Thursday April 16

Dad is a lot more alert today. He moves his mouth like he is talking but I can't figure out what he is trying to say. When nurse M came in he said (well mouthed, with the trachea he can't speak) good morning to her.

Nurse J said that if they could get dad to do CPAP for 4 hours twice today that tomorrow they MIGHT cut the ventilator off and put him on just oxygen (hooked up to his trachea tube). That would be so great!!!!!

I just spoke to Nurse J and she said that dad is very agitated. He is "talking" and keeps moving. He keeps trying to put his feet off the bed -- on the opposite side of the bed he is at. He looks very uncomfortable to the nurse but she said every time they get him straighten up in the bed that he keeps moving until he is back where he was so they decided to leave him like that.

One reason he is more alert is because they keep going down on the pain medicine (which also has a sedating effect). But just now Nurse J said she was going to turn it back up just a tad to see if she could get dad settled down for the night.

Nurse J and I both agree that he is waking up and is unsure of everything going on around him. He isn't "all there" just yet. But it seems he is slowly getting there. I was really surprised to see how alert (for him) he was today when I walked in. I don't know if he recognized me or not but he would look at me some.

I am trying not to be overly hopeful right now because as soon as I get that way dad has a bad day or two and goes a step backwards. But right now, at this very second, I am hopeful that I will get my dad back.

Keep those prayers going up for dad and me.
And keep praying for Aunt Betty as she still doesn't feel good.

Kathy