Uncle Tommy...

It's been a terrible weekend. Aaron's Uncle Tommy is in the hospital.

Tommy & Charlotte

Thursday, while at work in Findlay, he started complaining of a terrible headache like his head was going to explode. His co-workers got him to the hospital where they found a brain bleed and decided to life flight him to St. Vincent's here in Toledo.

Shortly after Aaron & I arrived at the hospital, the doctor came in to update his wife on his condition. He basically said that there was a significant bleed from a clot that had burst in his brain & they would be taking him in for emergency surgery. The doctor let us know that the outlook was not all that good & it was a last ditch effort. Around 7:00 he went in for surgery. Charlotte & Tommy's family filled the waiting room. There were probably 25 people there, which was so uplifting. At 9:00 the surgeon came out & let us know that Tommy had pulled through the surgery. While they were in there, they drained some of the blood also found an aneurysm that they clamped off. The surgeon was adamant that this was a good outcome, better than they had expected. Although he was by no means out of the woods, there was hope. The next 72hrs were critical in his recovery. He could die at any moment.

Everyone was relieved that he had made it through... but now we wait. It has since been 72+ emotional hours. On Friday, there seemed to be a little hope that he was responding to light and touch. Unfortunately, we have since found out that he is not responding as they would like. He is "posturing", which is a sign that there is significant brain injury.

He is just laying there. We were told that there is a possibility that he can hear us. We have spent most of the last 4 days at the hospital just talking to him & supporting Charlotte. It's heartbreaking to see her and the whole family go through this. There are no answers as of now but hopefully the surgeon will visit today with some more information.

The two on their wedding night

Tommy is honestly, my favorite Uncle. He just has a way of just making you smile, it's contagious. All we need is some food, a few drinks and some music to make it a memorable night with him and Charlotte. I'm looking forward to this summer when we are all sitting on the patio reminiscing on this whole ordeal & listening to his side of the story. We are all praying for you, Tommy... keep fighting!

*Lu


update:
3/11/14
Tommy opened his eyes today! He also is responding to verbal commands & has given a 'thumbs up' to the family. He even wiggled his toes and fingers! This has been a pretty traumatic experience for everyone involved... hopefully this is the beginning of the road to recovery!

3/13/14
We got to see him with his eyes open and fully responsive. He was off the respirator but having some trouble breathing due to a "floppy throat". He gave us a big toothy smile and a thumbs up... so that's all we can ask for.