Robert transferred from Cusco to a hospital in Lima on Wednesday. He was able to fly commercial accompanied by a doctor, his mom, and a friend. He is now at the Clinica Ricardo Palma: http://www.crp.com.pe/ His mom Lola is staying there with him and his friends Surya (from Lima) and Hernan (from Cusco) are visiting daily.
I just had a phone consult tonight with the neurosurgeon there, Dr. Gallegos, who is Robert's primary physician and a neurologist friend here in Colorado, Dr. Paula Mendes. There is good news and bad. The good news is that Robert has been improving daily and the doctors feel he will be able to go home by this weekend. They have taken him off of all the heavy sedatives and other drugs they had him on in Cusco. He is now just taking a small dose of Tegretol, an anti-seizure drug that is also give for nerve calming or control of agitated behavior. Robert is tranquil with relatively normal cognition and speech much of the time, but he still has periods of agitation and confusion. When I speak with him on the phone, it is like speaking to someone you know well who wavers between fairly normal and as if slightly drunk. Nonetheless, there has been dramatic improvement over the past week.
The bad news is that the MRI and electroencephalogram show that Robert has some permanent brain damage in the frontal lobe, primarily the right front lobe, that is causing side effects now and could leave him with permanent challenges -- personality and behavioral issues. The doctors informed me that it is very important for Robert to receive the best therapy possible during the coming months, as his situation will likely be much more static after a year. They don't have the kind of cognitive rehab and therapy facilities or practitioners in Peru that Robert needs, so I am going to work to get him up here as soon as possible. I'm not sure where Robert will live yet or how we will pay for his treatment, but we will find a way.
Some of you may know that my life partner and sweetheart, Denise Thornton, has been dealing with a terminal cancer for almost three years. Denise is now on hospice care here at home. She is doing well and we are doing everything possible to support her and provide her the best possible quality of life. Denise, as many of you know, is a very amazing person and has been and continues to be a great inspiration to all of us. These are challenging times for our families to say the least. The love and support we have received from so many has made a world of difference in our lives and we can't begin to express how much we appreciate all of you.
Robert's mom, Lola, and I want to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for all your concern, support, prayers and practice for Robert. We also appreciate all the kind and generous donations to Robert's medical fund. I will be posting a financial report in the next few days here on Robert's blog.
Love and blessings,
Fleet
Supporting Robert Maull's Recovery
Our son, Robert Maull, was the victim of a brutal assault on February 28, 2008 in Cusco, Peru. Robert remained in a coma for the first six days. He is now able to talk and has all physical movement, but remains sedated in the ICU unit for his own protection, because his brain function is still very confused and he doesn't know where he is or why he needs to remain in the ICU and in bed. Robert suffered severe head injuries including two skull fractures, two brain contusions, a subdural hematoma, brain edema, and defuse brain lesions.
Robert's medical expenses alone (not including legal bills and his father's travel expenses) have already reached $15,000 (as of March 12th) and are continuing at a rate of about $350 - $500 per day. We do not know how much longer Robert will need to remain in the ICU or the hospital, but it could be several months.
We have set up this website for Robert's family and friends who would like to contribute a Medical Fund for Robert's care, follow Robert's progress and enjoy Robert's art. We sincerely appreciate all the concern, support, prayers and strong intention for Robert's recovery expressed by so many of you already.
If you would like to donate to Robert's Medical Fund, you can use the Chip-In feature at right which involves a PayPal transaction. This will not be a tax deductible donation.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation, please email me at: fleetmaull@comcast.net and I will send you the information on how to make a donation to a Community Foundation that will accept donations on Robert's behalf.
With love and appreciation,
Fleet Maull and Lola Solis de Maull (Robert's Parents)
Robert's medical expenses alone (not including legal bills and his father's travel expenses) have already reached $15,000 (as of March 12th) and are continuing at a rate of about $350 - $500 per day. We do not know how much longer Robert will need to remain in the ICU or the hospital, but it could be several months.
We have set up this website for Robert's family and friends who would like to contribute a Medical Fund for Robert's care, follow Robert's progress and enjoy Robert's art. We sincerely appreciate all the concern, support, prayers and strong intention for Robert's recovery expressed by so many of you already.
If you would like to donate to Robert's Medical Fund, you can use the Chip-In feature at right which involves a PayPal transaction. This will not be a tax deductible donation.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation, please email me at: fleetmaull@comcast.net and I will send you the information on how to make a donation to a Community Foundation that will accept donations on Robert's behalf.
With love and appreciation,
Fleet Maull and Lola Solis de Maull (Robert's Parents)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment