It’s already Day 18.

Today, she showed more signs of waking up but she’s still not awake.

They did a CT scan in the afternoon. The old clot is now very small while the new clot is slightly smaller. The midline shift of the brain is virtually gone, so that’s a very good sign.

There’s still cerebral swelling, but it’s noticeably reduced. Overall, the picture looks good. Now, if only she would wake up....

From Jenny’s brother who’s with her now :

Her hands move quite often. Shoulder shiver a little, and her eyes has a little reaction. Thats a good sign.

Okay, a minor setback today.

Her blood pressure and pulse went up pretty high after they took her off sedation, so they put her on oral sedation last night to be tapered off over the next 3 days.

They expect her to slowly wake up anytime during those three days, if not after that. But they hope it will be over the next 3 days as she has been intubated for almost 3 weeks now. If she doesn’t wake and breathe by herself in 3 days, they will have to do a tracheostomy - basically cutting a hole into her throat.

While we were there just now, we saw her move both her arms a few times. No idea if she can actually hear us, or was just moving randomly, but it’s still a good sign.

• Inspiron 11z, 13z and 14z Pack Power in Ultra-slim Profile
• New Intel Ultra-low Voltage Processors Deliver Extended Entertainment
• Easily Personalized with Choice of Performance Configurations


MALAYSIA, Nov 2, 2009 – Dell is taking thin to an all-new level in performance with its new “Z” model laptops. Featuring thinner, lighter bodies, longer-lasting “power-sipping” batteries, and incredible performance, the new Inspiron 11z, 13z and 14z laptops feature stunning wide-screen displays, ample hard-drive storage and a range of entertainment options, making it easy to take your fun and entertainment on the road for extended periods of time.
The thinnest-ever models of Dell’s most popular consumer laptop PC, the new Inspiron “Z” are about 1-inch thin, slim enough to fit in any bag, and feature a range of new Intel ultra-low voltage processors for extended entertainment capability and Web surfing.

The News:
• Thin Is In (about 1-inch tall) Dell consumer laptops with 11.6-inch High Definition WLED Display with TrueLife (11z), 13.3-inch High Definition TL LED Display (13z), and 16:9 displays in 14-inch (14z) models.
• Choice of Intel ultra-low voltage processors ranging from Intel Celeron Single Core processors all the way to Intel Core 2 Duo processors.
• Up to 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA hard drives;
• Included DVD drive
• Up to 8GB DDR3, 1,066MHz.
• Standard Wi-Fi and optional Wireless Bluetooth.
• Choice of 3-cell, 4-cell, 6-cell, and 8-cell batteries.
• Express Charge (4- and 6-cell batteries) is 80% recharged in 60 minutes.
Ultra-slim with an 11.6-inch HD display, the new Inspiron 11z comes with on-the-go performance that’s hard to beat. Feather-light with a starting weight of 1.38kg, anytime you feel like blogging, instant messaging or video chatting, simply whip out this neat device and enjoy seamless Internet access wherever you are. Thanks to its improved battery life, you can go all day unplugged. And with the versatile multi-touch trackpad technology, using a laptop will never feel the same again.
Just over an inch thin with a 13.3-inch HD display, the new Inspiron13z is packed with on-the-go performance you’ll enjoy. This petite laptop comes with a full performance processor, full-sized keyboard and even a built-in DVD drive, all at just under 1.8kg. It’s all you ever wanted in a laptop - affordable and compact, without sacrificing the features.
The Inspiron 14z is a one-inch slim laptop that packs an unbelievable amount of power in an ultra-sleek body. Designed slender enough to fit in your bag, the Inspiron 14z performs like a heavyweight with a 14-inch display, 512MB optional graphics card, large capacity drive and an optional 6-cell battery offering up to 8 hours of power. It’s the ultimate arm accessory for any occasion, anywhere.
The Inspiron 11z is available in seven exciting colors and online pricing starts from RM1,749 at www.dell.com.my
The Inspiron 13z is available in either Obsidian Black or New Cherry Red. Online pricing starts from RM2,399 and is available for order at www.dell.com.my
The Inspiron 14z is offered in either Obsidian Black or Cherry Red. Online pricing starts from RM2,349 and customers can place their order at www.dell.com.my.

