The B-Team

Dad continues to plug along...rehab, dialysis, therapy...he's a pretty busy guy. He could have his third swallow test at the end of this week, or else early next week. His speech therapist said his swallow is much stronger than even a few weeks ago. Woo hoo! Slowly but surely. His left arm continues to have some pain and tingling, and it's unsure how long that will last. We continue to pray that those nerves are growing back.

I got to hang out with dad tonight and we spent some time going through some blogs...he said it's great for his spirits to read not only the comments but the older posts as well. We read one from December where we were rejoicing because he had breathed on his own for 20 whole minutes...yikes, how far he's come! Thank God for the many, many baby steps (or in his case, wheel rotations) that dad has taken.

There's much to be learned in the next few weeks...I got to help with a transfer tonight and was even asked if I was going to be a part of his "bowel program". Dad and I just looked at each other and laughed. There's nothing funny about the reality of his condition and all it entails, but sometimes you just have to laugh. As I contemplated being bowel trained, Pops said, "Well, now you've got something to write about tonight...a private invitation to be on my bowel team!" Not an invitation I thought I would ever get, but, heh, I consider it an honor to just have been nominated...and I didn't even have a speech prepared...

Wow. So many new things to prepare for...many unexpected challenges ahead. Without faith in an all-knowing God and a good sense of humor, how could we do it? I'm thankful this is stretching our faith, cause no matter how strong your bowel team, without God we're pretty darn helpless.