Last night went well.  I expected the worst and it turned out to be the best.  Brooks slept all night.  Except, of course for all the interruptions from his phenomenal nurses doing their job.  They are very exceptional….kind, warm and comforting!  They have really been instrumental in lowering Brooks anxiety about this whole ordeal.  They are gentle with every question or move they make and explain what and why they are doing what they do.  He is truly in the best hands!

The day has been good as well.  They have really managed Brooks' pain, keeping him on a schedule so that he never gets very uncomfortable.  Sitting up makes his head throb somewhat, but that is the only thing that he has complained about today (and those complaints were few).

The best thing that happened today was that Brooks had a seizure.  I know that may sound odd, but that  is what we wanted to happen.  The more seizure activity while he has the grid of electrodes implanted, the more information they have to pinpoint and map out exactly what is going on and where.  That will determine what the next step will be.  Hopefully, they will have a plan in the next few days.  There are a few options depending on what they see from the grid.  All of them will require another surgery.  Hopefully, it will all be complete by early next week.  Lots of prayers for a quick and successful end to this part of his journey!

Another interesting note…Brooks was asked to participate in a study being done by the Dept. of Defense on the brain and memory.  The results will help future patients with memory impairments (from head trauma, concussions, etc.) and will actually directly help with Brooks' memory as well.  Three times today, Brooks was asked to look at lists of words followed by some tasks (math problems, for example) and then recite as many words from the list that he could recall.  Tomorrow, they will stimulate certain areas through the electrodes on the grid (no….it won't hurt) and then repeat similar tests.  Each set of tests took 30-45 minutes and made Brooks pretty exhausted.  He spent a good part of the remainder of the day sleeping.  But, when he was up, he was using his phone (texting, watching youtube) and he is now watching something on his computer.  He seems like himself….except for the hole in his head (he said it……not me!!)

Enough for now….another update tomorrow evening!  Thanks again for all the support and prayers!

Mary