Friday and now Saturday’s update.

Oops time flies.... Praise Report!!!

Week 2 of Dad’s recovery process and with the start of a new week, Dad has turned a corner. Like I have said countless of times before, there have been many praises, numerous miracles, yet an incalculable amount of miles to go.

Let me recap. The last 2 weeks of Dad’s activities. Mainly he’s been playing the game of recovery. Drifting in and out through days of sedation, scans, x-rays, pain and surgery. Dad has had about 17 hours of major facial reconstruction in the last 2 weeks. He has also had his broken leg worked on and some other procedures needed for his speedy recovery. So we have officially turned the corner. Did I already mention that? In the last 24 hours giant hurdles have been overcome. Yes people, it’s time to get your praise hats on! Dad’s last surgery, for now, was on Thursday and it

went great. Dad’s care team feels that at this point it is time for him to stay in the “awake” realm and start learning how to recover. So this morning his sedative medications were lessened to the point where he could respond. The idea is to wean him off them and back to the land of the coherent. Dad is able to communicate with us that he is not too uncomfortable or in too much pain. He can nod his head slightly, and is not only able to respond to questions and wiggle his fingers and toes, but was able to reach his hand out to mom. He could hold her hand and squeeze back in reassurance that he is getting better and will be back to ballooning and chasing after his grandchildren shortly. Such a simple action of reaching out and squeezing a hand was completely out of the realm of possible until just a few short hours ago. WOW!!! Dad also was able to hold in his hand (thanks to his super-duper sister Karen) a “fiddly bit.” This “fiddly bit” as I call it, has some squishy give and tactile appendages that make Dad think. I am looking for some simple mechanical puzzles that I can stump Dad with during his tenuous recovery. Dad also spent the entire day breathing on his own without the aid of the respirator. He still needs massive prayer as he is not able to move himself around yet but things are looking good. Saturday brings more scans to re check and confirm his neck and spine are clear, but the collar will probably remain

for a while more. This is not only to let his jaw heal, but just in case.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped, prayed, and encouraged us through this time. Please keep sending us photos and your favorite stories of Dad as it will help greatly during his recovery time.

~With Integrity