Chocolate

Dad was a little bit sleepier today, still dozing on and off. Sometimes his mouthings are understandable, while other times we really struggle to get what he is saying. He will go from saying "I'm hot" or "I'm thirsty" to things like "Let's go home. I have a lot to do." So sometimes they make sense, but a lot of the time they don't. Much like yesterday. At times he seems to see us and understand, and sometimes he looks right through us. Honestly, I have complete peace about it, probably because enough people have said "this is all normal behavior". The truth is we won't really see what he can do for weeks, even months to come. Doctors won't be doing any real assessments or sensation tests for some time, because he needs to be more alert to get accurate results. Patience, patience, patience.

He continues to move his right arm, and it seems that very slowly is his gaining more control of it. Even when no one is in the room, he is trying to get his hand to reach his mouth, I think to prove to himself he can do it. It is a big improvement since before he would lift his right arm and it would flop down onto his chest. It is a good to see him gaining a little more control, even if it is in tiny increments. He is able to shake his head back and forth quite a bit, which amazes me with all it's been through the last two weeks.

The big moment of the day came when out of nowhere he opened his eyes and said "chocolate". We made him repeat it a few times because we thought it was an odd request. He definitely said "chocolate", so we let the nurse know. There was some Christmas fudge on the table, so the nurse put some on a spoon and fed it to him. As it melted in his mouth, his eyes were wide open and he got the dopiest grin on his face. It was the funniest thing to see. We laughed as he continued to lick his lips for the next ten minutes, enjoying every last taste of it. He's only eaten ice and sherbert so far, so I guess the man knows what he wants! Although we could have sworn he also said "hot tub" at one point. I don't know what that was about....

Another publish-worthy moment was when he saw Paige and Cole. He most definitely knows them when they enter the room. When Paige said to him "I love you Bapa" he said right back "I love you Paigey". It's those moments that get me through the day, because in those moments I really see dad as he was...madly in love with his grandkids. So we will see what tomorrow brings! Keep praying of course for those darn lungs to clear, one is clearing but I think it's the right one that is still in bad shape. They have started to wean him off of the respirator, but it is incredibly slow since they start with just five minutes at a time. He did pretty well with it this morning, but not so well later tonight. The nurse said it may take a few weeks to get him totally off of it. Patience, patience, patience.

Thank you God for peace. Thank you God for family. Thank you God for chocolate.