Wake Jake - #TeamSchonesRecovery (My little brother is in a coma)
THE BLOG HAS MOVED!!
Visit: www.JTSchonhoft.com for my personal blog
and
Visit: www.wakejake.com for Jake's updates and merchandise orders!
New Update: Qdoba on campus will be hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday, November 13th. Please stop by and get your meal at Qdoba on Tuesday! Fraternities and Sororities should skip a meal that day and eat at:
Qdoba Mexican Grill
139 Northwestern Ave
West Lafayette, IN 47906
(765) 807-0338
PRINT THESE AND TAKE THEM TO QDOBA OR MENTION #WAKEJAKE
The Brothers event was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who came out and who helped make it all happen. None of this would be possible without all of you supporters!
I wanted to take the time to write a little about the Brothers event. The turnout was incredible and everyone helped a lot! I can't thank Brothers enough for doing all of this. And thanks to everyone who came out. I can't count the amount of people who came up to me and said we were doing a great thing. I also got a lot of hugs from people. It was truly inspiring. Makes me realize that anything is possible if you get the right people involved.
10.28.12 (Jake has a challenge ahead and I'll be right by his side)
Long story short: My little brother Jake has taken a nasty spill down a set of unforgiving concrete steps. This happened 2 days ago and he's currently in an induced coma. So far they have drained 80 mL of fluid from his brain. He's on a ventilator and his body temperature is being controlled by an Arctic Sun machine. This machine essentially keeps his body at an even temperature because his body is unable to regulate it on it's own. They're targeting 36 degrees Celsius which he's slowly progressing toward. They're feeding him through an OG tube which sends liquid food straight to his stomach. He's also on a morphine drip.
On a side note: I read online about doctors saving a patients life (in this similar situation) with fish oil.
Here are a few links to those articles if you have time to read and tell me your opinion:
CNN: Fish Oil Helped Save Our Son (Thanks @neuhaustim, Tim Neuhaus for tweeting this at me)
Fish oil saves life of boy with brain injury (This is another article I found.)
Since I take fish oil every day and have some triple strengths in my car, I'm about to drip some into his feeding tube. Bad Idea? - We're also considering shoving them up his ass.
To keep this short: This kid is one amazing human being who doesn't deserve this shit. He fell out of the back of a truck going 45 mph when he was younger and suffered a fractured skull. (I will never forget that day, I even remember shouting every cussword I knew at the time.) The doctors said he was inches from dying. There have been many other accidents along the way (We could write a book, literally - actually we are).
For those of you who know Jake, you can likely attest that he does not deserve these things to happen to him. He has everything going for him and tons of awesome friends supporting him. I'm currently sitting in the hospital room with him and a bunch of his friends. The support we've received on Facebook, Twitter, and Fundly has been incredible so far! Keep him in your thoughts/intentions/prayers. And for you yogis, please set your intentions for Jake in the weeks to come. There's a long road ahead and we're ready to fight it head first - The Schonhoft Way.
Twitter: Let's get #teamschonesrecovery trending on twitter!
If you would like to help support Jake, please visit The Team Schones Recovery Page
Team Schones Recover Conditions Update (10.30.12 @1AM)
Quick update: His intercranial pressure is down from the 40s to about 9. (10.30.12 @9:36 pm)
I'm currently sitting next to his bed unable to take my eyes off of him. I would do anything for him and it kills me to see him like this (again) but I know he will pull through. Just like he always does. He currently has 2 tubes hooked to his head. He has a ventric drain that drains the fluids and an ICP which measures intercranial pressure inside his head. This seems to be the most important part of everything he is hooked up to. It's very important to keep the pressure off his brain so that it can recover. The fluid has been draining successfully for the entire time he has been in the hospital (which has been about 48 hours). His urine is draining successfully and he's taking the food very well. The nurse expects him to have a bowel movement before long. Overall, his vital signs look OK so far. It will be a few days before we know how he's reacting. At this point in time, the nurses are doing everything they can to keep him stable. He is also hooked up to a machine with 3 drugs being fed to him. One is Propofol (keeps him sedated) then there's morphine (stops the pain), and Sodium Chloride (which I'm too tired to remember right now - ok so apparently his sodium was low) He's being fed through a tube - The nurse likes to joke that he's eating steak and eggs. The machines I've just listed are on the left side of his bed. On the other side are two machines with screens. One is a breathing machine that is controlling his breath and the other has readouts for Pleth, Resp, and EEG. Pleth is oxygen saturation. Resp. stands for respiration rate, and EEG measures brain waves. They're trying to keep his brain waves below 45. When it was up to 70 earlier today, they said he could possibly have heard us talking but not likely. (I'm going to do some research on brain waves now - just found a new pastime).
