Today was a big day for Dad. This morning they brought him the sacrament. He can not chew or swallow yet, so it was just touched to his lips. I am sure he was very happy to have that. The physical therapist tested his core strength in the morning and had him sitting up with his legs dangling off the bed. From there they had him stand up and shuffle step to the right, giving him support on both sides the entire time. He did great and they indicated that his muscle strength was good.

The afternoon brought more big moments. Dad was really awake with his left eye open all afternoon. Mike got permission to bring his kids in. Mike asked Dad if he wanted to see the kids and he nodded yes. He smiled at them, patted their heads, and tried to give them hugs. He seemed really happy to see them. It was a sweet moment to see him and the love he has for his grandchildren.

Dad is breathing completely on his own. He was able to cough and clear his own throat, and the respiratory therapist said his breathing is looking great. The speech therapist also came in and tried to get him to talk.  They hooked up something to his tracheostomy to help them hear his voice.  It was a struggle for him and he would take quite a bit of time to answer each question. When they asked him who Mom was he said "Kathleen Kendall."  Mike was the one at the hospital at that time and Dad said "Mike" when they asked who he was. He also responded  "Dale"  when they asked him who his oldest son was.  He did have a long pause in responding and struggled with some of the questions. He didn't know how many kids he has, and it took him a long time to come up with Jeff's name. He also said his oldest daughter was Jennifer (really is Mary).  He said "St George" when asked where he was.   He indicated he is from Nephi, but he could not say where he now lived (that could be that West Valley is too hard to say?).  He definitely has some confusion.  They have indicated that when we ask him questions we should give him a long time to respond.  It was taking him at least six seconds to respond.  They also said if he closes his eye it may mean that he is processing the question.

After the speech therapist, Dad was completely exhausted. The physical therapist came back in and had him move off the bed to sitting up in a chair for about a half hour.  This was another great step and is supposed to help his lungs and other organs get working better.  They are going to be doing this kind of rehab multiple times a day from now on.  When he got back in bed he was immediately asleep.  The little bit of talking and moving completely drained him of all his energy.  He was pretty exhausted for the rest of the night and was not social after that.  Besides a smile or small hand squeeze, he wanted to be left alone and just rest. He didn't even want his hand held this evening.  Rehab is going to be hard and exhausting for him.  

Dad has now been cleared for the facial surgery.  Nothing is scheduled at this point, but it should happen the first of the week.  The Dr. also indicated that the CSF leak appears to be completely healed, so that is great news.  

Another concern we have had is that he cannot open his right eye, and he doesn't move the right side of his face. The Dr. indicated that most likely the movement would come back.  If the nerve is smashed and damaged it will repair itself at a very slow rate of one millimeter a day.  However, if the nerve is completely severed, it would not repair itself.  The Dr. did say he would be very surprised if it was severed.    

So today was wonderful to hear his voice and see his movement.  He is making great progress and we feel he won't be in ICU much longer.  However, it also was reiterated to us all that he has a long way to go.  It is all very hard on him and he is not up to visitors yet.  We will keep you posted.