Quotes:
“People who want mobility, value, great performance and easy Internet access have made Inspiron our most popular consumer brand,” said Yeo Swee Key, Director, Dell Consumer Business. “These new, thin, lighter-weight systems offer all-day performance with the latest Intel power-saving processors.”

Today has been a good day for us.

They removed the EVD (external ventricular drain) and took her off sedation completely this morning. When I visited her, she seemed to be doing okay. She still hasn’t woken up yet - that will take a while.

However, they said that she has shown some signs of waking up. At about 6 pm this evening, I actually saw her jerk her arms and shoulders in an attempt to cough when the nurse did a tracheal aspirate. She even shed a tear.

She continued to move a little after that, but she soon fell asleep again. It is possible that she may wake tomorrow morning.. but it could also take a while longer.

Her lung infection is still there, but it is under control. It is possible that it may clear up by tomorrow. So, overall, it’s been a very good day.

Got the dreaded call this morning, urgently asking for consent to do a CT PA (pulmonary angiogram).

They were worried she developed pulmonary embolism - basically blood clots from the legs going up and getting stuck in the blood vessels of the lungs. A bad thing to get.

Luckily, the CT PA came back negative for the blood clots. They also did a doppler test on her legs’ blood vessels and found nothing either. Guess we dodged the bullet this time!

They planned to fit in an IVC (inferior vena cava) filter to prevent pulmonary embolism from occuring... a "just in case" measure since they think she’s at risk. However, the radio-intensivist, Dr. Lau did another scan of her tonight and found nothing to warrant inserting the IVC filter.

He took the opportunity to do an angiogram this time, and according to him, the AVM isn’t actually as big as surgeons made it out to be. Very likely the clot itself obscured the actual AVM, making it bigger than it really is.

Her intracranial pressure was generally very high today, but since the CT appeared good, the EVD tube was probably giving wrong results. As such, they intend to remove the tube either tonight or tomorrow morning. It’s worthless now, and will only serve as a source of infection.

Speaking of infection, she responded well to the meropenem antibiotic and her ventriculitis (infection of the brain ventricles) has cleared up.

Still, it was not all good news. They discovered this morning that she has an acinetobacter infection in her lungs. That’s a bad bug to catch, although her lungs are still in good shape and the meropenem they are pumping into her is just the stuff to fight it off.

- Added the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240 graphics card.
- Updated the specifications of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 and GeForce 210 graphics cards.
- Renamed the NVIDIA GeForce G210 to the NVIDIA GeForce 210.

- ZEROtherm Core 92 CPU Cooler review @ OverclockersHQ
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- AMD Athlon 2 X3 435 review @ Bjorn3D
- Access and Customize Windows 7’s Extended Context Menu @ TechSpot.com
- Sapphire Radeon HD5750 1GB Graphics Card review @ Bigbruin.com
- CM Storm CS-S Battle Pad H2 review @ Overclockers Online
- Gigabyte – GA-G41M-ES2H Micro ATX motherboard review @ TechwareLabs
- Seagate FreeAgent DockStar NAS Device review @ HotHardware.com
- Blu-ray Importing: Oct 2009 Buying Guide @ TweakTown
- SilverStone RV-02 Raven review @ Bjorn3D
- QNAP TS-219P Turbo NAS review @ CCER
- Windows 7 Unboxing Video (HD) review @ motherboards.org
- AMD Athlon II X2 240 2.80 GHz review @ techPowerUp
- Sapphire + Gigabyte ATI RADEON HD 5850 Crossfire Benchmarks review @ motherboards.org
- Vantec NexStar Vault HDD Enclosure review @ Virtual-Hideout
- iPod Nano 5G review @ OverclockersHQ
- XTracPads Ripper XXL Mousepad Surface Video review @ eTeknix.com
- NZXT Panzerbox Case review @ Overclocker Café
- Alienware OptX AW2210 Monitor & TactX Headset review @ DriverHeaven
- Vizo Luxon 3.5" External IDE/SATA HDD Enclosure review @ Madshrimps
- ATI HD 5770 and HD 5750 Crossfire review @ motherboards.org
- Corsair HX750W Professional Series Modular 750 Watt Power Supply review @ Tweaknews
- Cooler Master 922 HAF Case review @ Overclocker Café
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- ATI Catalyst 9.10 Vista Driver Analysis review @ TweakTown
- Zalman CNPS10X Quiet review @ techPowerUp
- EVE Apocrypha review @ Bjorn3D
- Seagate 1.5 Tb Mod – Part 2 @ TechwareLabs
- Intel 34nm X25-M Gen 2 SSD Performance Update @ Hothardware.com
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On my second visit today, her intracranial pressure went up a bit (18-19 mmHg) after they reduced her sedation. However, they must think she’s improving because they ordered a further reduction in her sedation. If her ICP goes up though, they will turn up the sedation again.

