11/6 update

Most important news of the day: today was a HUGE improvement over yesterday.  The difference in Dad is astounding.  We know it was the right thing to put him back on the ventilator.  Dad responded well to us all morning.  He grabbed my hand tight and winked.  He wiggled his toes on both feet and made a lot of his usual facial expressions.  When the pretty ICU doctor came in to check on his neuro activity, he was making eyes as if to say "she's pretty". I told her that if we was able, he'd give her a big hug and sing to her.  He also rolled his eyes when we told him Kate was upset she wasn't able to be home in VA to vote for Obama.  We all got a good chuckle out of that one.

BJ, Heather, Kate and I went over early this morning so we could be there when the ICU team did their rounds.  Mom stayed home so she could have a little break from the whole hospital scene and get some stuff done.  When we arrived they weren't seeing much activity in him, but it really increased through the morning.  Speaking for myself, the tight hand grab and wink was a little overwhelming emotionally.  We've all been on edge these past days, and have seen very little in the way of response from Dad since our great day on Friday.  Just knowing Dad was trying to let me know he's ok really got to me.  We've been trying to stay positive in the room and not get upset in front of him, because we know he can hear us even if he's not really awake and interacting with us.  I told him I was crying because I was happy; hopefully it didn't upset him too much.

The neurosurgeon came in while we were visiting, so we won't be meeting with him tonight.  He said we really just have to wait and see where Dad is going on this journey.  He's hoping by the end of next week we'll have a good idea of what's happening.  Until then, it's just wait and see.  They are going to leave him on the ventilator for a few days to give him a chance to rest, and then try to wean him off of it slowly.  Right now he's breathing almost entirely on his own with just a little assistance.

Because his breathing has been such a concern, we have asked everyday about propping him up so his head is elevated more.  I've probably written this before, but Dad never sleeps on his back, and often sleeps sitting up in his favorite chair because he's had bronchial issues.  The neurosurgeon said it was ok for his head to be elevated more as long as they keep the two drains in his head at the appropriate level relative to his head.  Today's nurse, Melinda, worked on his position for a while and she seems to have gotten him to a place where he's relatively comfortable and isn't sliding down the bed.  When she wasn't helping Dad, she was providing the comic relief we needed.  If dad were able to talk, the two of them would be having quite the party in his room!

He has had a fever just about everyday.  The nurses have been doing their best to keep them down.  Today Dad was under an inflatable blanket blowing cool air on him.

We're still waiting on some info from the lab to know if the junk that was in his lungs is going to be a problem, but his daily chest xray shows improvement.  They also did an EEG, and didn't see any evidence of seizure activity.

We're all feeling better, but we know we're on a roller coaster ride right now.  We're all praying the good days continue, and we see less and less of the bad days.  Thanks for your prayers!  Keep them coming!