Update #1 on Peter

On September 22, 2009 at approximately 9AM Taiwan time, our teammate and friend, Peter Bennett, sustained a head injury when struck by a car as he was crossing the street in Yonghe, a suburb of the capital city of Taipei.

I'm sure each person learning of Peter's accident would like to know more about Peter, his condition, and the accident. Those of us who are here in Taipei still don't have a full understanding of what happened. At first, we thought he was on his bike... later we found out he was on foot. My point is that even our perspective is cloudy, but we will do the best we can to make this a place for people who care about Peter to come and learn what to pray about and encourage Peter, his family, friends, and co-workers. Please leave comments and we will make sure Peter's family sees each word.

First... the difficult basic facts of Peter's condition:

• The injury is at the back of the head.
• Peter's skull is fractured just to the right of center.
• Peter's injury is serious.
• He is in the Intensive Care Unit.
• The next few days are very critical.
• The biggest danger seems to be hemorrhaging (bleeding) of the brain.
  

Second... some of the positive things and encouraging signs:

• Peter is moving his feet, legs, arms, and hands.
• Peter could breathe on his own if needed but is on a machine to help him breathe for now just to give a little help.
• Peter's circulatory system seems OK.
• Although the car must have hit Peter's legs, his legs are not broken.
• For now, the best news is that the pressure on his brain is under 20. 20 what? I don't know yet. When I know more, I'll share it here. But the important thing to know for now is that anything in the teens is good and over 20 can indicate brain hemorrhaging. This afternoon the monitor was usually between 16 and 18.
• Although we can't be physically beside his bed at all times as we would prefer... we have a plan for someone to be at the hospital at all times (in shifts) to continue to serve, pray, learn, and be Peter's advocate.
• I'm debating if this belongs in the positive news section, but I'm putting it here... At one point this afternoon, Peter broke the restraints on his wrists and tore the breathing tube out of his mouth. It is impossible to know how purposeful of an action that was, but I appreciate the fight in Peter! There will be times he needs to rest, but I was glad to see that fighting spirit and strong will.
  

Third... some other information of interest:

• Peter had a procedure around noon to implant the intra-cranial pressure monitor. This procedure went normally and he was stable.
• Peter's mother is scheduled to arrive in Taipei on Wednesday, September 23 at 8:30PM. His dad is trying to get a passport and make a trip soon.
• Peter is an Ozark Christian College graduate. I spoke with Chris Dewelt at Ozark Christian College on Tuesday morning before his first class to ask the OCC family to pray for Peter during classes and chapel today.
• We were quickly in touch with the Team Expansion home office and encouraged by their support and prayers.

I'm sorry I can't write more now. We will do our best to pass on relevant details of Peter's situation and progress here in the coming hours and days. We'll share more of the timeline in another post.