Jim Nourse

In early January, Jim slipped on ice and fell flat on his back in our driveway.  He was diagnosed with a concussion, but no other issues were found, although he did start having more headaches than usual. 

March 11-12, he had an unusually bad headache, and a week ago, Monday 13th, he started having leg weakness.  We thought it was the statin supplement he started the week before, and he stopped it.  But then he gradually started tripping, catching his foot on furniture legs, and on Wednesday, a CT scan of his brain showed a subdural hematoma on the left side.  

He had emergency surgery on the 15th at midnight.  He went from neuro ICU to the stepdown unit that afternoon -- everyone said he was recovering exceptionally well.  PT and the Neurologist confirmed that everything was totally back to normal on Friday, quite remarkable, and the surgeon said he would be discharged the next morning, Saturday, March 18. 

Saturday morning someone came in to remove the drain tubes that had been draining fluid from the left side of his head.  As soon as they were out, he quickly developed an excruciating headache and lost consciousness.  He was hemorrhaging.  I was told later that one of the tubes apparently caught on a membrane, and triggered the hemorrhage.  So he was rushed into surgery, this time to release the accumulating fresh blood. He is now on the Neuro Trauma unit at Mission Hospital on a ventilator, heavily sedated, eyes closed.  I'm told he is semi-conscious. 

Jim has been feeling really tired, and a number of us wonder if this was his soul's way of saying, Nuh uh, not going back to work yet.... You must take time out to refresh and regenerate.  21 years ago when we moved to Hendersonville, after being in practice over 20 years, we took a loan and he took a year off.  So I trust that in HIS TIME he will come back, and in the meantime, the medical community will tend to his body to restore it to wholeness.