The good news is that her fever is down... so her infection is under control. And her pupils are still reactive to light.

About the CT and clots, it looks like there was some "miscommunication". The surgeon told me they removed some of the new clot, but in truth, they removed some of the OLD clot during the recent craniectomy operation. No wonder there was such a marked reduction in the size of the old clot!

I don’t know why the surgeon told me otherwise. Fear of litigation? Wasn’t even in the room (someone else did it)???

Whatever it is... I’m just glad the CT scans showed no visible infarct of the brain, and the brain looks "healthier". Of course, the cerebral oedema (swelling) is still there. It’s going to take a while to subside. Oh well, let’s just count our blessings!

It’s already Day 13. Tomorrow will mark two weeks since she was admitted into the ICU.

Sigh.. It’s taking a long time, but I suppose that’s only to be expected. We had already dodged 3 close calls, and even though she has developed an infection, she’s still stable and I guess that’s good news.

I just hope she wakes soon. It’s really not good to stay sedated and immobile for so long. :(

Came back from another visit just now. Thanks to the pretty aggressive antibiotics, her fever receded by the time I went back at 10 pm.

However, her intracranial pressure was persistently high at 22-25 mmHg.

Hopefully, those are just false readings because the latest CT scan showed that the old clot is much smaller now. Even the new clot is a little smaller. There is still cerebral swelling but everything else looks pretty good.

Better not think too much. Can only hope and pray.

Today not much change. Icp a bit raised to about 17 but still stable. They tried reducing her sedation this morning but increased it 3 hours later. They claim there was eye movement to pain earlier. I dunno. Just glad she’s stable today.

- Added the Intel Xeon W3580, W3570, W3550, W3540, W3530, W3505 and W3503 processors.
- Added the Intel Xeon X3470, X3460, X3450, X3440, X3430 and L3426 processors.
- Improved the arrangement of the Intel Xeon line of processors for easier search and comparison.
- Corrected the L1 Cache specifications of the Intel Xeon MP 7000 (Tigerton) series of processors.

Today has been a very good day. No "morning call" for starters, so that was a BIG relief.

Since the craniectomy and removal of part of the new clot, she has been stable so far and her intracranial pressure is generally good. That’s expected, of course, since part of the cranium has been removed.

The good news is, today, her diabetes insipidus (which is a sign of brain trauma) has resolved itself. Her infection also seemed to be under control.

She is still under sedation but they plan to reduce the sedation tomorrow. She actually improved enough for them to send her for another CT scan earlier this afternoon.

It showed that both the original and the new clots are now smaller in size, although the brain is still swollen. Considering her dire circumstances just yesterday, these are very promising signs.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed real tightly but I do feel that we have turned a crucial corner here. Hopefully, it’s smooth sailing from here onwards!

Yet another eventful day.

Started at 7 am when I received the dreaded call from the hospital. Maxis 3G crapped out on me again. Luckily, they were smart enough to call Jenny’s phone which was GSM-capable only.

Apparently, her intracranial pressure started shooting up after midnight and they decided they needed to do an emergency evacuation of the new blood clot and a decompressive craniectomy (removal of part of the cranium to relieve pressure on the brain).

It was really touch and go at that point because her ICP was persistently around the 28 mmHg level at that point. I immediately shot everyone a message because she could very well die on the table or even before the op at that point. Her mother and sister immediately came from Penang.

Fortunately, she survived the operation. They removed about 60% of the new clot, and the removal of the cranium succeeded in lowering the intracranial pressure. She’s now back in the ICU under sedation for another period of cerebral resuscitation.

Thank you, guys for your kind messages of support. She made it past this hurdle, and we really hope this is the end of her unlucky streak. It’s going to be a really long haul... and we will have to take it step by step and be thankful for every victory, no matter how small.