complications

Dawn continues with the events on Monday (Jan 5)...

On Monday morning Dad became much less responsive. A chest x-ray showed pneumonia (most likely aspiration as he wasn't protecting his airway very well and was coughing stuff up but not swallowing it down). Also his brain was swelling and a CT scan indicated he had a new stroke :( secondary to a vasospasm along the artery where his aneurysm had been clipped. They took him back to the OR, removed the original skull fragment as well as removing more of his skull to help the brain decompress. The brain did not bulge out of the skull when it was opened up, which was a good sign. When they brought him back from the OR, his brain pressure was still up, and his right pupil was larger than his left. They took him back for another CT scan -- they were worried his initial stroke from the morning, which was the result of lack of oxygen, could have turned into a bleeding stroke. The CT looked okay -- the pupil being larger appeared to be related to his brain filling in where the aneurysm had been and irritating the nerve in that area.