Josh Beecroft Recovery Updates

June 30, 2017 10:00 pm It was a long day for Josh. He came through all three medical procedures quite well. The angiogram revealed much needed information for his ongoing treatment and he seemed much more comfortable with a tracheostomy tube and a PEG feeding tube. By the end of the day, he was once again resting relatively comfortably with high doses of painkillers and a low level of sedation. So we are really still in the same position we were before the day started -- waiting for Josh to wake up. 

June 30, 2017 12:50 pm The angiogram this morning revealed some vasospasms in Josh's brain, which cause constriction of the arteries and restriction of blood flow. Reduced blood flow can cause further brain damage and can also lead to blood clots. The doctors are now treating this condition with medication that expands the arteries. They have also decided to allow Josh's blood pressure to rise more than normal, as the pressure can also increase blood flow. While this is a serious medical issue that requires immediate attention, the doctors do not think it will have any further negative impact on Josh's brain function, which is good news. They are doing the tracheostomy and PEG tube procedures now.

June 30, 2017 8:40 am Unless medical necessities dictate otherwise, Josh is scheduled for three medical procedures today. After a test yesterday, the neurologist is concerned that Josh's brain isn't getting a sufficient supply of blood. So they are doing an angiogram of Josh's brain this morning to better assess this issue. Later, the plan is to remove the ventilator tube from Josh's mouth and throat and replace it with a tracheostomy tube in his neck and a feeding tube (PEG) in his abdomen. This should alleviate some of the irritation that Josh has been experiencing. These are delicate and important procedures, so prayers are much appreciated today! Potential visitors -- Josh may be difficult to visit for most of the day.

June 29, 2017 5:20 pm The medical staff changed Josh's sedation medication this morning in hopes of helping him come out of sedation without agitation, something that has not happened since the accident.  At first, nothing much changed.  Josh moved his arms and legs around somewhat but didn't get very agitated.  However, a little after lunch Josh somehow managed to pull his ventilator tube completely out of his mouth!  Everyone was quite surprised that he had the strength and coordination to do this.  After pulling the tube out, Josh was breathing on his own, but his breathing was labored enough that the medical staff decided they need to reintubate.  This required heavy sedation, so Josh is out again.  Our understanding is that they are going to pull the tube tomorrow and replace it with a tracheostomy tube (inserting the ventilator tube into the trachea just below the vocal cords and above the collarbone).  Hopefully this will remove some of the irritation that Josh is feel

June 29, 2017 7:45 am As you all continue to pray for us, we ask that you also add Erin Brenneman and her family to your prayers.  Erin was injured in a terrible hit-and-run accident one day before Josh's accident.  She is in the same ICU unit at OHSU.  Over this past week, we have grown very close to Erin's family, as we share a waiting room.  Erin is a 26-year old woman who, by all accounts, is a vivacious and wonderful person.  She was struck by a car in the middle of the day as she crossed the street by her place of work in Southeast Portland.  Like Josh, she has very serious injuries and is fighting for her life.  Her wonderful family members and friends have been extremely loving and supportive towards us even in midst of their pain.  Please include Erin and her group in your prayers.  Thank you.

June 28, 2017 4:30 pm We met today with seven health care professionals at OHSU to discuss Josh's situation. Mom Beecroft, Stephen Beecroft, and Eden and RJ joined us for the meeting. The meeting was extremely helpful to us because, for the first time, we were able to sit in a quiet room with doctors, nurses and aides to quietly discuss the situation.  The meeting took about an hour. I will try to summarize what we learned. Josh has suffered "severe" brain damage.  (There are three levels: mild, moderate and severe.)  Most of his brain injuries are to his frontal lobe, but not all.  The rest of his body is in pretty good shape, all things considered.  The carotid arteries and left lung are still of concern (they're working on the lung problem now, as a matter of fact), but he is doing OK in these other areas considering the severity of the crash. Recovery from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) is difficult to predict due to the "plasticity" of the brain

June 27, 2017 10:30 pm We received some very sobering news today from our medical team. The purpose of this blog is to keep everyone up to date on what is happening, so we will share the news here in an unedited manner with all of you, but also with apologies for causing any heartache. In short, we were informed that the Josh that we knew and loved won't be coming back. That there are no "happy endings" in this situation and all possible outcomes are "terrible." His brain damage is very serious. This shocking news was delivered in a loving way by an experienced and caring health care professional, but the shock to us was substantial. It certainly narrowed the range of possible outcomes in a devastating way. An official meeting has been set for 2:00 pm tomorrow with the entire medical team to discuss the situation in more detail, so we will almost certainly have more information after that. Honestly, we are both dreading the meeting. Josh ended the day in

