12/8 update

Hi Everyone,

Heather and I drove down to Cape Coral this morning and joined Kate at the hospital.  Dad was resting comfortably in his bed until we woke him up when we arrived.  Over the last couple days, they've had Dad doing more standing and even walking short distances with the help of the parallel bars.  He didn't have any therapy scheduled for today but the Nurse reported that Dad was able to transfer from the Bed to the Wheelchair with the help of a walker first thing this morning (first time without the physical therapists at his side). 

We sat in Dad's room and talked for quite a while and at some point decided to ask the nurse if we could all go outside (knowing that he could transfer to his wheelchair with their help).  It didn't take her long to grab some assistance and get Dad sitting in his wheelchair again, ready to go.  We ended up going outside to enjoy the warm temperature (they keep the hospital on the cool side) and to get Dad some fresh air after his 5 1/2 week stint in the hospitals.  We found a nice area to sit and talk but within about 5 minutes, it started to drizzle so we headed back inside and wandered around until we ended up on the 6th floor to enjoy the view of the city.

This was the first time I've seen Dad sitting up in a wheel chair and being mobile, never mind actually leaving his room since Halloween.  That was a pretty great sight to see.  Over the last 2 weeks, I've gone back to Orlando during the week and come back to Cape Coral on the weekends.  The level of progress I've seen in Dad each week has been tremendous - way more than I expected.  He's still sorting through a lot of confusion and working hard to recall where he left off but you can hear every word he says now, he moves both arms and legs without difficulty, he's starting to stand several times a day and now he's even staring to walk again.  We are truly blessed to have him recovering so quickly and hope he continues moving in the same positive direction we've been seeing.

It has been a great comfort to all of us to have you there, expressing your concern and simply asking "How's your Dad doing."  Thanks again to all of you for your love and support; you are an important part of our lives.

More again in a few days....

BJ