OK, enough for now. I'm going to sleep. It's 2:34am and Jake has just been re positioned. His vitals are looking good. And so is the nurse helping him ;)
10.29.12 (around midnight)
Random words of wisdom as I was driving home last night
Jake will come out of this stronger than he was before.
10.31.12
He's a tough kid and that's what he did last time he was in a situation like this. There's no doubt in my mind. No, seriously he's like Superman. It's crazy.
Today was the day I had to leave the hospital for the first time. It's Tuesday night a little after midnight. Had to leave town for business but I'll be back tomorrow night. My mind is racing just thinking about him. It's like a crazy whirlwind of thoughts. Seriously, how does this stuff always happen? But, I realize I can't think that way right now. It's important to focus on the now. It's a bit tough to control my mind when I am not there with him.
Today the nurse told me that she asked the doctor whether or not Jake should be getting fish oil. According to her, he said it causes the brain to bleed. I'm not sold on his theory.
10.31.12
Halloween
FYI: Jake was dressed as Thad Castle from Blue Mountain State when he fell down the stairs.
Now, on to the updates you've all been waiting for.
I just got back to the hospital and wanted to provide a recent update for what is going on. The night nurse is here. Her name is Kayleigh and she's wonderful! I gave her a Heath Bar Cookie. She loved it!
Jake is still in a drug induced coma. He's paralyzed with Nimbex. He's sedated with Propofol. He's draining CSF (cerebral spinal fluid). Yesterday his ICP ventric drain (the thing sticking out of his head) was left unclamped to keep the pressure off. Today it's been clamped and they're draining his ICP when it gets to the 20's. Everything going on right now is expected according to the nurse. The nurse says he hasn't thrown them any curve balls. He's tolerating his body temperature much better. No goodsebumps or shivering right now, but earlier today there was some. They were doing thumb twitches yesterday and weren't getting any response from him. The doctor says it's OK that he's not responding to the thumb twitches. When I say thumb twitches I'm referring to a machine attached to his wrist. The machine is called a peripheral nerve stimulator and it's used to send an electrical signal to the nerves in his wrist which control his fingers. They use it check for responsiveness. The doctor was very pleased this morning about his ICP's and the amount of drainage he was putting out because it all decreased. The nurse is giving him potassium and lactulose. The lactulose is to help him have a bowel movement. (TMI?) - It's halloween G.O.I. (get over it).
Today we discussed moving him to Methodist Hospital. We're going over the pros and cons of doing so. Apparently the helicopter ride wouldn't be good for his cranial pressure due to elevation. It's something we'll talk more about tomorrow.
Overall, he's doing slightly better. It's tough to measure his improvement because this is such a slow process.
DONATIONS:
I wanted to write a little about the good stuff. The donations have been overwhelming to say the least. I cannot believe how amazing you people are that are making these donations. We. did. not. expect. this. at. all. I was throwing up a hail mary when I made that account and sure enough the ball was caught and we scored a touchdown. Words don't really explain how we feel about all who have donated. You people are doing an amazing thing for an amazing human being. The support from all of you has been what's keeping us on our feet each day and pushing forward. I know Jake will be very delighted when he realizes what you've done. Also, I plan to print out an oversized check when we present it to him. If you aren't able to donate, it's not an issue. We still love you and all that we ask is that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers. I truly believe that all this positive energy from all of you will help him to overcome this condition. Good karma is coming your way.
