News from Eli’s Loved Ones

Before I share today's update, my parents wanted to share a message: Thank you to all the folks that have been checking on Eli’s progress.  Amy and I have been overwhelmed at the support.  We want to let you know that it gives us tremendous comfort to know that people are in Eli’s corner. It’s hard to fathom that it has been a week since Amy and I arrived in Chicago.  It has been a wildly emotional week.  The good news is that where Eli is today is light years from where he

Eli had an extremely difficult night. My mom ended up staying at the hospital to help keep him calm. He became so agitated that the nurses had to put him in soft restraints. Unfortunately, the restraints only made him more uncomfortable, which caused even more distress. His neck brace has also been bothering him, along with the oxygen mask he was using. His biggest complaint overnight was how thirsty he was. The doctors won’t allow him to have water until he passes his swallo

Today I am so excited to share the most positive and uplifting news — Eli is awake!! This morning, the doctors began the long process of extubating him and slowly lowering his sedation. It took several hours, mostly because it was difficult to keep him calm and still as the sedation wore off. The more awake he became, the more discomfort he felt. After about four hours, the breathing tube was finally removed, and he is now fully breathing on his own. He’s still getting a smal

Today was a slower day, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Eli’s body is doing a lot of resting and recovering right now, and it feels like we’re in a bit of a “wait and see” phase. Overall, just a few updates today, and almost all of them are good news. This morning, his eyes were trying to open again, but they seemed to be moving in different directions. My mom said it’s definitely unsettling to watch, but the doctors aren’t alarmed. They said this is most likely due to t

Today has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Eli was taken for his MRI early this morning, but we didn’t receive the results until later in the afternoon. He needed another unit of blood overnight because his blood pressure dipped slightly, which is common after surgery. Good news : the brain bleed has now been labeled a non-issue. The brain surgeon is generally pleased with how the lumbar drain is working. Tomorrow they will clamp the drain to see if fluid continues to leak from

Today’s main focus was repairing his femur. His surgery was pushed back several times, so he did not go in until about 1:30 in the afternoon. The procedure ended up being more complicated than the orthopedic surgeon originally expected. He initially believed the break was clean, but it turned out to be a displaced fracture. Because of this, the incision had to be larger. When he was first brought into the hospital, he had two large open gashes on his thigh. One of them was st

We are starting off today with some encouraging news that both we and the doctors feel optimistic about: This morning the nurse and neuro PA lowered his sedative and pain medications to test his responsiveness again. Eli was very agitated at first, but the nurse was able to calm him and speak to him directly. She explained that he had been in an accident, that he was in the hospital, and that our parents and Lindsay were there with him. She also told him that so many people a

Overnight, some of the swelling in Eli’s lower face went down a little. He is still very bruised, but it feels like a small win. Early this morning, Eli became extremely agitated, even though he was not awake. He tried to sit up and move. The doctors believe this is his body reacting to the trauma and likely to pain. To keep him safe, they increased his sedation again. He is now very heavily sedated. Updates from today: • The doctors are hoping to take him into surgery tomorr

Our parents, Amy and Dan, were able to fly into Chicago first thing to be with Eli. They are with him now, along with his girlfriend, Lindsay. To check his responsiveness, the team lowered his sedation slightly. This helps them see how well he can breathe on his own and whether his extremities are reacting. The good news is that he did respond. He was able to move his fingers and toes. Once the sedation was lowered, he became agitated, so they had to increase it again. Here a