Monday, December 26, 2011

Introduction December 22-26

My name is Joe, I am Iggy's friend from high school, and I will be updating Iggy Silva's status throughout the duration of his stay at the hospital. My plan is to visit Iggy everyday (hopefully) and then update the blog so that everyone can know his status. On this blog entry I will include everything that has happened to date. A quick summary of the accident: Iggy crashed his bike at the San Diego Velodrome around 1 pm on Thursday December 22. He sustained a fractured skull, a concussion and a broken collarbone. Later Thursday he went into surgery to have the swelling reduced in his head. The good news is the doctor who performed the operation believes that Iggy make a full recovery. We have been told that the typical recovery time for a fractured skull is 6-8 weeks. Iggy will likely be in the hospital for the next week or so.

December 23-25 Intensive Care Unit (ICU):

Iggy was admitted to the ICU to rest following his surgery. Shannon (Iggy's girlfriend) arrived on Christmas Eve and spent the majority of her time with Iggy while he was in the ICU. Iggy spent the majority of his time here sleeping. The few times that he was awake were somewhat brief. He was hooked up to all sorts of tubes and was heavily sedated so he was not communicating very much. It is also likely that he was not able to recognize anyone, yet. Once the breathing tubes were removed he was able to talk a little bit more. When Jacob (another of Iggy's friends from high school) and I came to visit on Christmas, he greeted us sarcastically by saying "pssshhhh" as if he recognized that we were his friends, but he was not able to identify us by our names. We tried to speak to him but he was having a difficult time getting his thoughts straight. However, we were confident that he knew we are his friends. Around midnight on Christmas, Iggy was moved to his own room where he rested for the remainder of the night. Shannon noted that Iggy's communication skills and comprehension skills were improving, however he still had moments where he was very confused.

December 26:

Jacob and I arrived at the hospital in the morning to take over for Shannon, who had to return home. Iggy was in his own room and was laying in his bed. He now only has a monitor on his finger to check his pulse. When we arrived, he was able to go for a short walk with the nurse through the hallway and also stand up when the nurse was changing his sheets. A short while later, he asked for his cellphone, which he used to send out a few texts messages and emails. While he was looking at his phone, Jacob sent him a text and Iggy gave him a look to signify that he knew that Jacob was the one texting him. During our visit we saw several improvements with his memory. When he first asked for his phone, he referred to it as a "rock." Then the next time he asked for it he called it a phone and remembered that it was on the table behind him. He also asked both Jacob and me about our future plans after college and also recalled an event a couple of weeks ago when I asked his dad for Seaworld tickets. Moreover, while I was gone Iggy asked Jacob, "when is Joe getting back?" We were pleased that he remembered my name and that I was just there with him. He still had his moments where he was not able to completely understand what we were saying to him, or he struggled to get the right words out to complete his sentences. Periodically we asked him what his name was or what our names were and he struggled with those details, but he did say that he remembered that we are his friends. Everyday that we have seen him, he has been getting better and better. His memory and communication skills seemed to be improving as the day went on and we saw some glimpses of Iggy's personality. He is doing much better and we are excited about his progress.

His main caregivers from now on will be his aunt Laura, his dad and Jacob and myself (as much as we can). Please contact me or Jacob on Facebook if you would like to get more information, or would like to come and visit him.

5 comments:

  1. Joe, on behalf of myself and all the I.S. staff members who know and love Iggy, tell him we send our love and prayers... and then five minutes later tell him again... Repeat as needed. I want to thank you for keeping everyone up to date with this blog and I admire both you and Jacob for standing by your friend's side. It is not easy to watch someone you care about go through this, but you will all come out stronger because of it.

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  2. Thanks for the update Joe. How can we find you on Facebook for additional information?

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  3. I second Tonia in that Iggy is very lucky to have friends like you and Jake by his side. Send him my thoughts and greetings as I'm sure you'll see him before I do. Thanks for the updates!

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  4. Get well soon...from the Michael David Winery Cycling Team. If he needs a glass of wine let us know.

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  5. @neilroad: My facebook link is
    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=683819458

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