That's it for tonight.
#teamschonesrecovery
11.1.12
The start of No Shave November - Jake is clearly participating
Today has gone rather smooth. We're all getting used to the fact that Jake has a long road ahead of him. The nurses today are a pleasure to have around and they get a big kick out of him ripping ass constantly. He has almost cleared the room a few times. As I said before, his room clearing abilities are still there.
Today also marks the day that the lovely and talented Kayleigh has left us. She is off until next Thursday and plans to celebrate her birthday in that time. Last night I felt the need to give her a friendship bracelet from Africa along with a Halo Award. Halo Awards are something that this hospital does to recognize great service. I nominated her for her services. The card read something like this: "Very honest, thorough, and conscientious to the patient as well as family and friends." - She really was very thorough and passionate about her job. It was a pleasure having her as his nurse. Thanks Kayleigh!!
We had a few ideas today for some things to do for Jake. Amber had to go back to Indy to get some work done and Whitney is on her way up. Allie and I are planning to go to Hobby Lobby to make some signs for Jake. One of our ideas is to draw a large thermometer to measure the donations so far. It will look similar to the bar on the Fundly website. I'll post pics on this once we're finished.
Another thing I wanted to mention was the overwhelming support we've had so far. About 5 or 6 of Jake's buddies stopped by again today to pay tribute to him. There's not much anyone can do but it's nice to have people stop by and show support. It means the world to us to know that we're not doing this alone. Also, One of our friends' dad's works in this unit and he stopped by to day hi today. His name is Rick Swanson and his kids are our friends, Stephanie and Ben. Ben was on the trip to Aspen with us when we filmed the New Age Pioneers Video. And Stephanie is a friend of mine. We like to party ;) - I also found out today that the Wilhelms (a large family back home) is supporting us and has my blog and the Fundly account being spread through the family email. The support so far has been incredible and takes a lot off our shoulders. Thanks everyone!
I'll post more tomorrow! - Time to make some posters.
If you come visit Jake at the hospital, you get to sign this!!!
If you come visit Jake at the hospital, you get to sign this!!!
11.4.12
Keeping spirits high. Trying to remember to eat regularly.
Important stuff first: (Jake's conditions)
The nurse filled me in on a lot of detailed information. Some of it went over my head but I'm starting to learn. I'll be a nurse before too long! Jake is doing a lot better. Today his intercranial pressure was spiking a bit. The nurse was clamping and unclamping his ICP about every half hour. It's currently up and they have him unclamped. His spinal fluid is clear. The only trace of blood is from when he was bleeding a few days ago and it stained the tubes. It's great news that he's no longer bleeding. The nurses are doing a great job of taking care of him. They say everything is going as expected so far. Amber picked him up some mittens to keep his hands warm. It's better than having his hands wrapped with blankets. The flaps can be opened to allow ventilation when needed. The Propofol is keeping him very sedated. His brain activity is very low. In case you didn't know, Propofol is the stuff that Michael Jackson overdosed on. No wonder his doctor got in so much trouble for giving it to him. As for medical updates, not much else has changed. I will post any sudden changes as they occur.
Today was good, we had a lot of visitors. There were two groups that stopped by at the same time. Some Purdue Betas were here and a group of DG girls came too. Some of the girls were talking about how Jake was making them breakfast burritos before breakfast club homecoming weekend. I was with him that day at Breakfast club. One of my best friends/fraternity brothers came down from Chicago today too. He took my mom, sister, and I to dinner. It was good to get out of the hospital for a bit again.
Yesterday was good too. Some good friends came up from Brookville. My cousins came up from Cincinnati as well. My cousin is a nurse so she gave us some great insight to what's going on. Her input was very helpful. It means a lot to have family and friends stopping by. It's amazing how much support we have had. Thanks and keep it coming! We had visitors until about 4:30. Once everyone left Amber, Whitney and I went on campus to watch the Purdue game. Our plan was to go to the tailgate fields but it was too cold. It was nice to get our minds off the situation for a bit and hang with some great friends. I ran into a great friend/fraternity brother at Harry's. He was with his wife and a few friends. It was great seeing them. We had ourselves a little college bars then junk food kind of night.
