My brother landed late last night - he's on emergency leave from his unit in Germany. Tomorrow (Sunday) I fly to Oakland to put my affairs in order there for an extended stay at home in Salt Lake.
The doctors were hoping to extubate my dad last night, but he had too much mucus in his lungs to support his own breathing. The spinal injury has thrown his autonomic nervous system out of whack so the lungs are getting false messages to produce mucus, a natural protective barrier. They had to re-intubate Dad, which is really hard on him because he has a narrow airway. They also tried to get a feeding tube into him but could not make it past his deviated septum. A 15 minute procedure took over two hours and we were right back where we started, but with much more wear-and-tear on my dad's system. Today he had a large liver-clot (not in the liver, it's a type of clot) that came out of his nose and he said "Yes" when I asked if his sinuses were clogged up. All that is from trying to get the damn feeding tube in. Now they are going to have to do a tracheotomy for a breathing tube and a gastric feeding tube (right into the GI tract through his side). The problem with the tracheotomy is that it's very close to the surgery where they fused his vertebra together and they are worried about re-injuring that or possibly causing infection. They also sent a sample of his lung excretions to the lab because they are worried he might have developed an infection there.
For the good news:
He is regaining more and more feeling in his body and his strength has nearly doubled in the past day.
I'm on a plane tomorrow morning, but I will be returning to Salt Lake tomorrow evening. My brother will help out in my absence. Our extended family has been really supportive, tonight my aunt (Dad's sister) made dinner for us and had it on our stove when we got home. Tonight her son came by with a load of groceries so she could come over and cook us a home-made meal for dinner tomorrow (she said she would also clean up for us). My mom's friends are handling all airport rides, because the husband is a police detective and can park where ever the hell he wants at the airport. Cards are starting to arrive from all over, and all your well wishes are making a real difference. My dad has always been tuned into "The Force" (for lack of a better term) and overall he is doing really well, and I thank everyone who sent positive thoughts, prayers and energy his way for that.
Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers, we have a long road ahead.