Today was not so good. Tyler is more awake, although he also hallucinates at times, and he’s able to have food - through a tube in his nose, but still, it’s progress. But he’s got bacterial meningitis, and as a result, they had to take the shunt out of his back and start him on antibiotics. It’ll take a day or two or three before they’re sure meningitis is the problem, and I guess they’ll put the splint back in. He’s not coming home this weekend; he should be there for at least another week. It’s becoming more obvious to me how uncomfortable he ishow the time must be dragging by and the irritations piling up.
I just found this thread. Hugs and good thoughts from my family to yours, Marley. You’re a great big brother!
Marley, hang in there and try not to get discouraged. Tyler’s recovery will have some ups and downs, so just keep on keepin’ on. As others have said, you are a great brother.
Sending the most positive thoughts your way.
I’m sorry to hear that yesterday wasn’t a good day. I definitely hope that things get easier for him soon!
Marley, will he be interested in seeing the Superbowl later when he is a little more “together”? I can tape it for you and send it so that when you get your VCR repaired, he can see it.
I can also probably do the same with the final game of the Austrailian Open if it hasn’t taken place already. I would need to know a little more info, but I can look it up.
If I were your mother or grandmother, I would be so proud of the symbology of that tattoo that I would get a smaller version myself! I will lay odds that all three of you guys will have that symbol as a bond. So Tyler might as well get used to it.
You seem to have come a long way since that feeling you had the night you decorated the tree. I’ve thought about you and Tyler often.
Let me know about the taping.
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the hospital and etc of late myself, Marley, so I just saw this thread now and I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner. You know how it is when people who are not well fill your day.
You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Hang in there. May we all have great outcomes.
Jenny
The Open is over, Zoe, but I’ll see what I can do about the game. He may end up watching it himself.
He was actually much better yesterday, in spite of the fever, than the visit before that. He stayed with us for the whole hour or so. I’m not sure he was that solid all day, but it looked like an improvement.
I’m getting the feeling that this is going to require less of the kind of bravery I had in mind, and more of a hard-headed, dig-in-your-heels and refuse to quit mentality. But that’s alright, I think we can do that.
My sympathies to you and your family, Marley. Your brother sounds like the kind of guy I would have been friends with growing up. Hope he continues to improve until he’s back to normal. And I hope you and your family have the strength to deal with this whole thing.
The Phantom Tollbooth is not a series… 
Glad to hear he’s better, although the bac meningitis is set back. How are your parents holding up? And your other brother? Maybe you could watch the Superbowl with Tyler?
I’ll be at work, tomorrow (I’m a nurse)–I will be thinking of you and Tyler.
‘Dragons’ is a series, Tollbooth isn’t. :smack:
I did end up watching the game with Tyler. He napped at halftime and was fading a bit at the end, but we had a good time. His fever is down, they’re having him sit up more often and I think he’s walked a little bit. I gave him a pep talk about how stubborn he needs to be. They’re now thinking he’ll be out in a week or so.
Yesterday, Tyler was supposed to have an X-ray or CAT scan or something like that. The techs were fumbling around with his feeding tube, I think, making him very uncomfortable and needing multiple attempts to do whatever they were trying to do. It hurts him to talk, but I guess they pushed him past the breaking point and he yelled something like “You guys fucking suck, you can’t do your fucking jobs, get out of here.”
Not exactly nice, I know, but I confess myself amused- and proud that he’s got the fight in him.
Good, good, good. Thinking of you both.
Give 'em hell, Tyler!
What she said.
The fact that he’s not passively accepting whatever nonsense they’re dishing out is an excellent sign.
Tell him he’s got a couple of thousand folks at your favorite message board rooting for him.
What’s the latest?
Couple of thousand and one.
All the best, Tyler!
The latest is that Tyler had another procedure this week. They figured out where the infection came from and they hope they’ve patched it. If they got it, the infection will finish healing and he’ll start making progress toward getting out. If not, they’ll have to try some things that will be even less fun. He’s very bored and frustrated these days, and I’m doing what I can to keep him determined and focused on getting out as soon as he can.
Meanwhile, we’re recording my Simpsons thing tomorrow, so I hope we can get that to him in a few days. Since he’s looking at another week or more in the hospital, I think we can do that.
I didn’t really see Tyler over the weekend. I stopped by Saturday, but he was sleeping. We recorded my Simpsons thing Sunday, and it could use a little bit of editing, but I’m pretty thrilled with the results. I may give it to him tonight instead of waiting. One of my uncles saw him Sunday and said he looked better, so here’s hoping we can get Tyler home this coming weekend.
This is great news, Marley23! I’m sure he’ll love the Simpson thing. I haven’t posted much here because there’s not a lot to say, but please be assured that your updates are read and appreciated.
Hi Marley23, how is your brother doing? Did he make it home yet?
Jim
Things are more the same than ever. Tyler’s been running a fever for about a week, which is preventing other things from happening. He’s on a gastric feeding tube now, which is supposed to be a sign of progress. He’ll have that for a month, if not more, which sucks - I’d been trying to motivate him by talking about the food he’ll eat when he gets out of the hospital. They do have him getting up, sitting up or walking around whenever possible. I think the fever has gone down a little bit, but it feels like he’s been treading water with little progress for at least a week. The doctors have gone back and forth about the cause of the fever and sometimes they’ve been irritatingly casual about it - ‘oh, maybe it’s this, we’ll see.’ But maybe I’m just pissed. We were hearing that he could leave as soon as the middle of this week, but that seems unlikely given the fact that it’s Tuesday. If he’s still there Saturday, that’s a full month in the hospital.