A Hard 48 Hours

As some of you know, the past two days have been the hardest for Alex's family. It began Monday morning when they entered Alex's room to find him "posturing". This is a very bad sign. After some questions to the nurse, the doctor came and met with Kim and Anita. He informed them that they had finally been able to assess his neurologic condition and that the news was not good.

The doctor told them that there was a very small chance of any meaningful recovery.

This, of course, sent waves of sorrow throughout the family. Mike, Andrea, and Kent came back to the hospital to speak with the doctor in hopes of gaininng clarification. They were joined by Alex's grandmother and grandfather and two of his uncles.

When the doctor came into the Quiet Room on Tuesday morning, he had no new information. The brain had suffered a terrible injury. The medical teams spent the first week just trying to get his breathing in line and so they had not had the opportunity to assess his neurological status. The next week was spent trying to stabilize the pressures in his head and the rest of his body. It wasn't until Sunday that they were able to clamp off the drain and evaluate his brain's response.

Unfortunately, fluid was continuing to collect around the brain and his body was not able to absorb this. The doctor was very pointed in his discussion and helped answer some of the family's remaining questions. In the end, he restated the most devastating news, "He has a minimal chance of any meaningful recovery." At best, Alex would spend the rest of his life in a nursing home being cared for by others.

The family cried, held each other, and prayed. But in the end, everyone was in agreement that this would never be Alex's wish. In fact, the family was convinced that he would be mad at us all if we chose this for him. The primary concern was that Alex would not suffer any pain. The doctors assured us this would not happen.

In the end, the family determined to honor Alex's wishes and in the process help save the lives of others. The Organ Donation Team was called in. It took quite a while to find all the necessary matches but at 12:35 a.m. this morning, they took him to surgery. At least some good came from this horrible event.

The family is heart broken and your prayers are still appreciated. Please honor the family and Alex by remembering him today. If Alex ever told you a story - and he had many - share it with someone else. My favorite was his class field trip to the slaughter house. I've never laughed so hard in my life.

We will keep you informed as arrangements are made.