wildsoda (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} wildsoda) wrote,@ 2005-10-23 23:59:00 |
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Hamish
Hamish is in the hospital.
Yesterday, while at his regular parkour meetup, he complained of shortness of breath. Then his heart stopped beating and he collapsed.
Thankfully, one of the others started CPR on him right away, and the ambulance got there in about 10 minutes. They had to work on him for an hour to get his heart back to a steady beat - he flatlined and had to be defibrillated several times.
He's currently in intensive care, where he's on a ventilator and fully sedated. His heart rate is steady. They also kept him cooled to 33 C (about 91.5 F) to lower his body's demand for oxygen in the first 24 hours, although as of tonight the cooling and the sedation have been stopped. He should wake up in the morning, although he will still have to be ventilated for a bit.
The doctors are still trying to figure out the cause. It was an acute arrhythmia of some sort, possibly genetic or viral. They did an angiogram today and took a biopsy of his heart tissue. His arteries seem to be fine, so they gave him a corticostereoid to combat any inflammation; the biopsy should be processed tomorrow.
So he is alive, and stabilized, for which we are all profoundly grateful. But the really scary issue right now is the question of whether he sustained any brain damage from the extended loss of oxygen, and if so, how much. We won't have any idea until tomorrow when he is awake and they can start doing some basic neurological tests. His pupil response to a light shined in his eyes is apparently normal, which is at least a start.
Hamish had been planning to introduce me to his father soon, and we finally met last night, although we would have preferred different circumstances. He's shaken to the core, of course, as anyone with a normally fit, healthy 25-year-old son in intensive care would be. He greeted me with a hug, and very kindly notified the nurses to give me full visiting privileges. I spent an hour there this morning and a few hours more tonight, although with Hamish unconscious, with needles and tubes and medical tape everywhere, there hasn't been much I could do beyond hold his hand and smooth his hair back from his forehead. I hope on some level he's aware that his father and I were there. And of course I'm hoping that he'll be awake and conscious tomorrow, with faculties fully intact.
Hamish is in the hospital.
Yesterday, while at his regular parkour meetup, he complained of shortness of breath. Then his heart stopped beating and he collapsed.
Thankfully, one of the others started CPR on him right away, and the ambulance got there in about 10 minutes. They had to work on him for an hour to get his heart back to a steady beat - he flatlined and had to be defibrillated several times.
He's currently in intensive care, where he's on a ventilator and fully sedated. His heart rate is steady. They also kept him cooled to 33 C (about 91.5 F) to lower his body's demand for oxygen in the first 24 hours, although as of tonight the cooling and the sedation have been stopped. He should wake up in the morning, although he will still have to be ventilated for a bit.
The doctors are still trying to figure out the cause. It was an acute arrhythmia of some sort, possibly genetic or viral. They did an angiogram today and took a biopsy of his heart tissue. His arteries seem to be fine, so they gave him a corticostereoid to combat any inflammation; the biopsy should be processed tomorrow.
So he is alive, and stabilized, for which we are all profoundly grateful. But the really scary issue right now is the question of whether he sustained any brain damage from the extended loss of oxygen, and if so, how much. We won't have any idea until tomorrow when he is awake and they can start doing some basic neurological tests. His pupil response to a light shined in his eyes is apparently normal, which is at least a start.
Hamish had been planning to introduce me to his father soon, and we finally met last night, although we would have preferred different circumstances. He's shaken to the core, of course, as anyone with a normally fit, healthy 25-year-old son in intensive care would be. He greeted me with a hug, and very kindly notified the nurses to give me full visiting privileges. I spent an hour there this morning and a few hours more tonight, although with Hamish unconscious, with needles and tubes and medical tape everywhere, there hasn't been much I could do beyond hold his hand and smooth his hair back from his forehead. I hope on some level he's aware that his father and I were there. And of course I'm hoping that he'll be awake and conscious tomorrow, with faculties fully intact.
