"Stop That Man!"

Dad continues to do well...he had a full week of therapy, dialysis, and visits from friends and family. He got to spend time yesterday with all the grandkids, and they were pretty impressed with his fancy new chair. I, too, finally got to see it in action, and to say it's fast is an understatement. He wouldn't show me its speed until we got to an empty hallway. After confirming that his chest strap was securely fastened, he quickly looked around and said, "Alright, I'm putting it in Drive 2." And like a bolt of lightning he was off. In the blink of an eye he was 20 feet away. What we didn't know was that a ways behind us was walking a group of therapists. They were unaware of our test drive and as soon as dad took off, they started to try to catch him, yelling, "Oh my gosh! Somebody stop that man!" They thought his chair had malfunctioned and was surely rocketing him to his death. He stopped on a dime and turned around laughing his head off. They quickly figured out that it was simply a fast guy in a super fast chair. Soon they were laughing as well. They wouldn't admit it, but I think they peed their pants just a wee bit. Oh, good times...

Pops is breathing well on his own and there's a rumor flying around that his trach will be removed completely sometime this week. It's pretty incredible to think that may really happen. There was a time when we all thought he would need a trach the rest of his life. What a blessing it would be to have that monkey off his back...or, in this case, his throat. And he has not needed suctioning in over a week. Praise God...unbelievable.

It will be four months tomorrow since the day of his accident. Sometimes the days blend one into the next, but others leave a significant impression in one way or another. The other night I was able to hang out with Pops for a few hours, just the two of us. It was one of those conversations I'll never forget. Not because it was profound or covered fascinating topics, but because it was just a daughter and a dad, hanging out. We talked about lots of stuff...him, me, mom, the accident, God, work, the future. No interruptions, no coughing, no suctioning, no lip reading. It was...great. He teared up when he talked about mom and how amazing she has been through all of this. He laughed when we talked about the latest antics of Cole and Paige. And sometimes he sat stunned, as he talked about how at times he's just hit hard with the realization that he is, indeed, a quadriplegic.

And as I told him that night, I always loved tossing the football with him, and rollerblading with him, and watching him do the "serpentine" (if you've seen it, you know what I mean). But I trade it all in a second for a chance to sit down, face to face, and have a good conversation with him. Hanging out with Pops was always fun...that was a given. But it's always so easy to fill the time with action...playing, doing, going. But now, what a gift we all are getting, just being able to really talk and get to know our Pops more than we did before. At least more than we ever made time for. Yes, it's still really hard, and of course dad would desperately love to walk again, but God is showing us many blessings along the way. We continue to trust Him and the plans he has in store for our Pops. We praise Him for the love He shows us every day...especially considering what today stands for.

Happy Easter.