Update #4 on Peter

Thanks again to everyone for your encouraging words for Peter and those of us here who are trying to help him somehow.

Peter's mom, Claudia, arrived tonight from LA. We took her straight to the hospital. Before she went in to see Peter, she patiently hugged each person who was there in the waiting room and then listened to Dr. Peter (from update #2) explain Peter's condition for her. When she and Dr. Peter went into the ICU to see Peter, many of us left for home because we didn't know how long she would be there and there was nothing we could do. Jennifer Reynolds waited so she could take Claudia back to Chad & Alicia Edwards' apartment to get some sleep tonight. I don't know if they are there yet, but this was the plan when I left the hospital. Craig was going to sleep at the hospital in case he was needed. We try to have people there around the clock.

I only have 3 things to share about Peter's status.

1. Tonight I heard Dr. Peter say that Peter's skull fracture was 10cm long. This is a very large fracture and it sounds awful. It actually can be a blessing because such a large fracture means that the energy from the impact was largely absorbed and dissipated by the skull instead of by the brain. It also means that the impact was extremely harsh. We hope that the skull absorbed enough of the impact that the damage to Peter's brain is zero.
2. They took a routine CT scan this afternoon and the image shows that there is no blood on Peter's brain. This doesn't mean that there won't be in the future, but when the CT image is combined with the fact that Peter's brain pressure has remained low, it is a good indication that the doctor has successfully dealt with the initial trauma and that Peter is stable.
3. In part because of this positive CT scan, the doctor plans to go ahead with the original plan to stop (or lessen - I can't remember for sure) the sedative at 7:30AM on Thursday and allow Peter a chance to "wake up" on his own. Peter's response could tell us many things... or it could tell us almost nothing.

We'll keep you posted as best we can.

In the comments from the last update, someone asked for more info about Peter. It makes sense to share some because many people who have never met Peter or don't even know of him have found this blog and are now following his story and praying for him. Someone please correct me in the comments if I have any of this wrong.

• Peter is from California, USA.
• He is 28 years old.
• He is not married, but as you can see in the picture, he is 100% hunk.
• He loves mountain biking (or any biking actually).
• He's like the energizer bunny... keeps going and going.
• His mom and stepdad and his dad are all in California. Peter has 2 sisters and they are in New York.
• He is a picky eater and has somehow turned this fact into an endearing character trait.
• I'm not sure of the timing, but I want to say that Peter has lived in Taiwan for about 3 years. He knows so many people and works so well with everyone that it seems like it should be longer than that, but I think it is only about 3 years.
  
• He is a hard worker and this has paid off already in learning Mandarin.
• He is in a time of transition from language acquisition ministry to other ministries and seeking God's direction for the future.
  
• I suppose Peter only has one "best" friend... but many would say that Peter is their "best" friend.
• He lives in Banqiao.
• He has the spiritual gift of encouragement (among others).
• He is currently helping as a soccer coach for kids 4-12 years old on Saturday mornings.
  

Now I've lost control of my emotions again because I had not yet thought of how "Coach Peter" won't be on the pitch with us this Saturday. I'll end here as I need to go get some rest. Bless you all. Hug your kids. Hug your parents. Hug your friends.