Hey everyone, this is Brian. I would like to thanks to all of you peoople who left me something. Each day I am getting better. I wish i was back there doing what I started. Bur hey what can you do? But please feel free to ask me any questions. I will try to keep you guys updated. Thanks again.

I apologize for taking so long to update this information. Brian is doing quite well all things considered. His attitude continues to be very positive and upbeat. He continues to work hard in physical therapy and it shows. He gets stronger everyday and his appetite is great. His medical team are all impressed by his effort and progress. One of his attending Dr's keeps calling him the poster patient for the facility mostly because of his positive outlook and effort. The medical team won't give a date for discharge yet. The next big day to look forward to is July 19th when the c-collar and chest brace come off for good. Once that happens they want to really put him to work and depending on how all that goes they will be able to start talking about when he can come home.

One a personal note I would like to once again thank all of our friends, neighbors, and co-workers for the amazing amount of support and kindness shown. We are truly grateful to be surrounded by so many kind and caring people. To all who braved the construction and crazy drivers to visit Brian, it really brightens his day.

To his buddies in Iraq being able to talk with you guys on the phone and read your e-mails meant more to him than you can imagine. He really misses you guys and looks forward to seeing you soon. In the mean time please stay safe and come home soon.

Since last Tuesday Brian continues to get a little better each day, and so far this week the news is good. He finally passed his swallow study, which means he can eat just about anything he wants. He has been to the dentist and has started to get his broken teeth fixed. When he got hurt along with everything else he broke 3 teeth. The dentist says she will have to pull 2 and can save the third. His attitude remains positive and determined. He works hard at his physical therapy and really tries to do everything they ask him to do. His roommate from Iraq sent him his laptop so we are trying to figure out how to get Internet service to his room so he can start reading all the kind words on his blog and hopefully post a few of his own.

Brian had a restful weekend and on Tuesday started his first day of physical therapy. His therapists are very positive and upbeat. The sessions are long and a lot of work but Brian tries to do everything that is asked and tries to keep a good attitude. We have not yet talked about any sort or a time frame so like most of this journey we have been taking it one day at a time. The good news is that so far everyday Brian seems to be getting a little stronger and his breathing keeps getting better.

Once again I would like to thank everyone for the constant words of kindness and support. I would also like to thank everyone for all the acts of kindness while we were gone. The list of names and list of acts would be long but it was so amazing and touching the way that friends, neighbors and co-workers all stepped in and made sure that our daily tasks were taken care of, and maybe it was just a small task but knowing it was being handled meant that our focus could stay on helping Brian get better, and for all those tasks big and small thank you. Brian does not have access to a computer yet but I tell him about each message and I save each message so that when is able he can read them for himself.

Someone left a message asking about Brian's mom. She was not able to fly with Brian and me from Washington to Chicago because they only allow one person to fly with the patient, however she flew a commercial flight the same day and arrived in Chicago 2 hours later.

On Wednesday Brian and I flew to Chicago. The flight was uneventful. Upon arrival to Chicago Brian was admitted to Hines Hospital to the ICU. He stayed in ICU until Friday without incident so on Friday afternoon he was transfered to the Rehab unit where he will start working on geting his strength back. His sprits are mostly positive and his attitude is determined.

Brian has made big strides in improving. His breathing has not been an issue for three days. He is scheduled to fly to Chicago on Wednesday morning.

Brian has had few good days in a row. Friday and Friday night were uneventful. Saturday was a good day with improvement in his breathing. He continues to do his breathing exercises and they seem to be helping. The Drs are encouraging more aggressive breathing exercises and encourage him to get out of bed everyday. Today (Sunday) is by far the his best day yet. His lung sounds are good, and all day he has been on room air only without incident. Brian also was feeling good enough to go outside for the first time in the month that he has been here. We are still waiting on a date and time for him to move to Chicago.

Brian had a couple of long days on Wednesday and Thursday continuing to work through breathing difficulty. His now daily chest x-rays show that his left lower lobe is still not completely inflated and has fluid in it. The Drs. say that this situation is not uncommon and that with ongoing therapy it will improve. On Friday Brian's day was good and uneventful, he had a full day of being pain free and no breathing episodes. There is once again talk about getting Brian moved as soon as possible so he can start physical therapy. No one knows a day but they keep saying soon.

On Wednesday morning Brian's oxygen dropped once again and it was determined that his left lung had once again partially filled with fluid. So unfortunately Brain has been moved back to the ICU. By mid-afternoon his breathing was back to normal and he is scheduled to have more tests done on Thursday.

On Sunday Brian was moved to a step down unit next to the ICU and will soon be moved to a regular room. He continues to have breathing issues every time they move him. I am told that once he is moved to a regular room they will look to getting him out to Chicago asap. The last few days his spirits are much improved and even smiling a few times. We are all very anxious about the future but still very positive. We are counting on the same hard headed attitude in Brian that we used to curse to work in his favor now. Once again thank you for all the kind words of support it really means a lot. Dave

On Tuesday they removed Brian's breathing tube and with effort he is able to keep his oxygen up.
On average he had a good day on Tuesday and another one on Wednesday. He still has to work on deep breathing. On Thursday he was moved to a step down unit. If Brian continues to breath ok they will look at moving him closer to home, no one can give firm dates but at least they are talking about it.

On monday Brian was still on the vent. The vent is providing slight back pressure to help his lungs stay inflated. His right lung is 100% but his left lung is still hazy in the lower lobe. The docs say that as soon as his left lung is complete they plan on pulling his breathing tube. There is conversation about getting him moved as soon as possible for two reasons. First the longer he stays in the ICU the longer he is exposed to a greater risk of infection in his lungs and second the sooner he gets moved the sooner he can start working to get his strength back.
On a personal note I can't begin to say how much it means to read the kind words from everyone. I look forward to sharing all the words of support with Brian. He has a long road ahead but with all the words of support and encouragement he will also know he has friends pulling for him, thanks. Dave

Brian continues to struggle to breath. The problem is his left lung keeps filling with fluid. On Friday he was placed back on a vent. Today he has a new group of Drs, just due to the normal rotation. One of the new doc is trying different settings on his vent to try to get Brian to do more of the work of breathing. He remains in ICU and any conversation of moving him is a day to day thing depending on his breathing.

On April 19th and 1130 pm Brian's tank was hit by a roadside bomb. Brian was thrown around inside the tank. Brian sustained a skull fracture, 4 broken bones in his neck, a cracked sacrum and a scalp laceration. Brian was taken to a field hospital in Iraq, stabilized and flown to an army hospital in Germany. Two days later he was flown to Washington DC and admitted to the ICU. On Thursday he underwent surgery to stabilize the worst of the fractures in his neck. Surgery went well and he is currently recovering. Brian continues to have trouble with his lungs filling with fluid mainly because he is not able to move around and fully inflate them. They keep him sedated for any pain so he sleeps a lot. The plan is to work on getting his lungs back to full capacity and move him to a different hospital to get started on physical therapy.