and Nurses - and they refer to themselves as "team members". I thought that was really great.
More to follow............thanks to all who have read this post.........
Pappy
NO DR IN MY FAMILY - I'm just repeating what I've heard them say.

Thanks for the update Pappy. I'm sure I can speak for all of us here at ESC that we're all here as friends and for moral support. I know it means a lot to have other show their thoughts and prayeys in a time like this and we all wish your nephew a good rapid recovery.

THAT SOUNDS SO GOOD, lungs are so important and i will pray for him so he dont have water or any other liquid it hurts a lot, it sounds like him is going to get goodie soon sir, still he need more pray and i want to show ytou more support but for now its all i have prqay

you and your family are always on my prays to GOD and i ask my guarding angel that go and visit him so he dont feel nothin more ten goodie sir

Update for March 10
Justin is doing better although still a long road to recovery. Yesterday his 19 yr old son spoke to him at bedside. Justin turned his head slightly then tried to raise his arms as if to give him a hug - but of course he's all bandaged and machine tubes are running every where. His swollen eye is stil swollen but you can see a bit of a sliver in it when he opens his other eye. He has pneumonia which the Dr's expected but over all it's been a good couple of days.
Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.
Pappy

that sounds great Pappy,,,,,thanks for the updates

http://www.gofundme.com/n3ubrk

Not a lot to update. Justin is slowly responding to voice commands like wiggle your toes or open your eyes.......but it's still a slow, difficult and tedious process. Thanks again for all your well wishes and thoughts/prayers/donations/ and just plain "thinking" of him now and then.......He still has pneumonia and a staph infection which the Doctor's expected and are treating for.

Pappy

It's remarkable what time does to heal wounds............Justin has had his facial bandages removed and the swelling on his eye has gone down enough so that he can open both eyes enough to see people standing in front of him. (and no they didn't have the bandages so tight as to cause swelling - I asked, jokingly of course!) He can't see the TV yet. He's able to move both arms and legs but the trach tube is still in his throat. The nursing staff had him sitting up in his bed yesterday for about 2 minutes but it wears him out rapdily. What a GREAT improvement over last week. He tries to mouth words and gets easily frustrated because we can't read his swollen lips. But he's on the uphill road to recovery - still has a long ways to go but each and every day there's improvement over the last. Thanks again for all your prayers and thoughts...



Pappy

Pappy i love ya! big broither!!