Amy and I get up around 8am. We are back at the hospital around nine. By the time we get to the hospital they have already taken Mari to the MRI (which lasted at least an hour if not more) and returned. It seems like for the rest of the day we just keep waiting for Neurology to come in and let us know what they found.
In the mean time, Keith’s Battalion Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Thorpe, his wife Jennifer, and their son Chance, and his Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Box, his wife Kathy, and their son and daughter come for a visit. It is really nice that they came to see how Mari is doing.
We all decide to go out to the waiting room and tell the nurse that when they are ready to talk to us we will be in there. I get a call on my cell phone saying they are ready to come and do the round robin again with us. We do it right in the waiting room. The CSM, the LTC and their wives and children all go into the hallway while they come in to tell us what they found. Amy and the Army Chaplain are still there with us.
The doctors that are there is the Attending PICU, the Fellow PICU, and the Attending Neurologist. What they say to us is that the MRI is pretty bad but it does not show that the stroke has covered the entire brain. The MRI confirms what her initial CT scan showed in that her stroke is in the middle of her brain. They now believe she will not become brain dead so long as no other complications arise. Now it is just a wait and see game. They also talk about her brain stem and are unsure how injured it had become on Friday. The MRI does not show any injury but they can tell she did due to some of the exams they have done on her and how she is not regulating her own body temperature. They also talk about how they would like to start weaning Mari off the ventilator to see if she can start to breathe on her own.
We go out and tell the others what has been told to us. Everyone is very happy to hear the news. It feels like the first piece of real good news in quite some time.
The rest of the day is pretty calm. Everyone eventually leaves. Keith and I decide to start alternating each night with one staying the night in the room with Mari and the other going to the Ronald McDonald House so that one of us can get at least one night of good sleep every other day. Because I stayed the previous night at the Ronald McDonald House it is Keith’s turn.
The rest of the night is pretty calm.