Riding high, lying low

My aunt, Sylvia Howe, said how John was doing what he loved (When I saw my dad in the ICU waiting room he said it was the day he'd been expecting almost all of John's life).

Check out John in a video of Thrashing Thursday:
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/features/2007/one-helluva-ride.html#54491
While I am tremendously saddened about his current situation and the scenarios for the future, John has always lived life to the fullest, and it's nice to see him in his element instead of lying in the hospital bed full of tubes.

Also, check out his MySpace where lots of friends have posted good wishes for John:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=98477278&MyToken=86f25853-c2c6-40c8-b309-dd9abd1b2c0f

Every day has it's ups and downs

-My dad said seeing him this morning, he looked so much better, not because any real change in his condition but because they've removed the pressure gauge from his head. They are trying to reduce possible sources of infection and are now measuring the ICPs through the drain in his head.

-After a course of antibiotics, they found no infection in his brain. The fever persists, which is being held in check with the cooking blanket and a warming blanket. The cooling blanket circulates cold water to keep his core temperature down. The warming blanket blows warm air on his skin to keep his body from shivering. As the fever does not appear to be caused by infection, the doctors say it could be caused by damage to his' brain's regulation of temperature.

-The EEG still needs to be analyzed, but the preliminary look was okay and they did not see any evidence of seizures.

-John had a "significant event" last night, meaning a spike in ICPs that they had a hard time getting down. They took him for a CAT scan after the event and didn't find any change vs. the previous scans.

-My dad thinks he's seen at least 30 doctors checking on John. We are very grateful that he's at such a great hospital. For the first time today, a rehab doctor appeared. While we haven't gotten much info on what outcomes we can expect for John, the fact that a rehab doctor is coming by seems like a positive sign that there will be life post ICU.

-Just got a text from my mom (so details unclear at this time) that they are going to put in a tracheal tube instead of the breathing tube through his mouth as they are starting to plan for a time frame of a month or more.

From the "hamburgered" term (so shocking; I believe purposely so) to time frames extending from a few days then weeks then a month or more, the message is becoming clear that the damage is very severe and his recovery very uncertain. We appreciate all the good wishes and help from family and friends coming in every day. A friend of John's is even giving my family use of a house 2 blocks from the hospital.

We've heard that John's friends are planning a candlelight vigil tonight at 7pm, walking from Riding High (his skateboard shop) to the hospital. If you are in Burlington, please join in. It would mean a lot to my parents who are spending countless hours in the ICU.