Dad continues to make big improvements.  With the smaller trach he has learned how to push air past the opening to speak, and is talking to us more and more each day.  Tomorrow he is scheduled to have the trach removed completely, which should improve his ease of speech even further.  There are moments when Dad seems just like himself and things seem clear, and moments when he is still very confused and doesn't make much sense. That is to be expected for quite a while with the magnitude of his brain injury.  Tonight has been one of the clear moments.  My mom made the following comment and asked me to post it:  "Tonight I think we have witnessed a miracle.  Ed's mind seems to have awakened and he just keeps talking to us.  Most everything he says is correct.  We are in tears as he tells what flowers he likes, where to get them, how much to water etc., etc.  It has been amazing."

The good news is that Dad still has his same sense of humor.  The personnel in rehab call him "spunky" or "feisty" because he jokes back with them and is often sarcastic.  One example of his brand of humor:  today the nurse was telling him that she was sorry that they were making him do all of these annoying things but that they were doing so because they want him to get better and they love him.  He looked at her and told her, "I bet you tell that to all the boys."  He is always making the medical staff laugh (and us)!

Dad's love for his family is evident as we are there with him.  Today he said that the most important thing is to love and be loved.  He also told Shari, "the family is so great!"   Last night when Jake was leaving he asked Jake, "can I bum a ride with you?" . . . and a little later "do you have room in your car for me?"   Later that night, at 11 PM, he had the medical staff call my mom for him.  When she answered after being awakened he told her that he just wanted his family.  Today we asked him if he remembered calling Mom last night.  He indicated that he did, so we asked him why.  His answer:  "I wanted to ask her for a date."  Just more evidence of his humor AND his love for my mom.  Today Dale told Dad how glad he is that he is still with us and Dad said that he was glad too.

Dad is growing stronger physically as well.  In physical therapy they have him walking further each day, doing stairs, squats, and other simple exercises.  Any physical exertion really wears him out, but he is getting stronger every day.

Dad is expected to be in rehab for a total of 10-14 days. At that point he should not have any physical limitations, but will still have cognitive issues that will need to be worked with.  The long-term effect is unknown at this point.

Tomorrow the speech pathologists will be conducting a swallow study to see if he is ready to start drinking and then eating again.  Once he is ready they will keep the feeding tube in for 3 days just to ensure that he is receiving enough calories. 

Another positive note, today the nurse practitioner was checking Dad's right eye.  He had the left eye covered and asked Dad they type and color of his shirt.  Dad was able to tell him, showing that he does have some vision in that eye.

It has been so encouraging to see Dad coming back to us little by little.  We cherish the moments when he is clear and alert enough to talk with us.  Shari was showing him pictures today of family vacations and reminiscing with him.  She also played the Kendall family theme song, "Love Remains" for him, which he instantly recognized.  We were encouraged when he was able to name some extended family members in Shari's pictures. 

We know that there will be ups and downs in the healing process, but are hopeful that there will continue to be more ups (like today) than downs.