Just when you think: ‘no need for an ICU anymore, isnt’t that great?’, life turns around with a big grin and gives you a taste of its cruel side, as if that was necessary.
It had to happen and today was the day.
Pat went in early this morning to assist Pádraig’s physiotherapy session. She arrived just before the physios and noticed that he was moving his left arm and leg. It stopped after a few seconds. When the nurse came in, it happened again. When the physios arrived, they called the doctor.
What followed then was a bit of controlled panic.
He was apparently having a series of (or one long) seizures, not dramatic ones (to Pat they looked more like spasms) but still worrying enough for the whole ward to really kick into action. Loads of checks and samples. Eventually down to another building to get a CT and an EEG.
None of these, nor the half a dozen of other tests they conducted, showed up any ‘bad’ results. Notwithstanding, instead of his ‘normal’ room, he ended up in the hospital’s main ICU in Haus 7 this afternoon where he got a cocktail of three different drugs at a dose that would have put the doctor and myself, both of us, to sleep until the weekend (the doctor’s words, not mine).
Pádraig, however, when we were finally allowed in to see him, looked asleep but was able to answer ‘yes’ and ‘no’ with his right and left feet. When we told the doctor, he said ‘fair play to him, amazing’ and then started to wonder about the dose he had administered… When a nurse was preparing him for the night, we were sent out for half an hour. When we came back and Pádraig heard Pat’s voice, he moved his head around towards her.
We should know by now that there is nothing that Pádraig is not picking up on his way to recovery. We had been told that one side effect of the make-me-more-alert drug could be seizures, but they had only started to give this to him last Tuesday and only a small dose to start with. A small dose that was to be increased over the coming weeks. They’re going to re-evaluate this next week.
Over the past months, we had been told that most patients with injuries like Pádraig have seizures and that the fact that he hadn’t had one was surprising, but really good. While the fact that he had an episode today is worrying, at least we know that it was not caused by anything really serious, thanks to the quick and decisive action by his doctors. It looks like a side-effect of one of the drugs he’s been taking, so this has been stopped.
It was a tough auld day for Pádraig. He didn’t really need this. I’ve stopped wondering how much more is going to happen to him and setting him back while he is recovering from this accident and his injuries. But sometimes I think: he’s had enough, really. It’s bad enough as it is. No need for more stuff to happen. We know by now, and don’t need to be told or shown anymore, that life can be cruel.
Repeat after me: no more ICU, no more ICU, no more ICU.
We’ll see what tomorrow will bring.
Hospi-Tales 
No more ICU, no more ICU, no more ICU!!! Beoso y abrazos
UCI no más! I’m just guessing, Ana… All the acronyms are just reversed from English to Spanish, right? NATO -> OTAN, EU -> UE, ICU -> UCI?
you are right!! Unidad de cuidados intensivos – UCI
🙂
No more ICU, no more ICU, no more ICU!! I’m so sorry to hear about the setback. Hope tomorrow is better.
Today was better, Ana. None of this stuff is having any impact on us anymore. We’re not frightened, we’re not scared, we’ve seen down the abyss right to the bottom. Pádraig will be out of this on Monday, and it’ll be a distant memory by the weekend…
Thank God for ICU .The complete dedication of Padraigh’s family and for ever alert Staff.Think of it as his special room.
You are, of course, right, Kitty. What would we do without ICU? But there are times when I hope against hope that we won’t need it anymore for at least the time being…
Maybe on the road to recovery some of the things that look negative are in fact positives, we have no way of knowing. All we can do is hope and trust and believe that no matter what some good will come of all of this. In fact all lot of good is coming from hearing Pádraig’s story. More good than any of us will ever realize. We are all on that journey.
If I could do a fraction of what Pádraig has been doing, especially over the past year or so, Kay, there would be world peace! I don’t know how he does it, but he has had such a terrific influence on people, how we behave, how we think, what we do. He has brought together people who have never met in their lives, across countries and continents.