EVENTS!
We're promoting like crazy for an event coming up this Thursday at Brothers to raise funds for Jake. Amber designed a T-shirt and we're working on a flyer to place allover campus. We need people to help put flyers up on campus this week. Tons of people have reached out asking how they can offer help and this is a perfect way to do exactly that. The more people we have on board, the bigger this event can be. The event is Thursday and I want the biggest turnout possible. We also ordered bracelets that say: "Wake Jake" "#TeamSchonesRecovery". Those won't be in until the weekend but I'll be selling them for $5 and will likely give them to anyone who donated to The Team Schones Recovery Fund.
We're working on an event for Harry's too! - I have made progress but will wait to post details until it becomes reality.
SHIRTS!
Here is what the shirts will look like: (This QR code links directly to the Team Schones Fund site. Download the app ScanLife, Scan, or RedLaser and simply take a picture of the barcode with it and it will take you directly to the donations page!!! Man I love this technology world we live in.) Do it now! It's fun!
We'll also be putting flyers up at The Hairman in Lafayette. My friend Stephanie owns it and she is allowing us to put up flyers and sell bracelets there. If you're hair is getting long and you need a trim, go see Stephanie! Even if you don't need a haircut, you should stop by! She's awesome! Once the shirts come in, I'd like to have them for sale at The Hairman. That's assuming Stephanie is OK with that. Check them out on Facebook! The Hairman
I have other things to work on and will post more as things progress. Sorry for the short post on his conditions but not much has changed.
Spreading love and good vibes!
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter for real time updates! @JTSchonhoft (If you don't have an account, create one!)
#WakeJake
11.6.12
Great News!
Jake is doing a lot better and seems to have finally surpassed his plateau. He's improving quickly and the nurses are taking some of the first steps to waking him up. This doesn't mean he'll be awake real soon but it's a good sign. Keep thoughts positive!
Wristbands are in! Thanks Thiel family for making it happen!
11.10.12
Jake's Conditions Are Improving
Jake's conditions are improving and he's starting to open his eyes here and there. His nurse Tracy is doing an incredible job taking care of him. She's also a comedian on the side so that helps. She's been cracking us up. OK, she's not really a comedian but she should be!
It's important to understand that this will be a long process. It's not like he will just wake up all at once. As the Propofol slowly wears off he starts to enter the world we live in. His eyes begin to open and he can move them a little. He doesn't have much response to us due to the Propofol. He's not experiencing much pain since he's on morphine at a rate of 5mg/hr. We are standing around him talking to him but we're not sure how much he can understand. He is not yet able to squeeze our hand or wiggle his toes. But as he progresses he should be able to before long.
Keepin' positive thoughts.
It's time for the weekend!
11.11.12
Jake is moving around!
Jake is moving his whole body today. They took him off the Propofol sedative so that's why he's waking up. The nurse is cutting back on his morphine as well. He doesn't seem to be feeling any pain. He doesn't have any coordination yet but he's starting to have brain stimulation to his muscles for the first time in weeks. That's why we think he's moving sporadically like he is. He's jerking around a lot and likes to reach for his junk. The nurse says this is the first thing boys do. It's kind of like when you're a kid and start to realize you have a penis and want to grab it. He's squirming around a lot and almost wiggling his way out of the bed. Allie is trying to keep him from falling out.The nurse says his movement is good and there are no signs of anything bad. To expand a little on that, there is good movement and bad movement. If they start to curl their arms under it's a bad sign and could mean brain damage. Jake isn't making those movements. It's all good vibes here at the hospital. Oh and he also cleared a few of his frat brothers out today with some gas. Too bad he couldn't do that little smirk he does when it happened.
