Blinkers

Another good day for Pops, praise God. He went from three hour breathing sessions yesterday to...five hours today! Unbelievable! They now only take him off the respirator twice daily, but for five hours each time. We couldn't ask for any better than that...a two hour jump in independent breathing is awesome. Although he is exhausted, dad seems to understand that this is good progress.

He also got a power wheelchair today, which means he can sit for longer periods and recline at regular intervals to prevent excessive pressure on his body. Tonight he would doze off for awhile, then wake up, look down at the wheelchair control at his right hand, and ask me "How do I run this thing?". I told him he would learn how, but he has to be disconnected from all tubes before he can go cruising around. He would give a smile as if to say, "yeah, I know", and then doze off. I think he's just happy to finally be around something with a motor in it. His quote of the day came when mom and I were with two of his nurses talking about his new power chair. He piped up and tried to ask what we thought was a serious question. After the third try, we finally got it. His serious question was, "Does this thing have blinkers?"

He was also able to talk a little more today when being taken off the respirator. You can tell it's a huge deal for him to talk. His voice comes out very raspy and, quite honestly, a little freaky. He was relieved to know it was only temporary, that when he's done with the trach his speech will be effortless and his voice back to normal. Until then, his odd voice, along with the fact that the breathing treatments cause a slight fog to come out of his mouth when he speaks, gives the eerie impression that dad is in fact a dragon. Probably not good for the grandkids to see him quite yet! But it's all great news, and so encouraging to see him happy with his own progress. He knows that he's slowly getting better...and that does wonders for his overall attitude.

So thanks be to God for a positive day. I can't help but smile as I am reminded of his funny comments and sweet expressions. All such tiny things that I took for granted a month ago. Thank you God for opening our eyes to the many reasons we love our dad.

Pray for more healing...more progress. Pray for changing hearts. Pray that dad doesn't figure out his power chair control in the middle of the night and pulls all his tubes out as he shoots across the room...