08 Sep Sept 8 Update on Dan Paternoster

Here are some updates on Dan Paternoster (right), from his wife Nancy. Dan, a member of the Executive Leadership Team, is a veterinarian from Fowlerville UB church (Fowlerville, Mich.). As we reported earlier, he was struck by a car while riding his bike to work on August 28. If you are interested in daily updates, you can sign up at CarePages.com. We will post occasional updates here.

Thursday (Sept 6). Dan wiggled his toes and did a “thumbs up” (right-handed only) for the night nurse. He opened his eyes very briefly when I (Nancy) said his name this morning, but he didn’t look my way. Dan’s brain pressure is getting better, but it’s not where the neurosurgeon would like it to be. If the pressure remains closer to normal the drain in his head will be removed. He is still not awake most of the time and they don’t plan to wake him up/take him off his pain meds until next week giving the fractures more time to heal. The last fracture they found was on the side of his face where the jaw attaches. However, his previously dislocated jaw is now back in place. Thanks for your love and prayers…keep them coming!

Friday (Sept 7). Hard to believe that this is our 11th day at the hospital. The drain in Dan’s brain has been raised a bit so it’s not draining as much fluid now as it was before. This is causing the brain pressure to be elevated – but the pressure isn’t as high as it was last week! We praise God for this improvement! He’s still on the ventilator, but is taking some breaths on his own. The cuts on Dan’s forehead and nose have fully healed. His bones are all still in alignment and are beginning to heal. Now we wait some more until the doctors find it safe to reduce Dan’s pain medication so that he can wake up.

Saturday (Sept 8). The drain in Dan’s skull was raised a little more today. It won’t be removed until the pressure remains low enough for a period of time. Dan is becoming more active during his short waking times and is pulling on tubes. When he pulls on tubes they give him more pain meds and then he sleeps for awhile. On Tuesday morning Dan is scheduled to have two procedures done that were set for last week then cancelled. He’s making progress, but it is slow.