This morning we decided to take the morning off from the hospital. We visited dad after dinner last night, and he was in good spirits, and was actually being a little "fresh", as Mom would say. We read him some emails we've received, and he responded with various appropriate facial expressions. We all got a kick out of some of the eyebrow raises and head bobs. Mom and I sang a song to him that he regularly sings, and he was making the facial expressions he would make if he were singing it himself. BJ gave him a stern talking to about not pulling out any of the tubes that are still connected. He really wants them out, and if they loosen the restraints on his hands, he immediately reaches up toward his head. So, BJ told him several times to leave them alone, then asked if he understood, and he nodded his head yes. Then BJ asked if he would give him his word that he wouldn't touch them; he started to nod yes, then stopped, and shook his head no. He certainly is stubborn!
I would love to tell you that we saw more progress during our visit this afternoon, but that was not the case. He apparently had a fever during the night, and they've put him on some antibiotics because they're concerned about some congestion in his lungs. Shortly before we arrived, his nurse (Carol, who has been an absolute blessing to all of us) was attempting to insert a feeding tube through his nose. They removed the tube he had in his mouth yesterday when they removed the breathing tube, so he wasn't getting any nourishment until today. She had a very difficult time, and he fought her the whole way. She ended up needing assistance from another nurse to get dad to hold still, and they gave him something for the pain they figured he was experiencing. When we arrived, he was exhausted. He had his eyes open at times, and he would turn his head when we talked to him sometimes, but he didn't respond to our requests to squeeze our hands or nod yes or no. The ICU doctor told us that we need to expect good days and bad days during the recovery from a head bleed. So, I don't want to say this was a setback, but we left feeling somewhat disappointed. Yesterday was so great, and we obviously want to see a straight line of progress from day to day, but it's not always going to be that way. It's going to be a bit of a rocky road for a while. On a good note, the one response we did see was Dad trying to tap his foot to some music Kate played for him. She also brought some pictures of home, and Sydney (the dog) and their place on the cape, as well as of people close to him. If any of you would like to email us some pictures, we'll gladly load them onto Kate's iPad and bring them to the hospital to show him.
For those of you who pray, please pray against any pneumonia that may delay dad's recovery. And pray for mom as well. She twisted her knee yesterday and has been in quite a lot of pain. Right now she's icing it and taking something for the pain. If it doesn't improve, we'll be making a detour to the emergency room on our way to visit Dad in the next day or so. She hasn't heard this plan yet, so pray I survive the lashing I'll get after I send this email!
We want to thank everyone who has sent encouraging emails and stories. I've tried to respond to everyone, but for those I've missed, I apologize. It's been tough to keep up! And regarding future updates: we've been trying to figure out the best way to keep everyone updated without bombarding people with emails. There are over 100 people on this list, and you range from close friends who want to know every detail, to acquaintances who would like an occasional update, to people who don't know Dad at all but are praying for him because you know one of us. We've decided the best thing to do is post our updates on a blog. That way, you can check in whenever you want, and you don't have to get constant emails from me if you don't want that much detail. The blog address is: http://www.bh1bglg.
Thank you again for all the love and support! We are blessed to have you all in our lives!
Kristen
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If you'd like to email anyone else directly, here are their email addresses:
Debbie debhall313@gmail.com
Kristen khall222@gmail.com
BJ and Heather palmettohall@gmail.com
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