March 29th Update

Jack had a lot of visitors over the weekend! We are so grateful for all of the family and friends who have visited him and shown their support! I was there all day yesterday and here are some of the things I found out:

Unfortunately, he has developed pneumonia which the doctors say is normal in these cases when they had the intubation in his throat. He has already been placed on antibiotics to kill the pneumonia if it is bacterial (which in most cases it is). If it is viral, there is nothing that can be done and it has to run its course which could be dangerous given his condition. Cultures were taken and we are awaiting the results and hoping for bacterial!

Once Jack gets over the pneumonia and starts to become a bit stronger, they will allow him to gradually wake up on his own. Once he awakens, we should have a much clearer idea of how the stroke has affected his speech and understanding of speech.

One thing we do know is that he is responding to voices! He has responded well to my sister Amber's voice, my Aunt Katie's voice and especially to my Mom's voice. As she was telling him that she was going to have to get home for the night last night, he grasped her hand so tightly as to tell her that he did not want her to go. Mom continued to talk to him for 10 - 15 more minutes before he loosened his grasp on her hand and let her go home for some much needed rest.

This is the most current information that we have at this time. The doctors and nurses have all stated that this will be a lengthy process and we are looking at 6 months of 'three steps forward, two steps back and then three steps forward again.' Let's hope we don't have any more steps backwards and lots more steps forward! I will update again later this week when we have more information on the pneumonia!

Thanks again for all the support, thoughts and prayers! They are all very much appreciated!