Hey Kook, How is your friend doing?
 

Just wondering how he is doing?

Ditto, I was thinking about that today.

Buck
#183

All things considered, he is doing well. Yesterday (7/31) was the first day I left the hospital feeling good.

He is still in a coma, but under his own will, not that of medication. Also, they finally took him off morphine a couple days ago. Showing movement in arms, legs, and face, though still not responding to commands. He's trying to pull the tubes off of him - so you know he is feeling pain/irritation.

For the first time, they had him in a chair of sorts, sitting up...... with this big 'ole helmet on - damn near covered his eyes - he would LOL if he could see himself there. CAT scans show brain swelling going down. He's already been assigned a speech therapist, a PT, and an Occupational Therapist. The goal at this time is to get him to respond to simple commands (e.g. "raise your thumb", etc..).

Still a LONG way to go, but when I left the hospital yesterday, for the first time I really felt confident about his future - he's no longer a vegetable, but shows movement and facial expressions of someone alive.

Will update when he reaches the next stage. thanks for asking.

-Mark

Mark that all sounds like positive progress..... I will continue to keep you both in my thoughts.... Keep the faith.... Gary.

That's got to be rough for you .... again, Good Luck, everything will work out.

G

Mark,
Hang in there!! You are in our prayers!! We all know how hard it is to be in your shoes.. Keep supporting your buddy, that is the important thing right now.. You both will get better as time goes on..
We're all here thinking of you and him.. so take care.
Tell your buddy we are pulling for him..

Dick

kook: Great to hear he's doing better. Is he doing well enough to recognize a get well card if it were sent to him? I bet you could get several hundred sent to him if you gave us a first name and a "care of" address.

Hang in there bro. I am sure he will come through :D

Jon

Great News Kook! Glad things are looking up.:D

We're all behind you here bro...
Best of luck to you and your friend!:)

Mark, great to see your friend is doing better. You have always come a crossed as a stand up guy and once again you prove that to be a true assessment.....

Glad things are looking better... Hang in there...

Mark,

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your friend - keep your chin up!

DR

Glad to hear he is improving Kook. We are all rooting for him! Get us that address and let's start an OSO get well card campaign!

Appreciate the offer for a group card...... Should wait until he is conscious, IMHO - then I'll work on the logistics of a card - possibly this can be done on the 'Net. He had been on the Board here once or twice as a visitor.

My buddy's back to doing "nothing" the past couple visits. Kind of a roller coaster - you see progress, then you see nothing. I think he's gonna need at least another coupla weeks before his body will "allow" himself to even consider "wakinge up" - still too much head trauma. He's got a brain drain back in, so they are not sitting him up (can't put helmet on with brain drain attached to the head).


If anyone has been in a similar situation (not necessarily with boats - could be auto accident, motorcycle accident, etc...), send me an e-mail. This emotional roller coaster is kind of hard to deal with, when you're down in the "lows" - hearing from others who have been there, would help make me feel link I'm not alone.

-Mark

Mark her is a pick of Connie on her 50th birthday party. She is on the right
 

a week later she had her accident

KOOK, your situation is not forgotten, I have watched the threads closely.
SO how is your friend? I for one am curious, and hoping for the best. :)
You two are thought of often in this house.

MIKEHTMSR24 What happen to the pretty gal? I re-read everything, what did I miss?
Best to all.
Bryan

Byran:

Not much change. He goes in for some brain surgery on Monday, and assuming that goes well, plastic surgery to reconstruct the facial bones which the brain is currently pushing up against. Some pretty major stuff, but there is little risk that there will be any severe complications. Then, about a week after that, they plan to install what is called a "shunt" - something that is permanently "installed" in the body, to drain spinal /cranial fluid directly into the stomach (or somewhere thereabouts - bottom line is that he'll never know he has it in him).

After all that is complete, then he stands a better chance of coming out of the coma. His vitals are stable, his activity varies from nothing some days to moving his mouth/face, arms, and legs on other days. Not on command, but he's moving nonetheless.

Appreciate the thoughts. It's been beaten into me not to think about the future here - just live one day at a time.

-Mark

Mike's post with the picture of Connie is one of our boating friends wife. She was involved in a roll over in a Tahoe on the hwy. She was ejected (not wearing seat belt) and it was estimated the car flipped 5 or more times. She was in a coma for a couple of weeks and her brain pressures were dangerously high on several occasions, like high 30's to 40's. Normal is 17 or less I think. She broke both legs, an arm, all of her ribs on one side, and fractured her C1 and C2 vertabrae. She went through several months of rehab and is doing great now. She still has something in her joints that keeps her knees from bending and that is from the head trauma. Doctors say they cant really do anything about it for 1 1/2 to 2 years. So keep the faith Kook. Miracles do happen, Connie is our proof.

thanks Ashley
 

couldn't have said it any better.
Connie is one hard girl to pull down.
Mark you said it right, one day at a time;)
Call Connie she will cheer up anybody

KOOK, thanks for the update.
I would have posted at the start of the initial thread but for my own reasons didn't, I guess it had to sink in.
Like I said, keep us posted, your situation is not forgotten.
Take care man.

And on the BRIGHT side, have you done any repairs to the boat?
If so what? When will she float again?

ALSO, glad to hear Connie is on her way to recovery. Thanks for the info.
BRYAN

Well, I at least got an estimate on the repairs - most of it is parts (IMCO SC). The hull held up just fine (still need to check stringers and bulkhead (if possible) when motor is removed) - a testament to the structural integrety of the Sunsation. An accident reconstruction "specialist" spent the better part of a day last week, going over the boat. He was surprised and impressed at how well the hull held up. He found no indications of anything "wrong" with the hull.

I will not be back in the water this year. At this time I am prohibited from making any mods to the boat, until I get the "OK" from the insurance company - no doubt they do not want to pay the liability (like any insurance company), and they are looking at it from every angle (e.g. mechanical failure, for instance). When it's back together, it goes up for sale. For now, I just sit and pay $600/month, unable to use her.

Kook...

Bang me an e-mail, [email protected] I know what you are going thru as far as your friend goes. on 2-Nov-01, my father hit a deer on his MC. Of course, he was not wearing a helmet. He suffered some serious brain injury... I won't go into the details here, but I totally understand what you are going thru, especially the ups & downs. The sad part is, had he been wearing a helmet, he would have walked away...

The good news is, here we are 10 months later, and he is back to work, probably functioning at about 90-95% of normal. I am sure your friend will pull through.

Woodsy

PS: Is this the same friend of yours who was interested in those K-Planes I sold awhile back?

Mark/kook,

Thanks for keeping us informed on you and your friend. We are praying for you both. God bless

Yes, that is him :o(

I'll get in touch via e-mail.