PATIENT

I realize this post has been much anticipated by all of you so that you can finally get the update on how my pops is doing. I have been waiting for him to be up for some pictures so I could post them while letting everyone know how much better he is, even though as these pictures show...he has a very long road to a full recovery.

It has been officially one week since they finally took out the ventilator and my dad started breathing on his own again. When he first started waking up he did not realize where he was or what had happened. He didn't remember anything, and actually didn't even remember going to the hospital in the first place. Seeing him that day was a complete treat. I had missed him so much and started to blab on about all of the things that had happened while he was gone, even though he was still out of it and I am sure the details of that conversation have been long lost.

Seeing him the next couple of times though was not as pleasant. I kept thinking that he would start looking like my dad again, but he was looking worse in some ways and he had a hard time communicating. However, today, a week removed from the big day of ventilator removal, he is doing much better. He is back to using his phone (which we would always tease him about how much he used to use it), and he can talk now without a problem. He has started eating real food as well. Even with all of this good news though, he is still extremely frustrated with how little he can move and how much he can't do on his own. I told him today that he needs to remember that it is the Lord's will that he is still here, and that he can get better...he will get better.

My dad has always been a very willing photo model, and I was glad he didn't insist that I put my camera away today. He is growing a beard, and says he is not going to shave until he gets out of the hospital (still a few weeks away). I am looking forward to that day so much because then I can finally bring Stella to visit her grandpa again.

Isn't it interesting how patient you have to be when you are a patient? It is so annoying to be in the hospital and have to wait for things and I know that it is driving my dad crazy. We keep telling him that he has to be patient, and that he WILL recover. I can't believe how well he is doing already. I am so proud of him.

Note: The gowns and masks are to protect us because he has an infection. However, even though they are annoying, I sort of feel like they also protect him from anything that we might have or anything that the nurses might carry from room to room. Stylish, right? Mostly I thought it was funny that I posed for a picture and was smiling even though you can't see my mouth.