As for me, I was able to get in a mountain bike ride today and relieve a ton of stress after some disc golf. Felt good to get out on the trail and ride with my shirt off. That reconnection with mother nature is vital. I got my heart rate up to 191. Feeling great after that!
Wear a helmet people! I'm telling people to wear a helmet when they drive as they leave the hospital. Oh and I keep accidentally calling the hospital a hotel because it feels like a hotel to me. A hotel with incredibly uncomfortable furniture and a poorly designed shower.
B.o.B's new album is getting me through all of this. I've had it on repeat for two weeks. Good stuff! Check it out if you haven't already. "Everybody's looking fresh in the building"
Mom is constantly whispering in his ear about what is going on and comforting him.
...more to come
Godspeed! I love all of you.
After you've gone and done something inspiring, please come back to my blog and comment about it. I don't care if it's something as simple as speaking to a long lost loved one -or- even if it's learning to ride a bike, or how to do jumping jacks. Seriously, anything! Go! Do! Get to living!
Oh yea, get this! The feeding tube they pulled out of Jake's stomach had a knot in the end of it. You thought people were talented who would tie a knot in a cherry stem? Well, Jake can tie a knot in a feeding tube INSIDE HIS STOMACH!! WHAT!?
11.12.12
Here comes Jake!
Jake's coming out of this thing just as I thought he would. It's not easy watching him go through this. It makes it a little easier knowing that I'll be right by his side through all of it. As I type this he's right behind me close enough for me to hold onto him. I don't like the way I feel when I'm not close to him. People try to tell me I'm doing a great thing. I'm just doing what I can for my little brother as he fights through this. Simple as that. He's my bro.
Now, back to Jake coming out of this thing. He's starting to move a lot. He makes it quite clear that he doesn't like the nurses suctioning his mouth. Something tells me that if he hadn't been in bed for 17 days, he'd be ripping the restraints right off his bed. The kid's a trooper and he's doing what he can to get comfortable right now. It's tough sometimes to see the faces he makes when he's uncomfortable, but it's also comforting to know he's starting to be Jake again. The faces he's making are similar to what he would do if he didn't like something. It's uncomfortable to see but he's progressing and that's all that matters. It's been amazing to see him go from not moving to jerking around and opening his eyes for us. I got him to wiggle his toes for me and squeeze my hand. Lissa (our mom) isn't leaving his side and is there to comfort him at all times. It's not often there isn't someone in the room making sure he's OK. Amber (our sister) and a few friends were here today. Jake looked at Amber with both eyes.
The nurses are taking great care of Jake. It's the ones who have people skills that we like. Some of them have even promised to attend the Brothers event. Others have stopped by after their shift in another part of the hospital. Those are the nurses we like. Say "Hi." Be nice. Be honest. Nurses, if you're reading this; take note. This is my brother we're talking about.
By the way, this experience has also helped me to gain a whole new respect for nurses. It's great to see someone who is so passionate about their job. They have to be some of the most caring people to take care of someone they've never met as if they're family.
Let's start thinking about Jake as a healthy man. Let's recap on some of his double backflips and gainers while cliff jumping over summer. Mom, close your eyes for this one. Better yet, don't click this link. White Rock Cliff Jumping
It won't be long before he's back to this and I want everyone to know he WILL snowboard with me again. I can't wait for that day!! I'm smiling right now thinking about it. Let's go bro! Mom, don't worry I'll make sure he wears a helmet.
Speaking of snowboarding, take a look at a video we did last winter. New Age Pioneers
Life is short and you need to start living it today. You never know if something like this could happen to you. When I say "today", I mean like right now as you read this. Get up and go do something you've always dreamed of doing. I never pass up on a good opportunity and you shouldn't either.
Oh yea, get this! The feeding tube they pulled out of Jake's stomach had a knot in the end of it. You thought people were talented who would tie a knot in a cherry stem? Well, Jake can tie a knot in a feeding tube INSIDE HIS STOMACH!! WHAT!?
posted by Unknown @ 1:20 PM
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