After TBI: Just Make the TBI Survivor the Best You Can

After TBI: Mike Part Five

Mike’s Wife continues her coma vigil with more discouraging news after TBI.

“He made it through the first night and the second night, and then actually in the morning when (the doctor) told me about the second hemorrhage is when I actually broke down.”

Despite his recommendation and clear personal preference, the neurosurgeon did go ahead and do surgery on Mike, Plavix and the risk of him bleeding to death, notwithstanding. Mike’s wife explains after TBI:

I said I would like you to do surgery and he shook his head and he just, I can’t tell you how many times he did it, how many times he shook his head.  It was just, you know, just listen to what I’m saying and just please do surgery, you know.

I don’t want you to fix him but I just want you to do the best you can do.  That’s all I’m asking for.  And I never asked to see Mike at all or anything, I just knew in my heart that I would see him when he was done and out of there.

What condition were they going to do surgery for after TBI?

Well he had a large hematoma, or something of the sort like that in the –In the frontal lobe on the right hand side, and they said it was bad, and I just said, you know, do the best you can do and they did.

They did surgery and then in the morning, at 7:00 in the morning, he told me they did another CT scan and I had been by his bedside all night, and they said he had another one, and I said, could you just please do surgery one more time.

Another, would have been another hemorrhage?

Yeah, another hemorrhage. So they went in there and, and did that.  In the meantime, the first time they had to take the skull off and had to leave the skull off they said, because it swelled so bad and it bled so bad, but you know, they did what they could do, and I said okay.

How big of a piece of the skull did they take out after TBI?  About the size of your hand?

Oh yeah, I would say that.  Yeah.   In the two surgeries, yeah, because they had to take the other one off also.

So they took off two pieces?  Two different pieces?

Two pieces, two days.  One the day he got there and one the next morning. (One) right on the front and one on the side.

So he made it through the first, first 36  hours?

He made it through the first night and the second night, and then actually in the morning when he told me about the second hemorrhage is when I actually broke down, and I think, you know, I just thought he was going to be okay. I was just, thought everything was good until then and then I’m like, oh no, this is not good.

So even though he’s telling you that your husband is either going to  die from a brain injury after TBI or bleed it out.

Exactly.

You’re still not quite getting it.  It still isn’t really sinking in.

Right, because he’s a tough cookie.

Next in Part Six: Waiting for Some Sign of Emergence from Coma

By Attorney Gordon Johnson