June 27, 2017 1:15 pm Josh had another episode this morning where his limbs start flailing and he seems to fight against the ventilator tube in his throat. The doctors are now wondering if these episodes are seizures.  So they have now attached wires to his head to run a continual EEG. Until they can get these episodes under control (one way or the other), we can't make major progress towards letting him wake up. We did learn more about the accident itself from one of Josh's friends who was there. Josh and a couple of friends from his work had gone camping at a place out towards Tillamook. The main purpose of the camp out was to ride their dirt bikes. Since Josh was relatively new to dirt bike riding, they choose a location that had some dirt roads they could ride on rather than more difficult trails. On the day of the accident, Josh was out riding with one of his friends. Josh's bike had some mechanical issues and so the friend, who was a more experienced rider, swit

June 26, 2017 10:30 pm Not much changed since our last post. Josh finished the day heavily sedated on Propofol and receiving generous amounts of Tylenol and hydrocodone. The swelling in his face keeps improving but his head is still much larger than normal and his brain is clearly still swollen as we can't tell where his skull has been removed. He has still not opened his eyes and his right still still doesn't dilate when exposed to light, though the left does. He does move his arms (especially his left) and legs from time to time in a purposeful manner, likely in an effort to get comfortable. This remains a good sign. His heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature are all within normal range. His breathing is still partially supported by a ventilator. He still has two chest tubes but we are expecting the right one to be removed tomorrow. His left lung still has a very small hole and so needs to be drained. The key remains the swelling on his brain. Until the swelling

June 26, 2017 2:30 pm It hasn't been an easy day today. Josh had another "episode" this morning where he started to fight against all the wires and tubes in his body. Unlike yesterday's episode, this one was not in conjunction with any reduction in his sedation. He just suddenly started struggling. At one point we counted eleven medical professionals in his small ICU room working to bring the struggle to an end. After about 15 to 20 minutes and a couple of rounds of strong drugs, Josh finally relaxed. We were reminded that these episodes are normal and positive in some ways, but they are very distressing to watch. And no one seems 100% sure why they are happening. Was it a seizure? Is he just fighting the tubes and discomfort? Is there a blood clot or something in his lungs? Is it something else? Hard to know. With this ongoing problem, the earlier plan to wean him off of the sedation has been put on hold. So we continue to watch and wait. They have added aspirin to

June 25, 2017 10:00 pm As noted in our earlier blog from today, Josh was taken off of all sedatives this morning. At about 1:00 pm he suddenly became very agitated, pulling at the various wires and tubes connected to his body and kicking with his feet. It took Mary, Becca, and the nurse to hold him down so that he couldn't hurt himself. The nurse called for medication and eventually Josh calmed down after about 10 or 15 minutes. During this time he really worked himself into a frenzy, breaking into a sweat and causing his heart rate and blood pressure to go up. After the incident, we were told by the medical staff that this sort of event is normal and even positive, even though it was frightening from our perspective. The positive is that his physical actions made it abundantly clear that he has function in his body and that he recognized that he was in an uncomfortable if not painful situation and wanted to do something about it. This is what the medical staff call "purpo

June 25, 2017 10:45 am Josh is doing somewhat better this morning. He is off the sedative now so there is nothing external preventing him from waking up. We have no idea when that will happen, as it varies dramatically from patient to patient. He is also 90% off the ventilator (100% ON the ventilator last night) and mostly breathing on his own. His face looks much better this morning -- less swelling. There is still swelling of his brain, but we are hoping that well continue to decrease as well.

June 24, 2017 11:00 pm No big changes with Josh today.  He was sedated all day long in order to minimize brain function and give his brain some time to rest and heal.  His head and face are still very swollen, which makes him mostly unrecognizable.  Despite the sedation, we spent most of the day in his hospital room.  Eden & RJ and Becca & John joined us for significant portions of the day.  A few of Josh's friends also visited.  Contrary to yesterday, today visitors were encouraged to speak to Josh and let him know they are there. Every four hours the nursing staff reduces the sedation a bit in order to conduct a neurological exam.  We were in Josh's room for one of those exams today.  When the sedation is relaxed, it is easier for Josh to connect with the outside world.  He was able to squeeze both hands and wiggle both feet on command today, which is certainly a good sign.  It was nice to have a few minutes of connection with him. If all goes as planned, the do

Our 24-year old son Josh was in a very serious motorcycle accident  on Friday  afternoon, June 23, 2017.  He was riding a motorcycle with some friends at a remote campground near Tillamook, OR and lost control and drove into a 50-foot ravine.  (He was wearing a helmet but apparently it was not fastened around his chin so it fell off before it could do much to help.)  His friend was driving in front of him and didn't know he was gone for some time, then turned around to find him at the bottom of the ravine.  Due to the remoteness of the location, it took about 45 minutes to get an emergency vehicle on site.  His injuries were very severe, including head trauma, a collapsed lung and broken bones.  Josh was flown by Life Flight helicopter to OHSU in Portland.  Mary and I got to the hospital at around  7:00 pm  and got to see Josh briefly before he was rushed into emergency surgery.  He was unconscious and in very bad shape, nearly unrecognizable.  The swelling was so bad in his face