News from Eli’s Loved Ones

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