Update: Monday December 12th, 9:00pm

Tonight's update is a heavy one, so make sure you're in a good place and have a self care plan and maybe a friend to talk to. And let me know if I can hold your heart gently and listen as well.

Mike is still in critical yet stable condition and is still in a non-medically induced coma.

Today we had a meeting with his medical team. A narrative about all of this is hard to write, so I'll stick with the facts.

Good News

• Mike's body is recovering well.

• His surgeries on his legs went perfectly today, and they will be healed within weeks.

• His chest tube is out, so his collapsed lung is resolved.

• The intra-abdominal injuries to his spleen and kidney have stabilized.

• There is increased reactivity in his pupils and in his pain responses.

• He is breathing mostly on his own, and the tracheostomy will soon replace the ventilator.

• The MRI showed no injury to his spinal cord nor abnormal alignment of the spine.

• His blood pressure and heart rate are looking great.

• Once he is off the ventilator, he could step down to a lower ICU unit or move to a long term acute care hospital.

The Hard News

• The Diffuse Axonal Injury (Level 3) is the most severe kind of traumatic brain injury one can have.

• Many, many areas of the brain, including the brain stem, are affected by this damage.

• This type of brain injury takes the longest to regain awareness and activity.

• The average "wakeup" time (beginning to wiggle toes, squeeze a hand etc.) is around two months.

• Regaining of interactivity and functioning can take six months, one year, five years...

• Regaining of independence is highly unlikely in the next year and possibly ever.

• We need to be prepared for the possibility of a hospital setting as a long term, or even permanent situation for our Mike.

Right now we are hopeful that Mike will be able to regain awareness of what's going on around him so that we can show him the immense love his community has for him. And, of course, we're open and ready to receive any and all miracles the Universe has for him.

Would you like to write a post and share your experiences, stories and love for Mike? Send me a note. I would love to hear them.