October 31, 2004
Dear family and friends,
Peter's doctors decided to switch him to an oral form of his anti-viral drug today and after deliberation also decided that he was risk free enough to convalesce at home!! On Friday we thought he would be in hospital for another 10 to 14 days. I am delighted to have him home but was concerned about him having another seizure here. Given that he hasn't had another one since first admitting him they are fairly confident that the anti-seizure medication will keep them at bay. They also gave me a crash course in handling a person having a seizure. Lets hope I don't have to use the new knowledge!
Peter is feeling very wiped out, woozy, dizzy, etc. but obviously much better than he was 6 days ago! The long term prognosis is uncertain from a medical stand point. He will not be allowed to drive a car for 3 months (and if he does have another seizure even longer) and only time will tell if he will be left with any neurological deficits from the scar tissue from the infection. Two things that we have to watch for are a relapse of the infection and the slight possibility that the body could have an autoimmune attack on the brain tissue after the infection has actually cleared. There are plenty of scary potentials with this condition but I am committed to believing in Peter's ability to have a full recovery. We will take one day at a time and do all that we can do to support his healing.
Although he is clearly getting better each day he will still need a lot of quiet, sleep, etc. I feel that occasional visits from friends would be lovely but I am also going to be a bit of a watch dog to make sure he is getting all the rest he needs. Please do not take it personally if I am protective about that. I know you all want a full recovery for Peter too! Just give a ring first if you'd like to drop in and we'll see if he is up for it.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU and THANK YOU again for all of your love, prayers and support.
Much love,
Jennifer
Posted by Jennifer at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2004
Update on Peter
Dear family and friends,
Thank you from the depths of my heart for your many messages of prayer, love and light which you have sent to Peter and our family. I feel as if a global web of light has been spun around us to hold Peter in a very profound way. I know this will bring him to a full recovery.
Peter was moved out of intensive care two days ago but will probably be in hospital for another week or two if all goes well and there are no major set backs.
The working diagnosis for his condition is herpes encephalitis although test results have not come in to prove this yet. Evidently herpes simplex virus (cold sores) can travel through the olfactory nerves and sinuses or through the blood stream and past the blood/brain barrier into the brain to cause a serious infection.
Peter is still experiencing some memory and speech difficulties at times but each day is showing improvement. Today was the first day that he did not have any hallucinations or need for pain medication for the headache he has had. I became really hungry for the first time today and dozed for awhile next to Peter in his hospital bed instead of being on guard every moment ...a good sign. It is such a relief to see him coming back to himself.
I have communicated your many messages of love to Peter and he is deeply touched. His experience is a bit abstract to him given that he was unconscious for so much of it but he is touched by your love none the less. As am I.
To our community in the Byron Bay area .... you are my heroes. THANK YOU for all the support you have given me and the children. Words fall short your generosity is so huge.
Much love to you,
Jennifer
P.S. on a practical note, Peter received a couple of phone calls yesterday that seemed to trigger "neurological episodes." Although he really wanted to speak with friends it seems he may need a little more time of quiet. I will keep you posted on that.
Posted by Jennifer at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2004
Some of you may know that Peter is in intensive care
Dear Friends,
Some of you may know that Peter is in intensive care after suffering a seizure early Tuesday morning. He woke me at 1:00 in the morning as if he were coming out of a nightmare but he continued to experience strong smells and disjointed images even while awake. I attempted to get him really awake and present but it quickly became apparent that he was becoming more and more incoherent. Given that baby Dylan and Chloe were asleep I called Saul to come take Peter to the hospital. The local doctor put him in an ambulance to go to Lismore hospital an hour away. On the way to Lismore he suffered a seizure that ended with him being unable to manage his airways .... his brain shut down and he stopped breathing. Thank god he was in the ambulance and they were able to ventilate him and give him anti-seizure drugs. He was in a coma state when he arrived at hospital and spent 15 hours unconscious on a ventilator with lots of drugs to stabilize him.
Many tests were done during the day and many causes have been ruled out as to what caused the seizures but the actual cause is still unknown. It is NOT bacterial menengitis, epilepsy, pneumonia, heart disease, brain tumours, internal bleeding. They think it may be a viral menengitis or viral encephilitis which he is on anti-viral drugs for.
The staff at the hospital have been fabulous. Very thorough and very forthcoming with me. They allowed me to be by Peter's side all day and late into the evening yesterday and allowed me to be part of his care.
The doctors felt confident enough that he was not having more seizures after looking at his brain waves to take him off the ventilator and sedation drugs last night. He woke up quickly and after sometime could look at me and talk to me. THANK GOD. I was never more happy to see him wake up!
He has had a good night without any more seizures or need for the ventilator. I am on my way back to the hospital today. I will up date you all when I have more info.
Until then please hold Peter in your prayers and surround him in light.
Thanks for your care and love to you all,
Jennifer
Posted by Jennifer at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)