11/28 - a very exciting day!

Hey everyone -

Mom and I have had a crazy, but really great day!  We started out going to the nursing facility we really wanted Dad to go to.  It's super nice, sits right on the water (which Dad would LOVE) and has a great reputation.  They don't have a spot for Dad right now, but we learned that it may be possible to get him transferred there from a different facility when they do have space available.  We left disappointed, and headed off to another facility that has a good rehab reputation.  They don't have a spot for Dad either, so Mom called another facility she and BJ had previously investigated.  Its called The Rehabilitation Hospital, and is part of the Lee Memorial Health System.  When they evaluated Dad last week, he didn't meet their criteria for admission (i.e., they didn't feel he would be able to keep up with the rigorous schedule they hold their patients to).  After that, we pretty much put them out of our minds, but yesterday I asked Mom when they last saw Dad, because he's made huge progress in the last several days.  When Mom spoke with Wende, their admissions coordinator, she had already heard from Dad's case manager at the hospital, and was gathering information to see if she could get him admitted.  Shortly after we arrived at the hospital to visit with Dad, Wende stopped in to tell us she got him in!  Right now, as I type this, Dad is on his way there!  We're all really excited to have Dad take this next step in his recovery.  It's been 4 weeks to the day since the stroke, and he's gaining ground everyday.  Now that he'll be getting some intense rehab, we expect his progress to skyrocket!

Dad also had a good day at the hospital.  He was able to talk with BJ and Kate on the phone, and spoke loud enough for them to hear him.  And he graduated to the next level in his swallowing tests.  They've had him eating what they call "honey thick" foods, and now he's graduated to "nectar".  He's also been much better about leaving his tubes alone now.

Thanks so much to all of you who have been praying for Dad.  Please continue to pray that he will be able to keep up with all the therapy he'll be receiving while he's in the rehabilitation hospital.  We're all looking forward to seeing him improve by leaps and bounds now!  We'll let you know tomorrow how his first day goes!