Rise and Shine
What? Bloggers don't get the weekend off?
I'm sorry y'all, things have been going so well I guess I've decided to lighten up around here. I guess before I start cracking jokes I should fill you all in though.
John's daughters Jill and Jennifer (whom we playfully refer to as 'The B Team') showed up Friday morning to give Julie and Joy a chance to get some down time and handle some of their own personal issues.
Wouldn't you know it... It was Friday morning when John started showing significant improvement. He was far more alert and oriented than he had been the night before. When before we were happy to get 2 or 3 questions answered in an hour long visit, John was stayed awake for 15 minutes almost continually.
Friday afternoon things continued to improve. He was awake for almost the whole visit. At one point Jill held up a book and asked him what she had in her hand. Everyone expected John to say, "book". Instead he read the title of the book to her. At that point asking simple questions seems silly... so they just sat next to his bed and read to him. John really enjoyed the visit.
That's the amazing thing. It's been less than a week and John is at the point that he can enjoy a visitor. He's speaking in sentences... and is clearly himself. When asked how he is, he responds, "I am blessed". Just like he always has. When asked if he had a favorite Bible verse, he said, "Anything from James".
There is just to much to tell in one update. The truth is, these pictures will let you know a lot more about his improvement than my clumsy typing.
I'm sorry y'all, things have been going so well I guess I've decided to lighten up around here. I guess before I start cracking jokes I should fill you all in though.
John's daughters Jill and Jennifer (whom we playfully refer to as 'The B Team') showed up Friday morning to give Julie and Joy a chance to get some down time and handle some of their own personal issues.
Wouldn't you know it... It was Friday morning when John started showing significant improvement. He was far more alert and oriented than he had been the night before. When before we were happy to get 2 or 3 questions answered in an hour long visit, John was stayed awake for 15 minutes almost continually.
Friday afternoon things continued to improve. He was awake for almost the whole visit. At one point Jill held up a book and asked him what she had in her hand. Everyone expected John to say, "book". Instead he read the title of the book to her. At that point asking simple questions seems silly... so they just sat next to his bed and read to him. John really enjoyed the visit.
That's the amazing thing. It's been less than a week and John is at the point that he can enjoy a visitor. He's speaking in sentences... and is clearly himself. When asked how he is, he responds, "I am blessed". Just like he always has. When asked if he had a favorite Bible verse, he said, "Anything from James".
There is just to much to tell in one update. The truth is, these pictures will let you know a lot more about his improvement than my clumsy typing.
posted by Nate at 7:53 PM
5 Comments:
wow! Dad looks awesome!
Hi Everyone,
This is Jill. Just thought I'd add a few notes about Dad's progress over the past two days, so we don't leave Nate having to do all the talking (not that he minds talking, but you know...).
Dad is consistently able to tell us that he has 4 daughters, that his wife's name is Lucinda, and sometimes he can name all 4 of us, too. He's struggling with his grandkids' names. One time yesterday he recognized the 2 older ones from pictures, but generally Julie's son's name is the default answer.
Today he remembered that he's a teacher, and even knew that he teaches accounting. We had some visitors from his school, who drove all the way up here just to bring a bag-full of cards--at least a 2-hour drive. Jennifer said Dad seemed to recognize them, and even seemed a bit disturbed as, perhaps, he began to realize just a bit of the magnitude of his situation when they left.
I also wanted to mention some of the nurses by name. We spent a lot of time with Sandra today. She has been his day shift nurse the two days I've been here, and she's precious. Today she said she appreciated our attitude with her and the staff, and that it really helped to be able to talk with us so she can see more of what Dad is really like through us and all the pictures we've brought. Tonight we met Kelly, who said she would be taking care of Dad at night through the rest of the weekend. Both Sandra and Kelly have been incredibly patient with all of our questions and concerns, and I just want them to know how much I appreciate that.
Dad has also shown even more improvement with his ability to read and understand written language. He can read a dry-erase board full of information almost flawlessly. He's had trouble remembering my name (calling me Julie instead of Jill), but every time I show him the note board (where my name is written down), he looks directly at the correct information and can now come up with the right name.
Today we took a brief video of a q&a session with Dad, so you can see what these "conversations" are like. It's not like Dad just starts talking about all kinds of things--it takes a lot of prompting to get information from him. And sometimes you have to give him the benefit of the doubt while phrasing your questions very clearly. However, it's a great deal improved from where he was one week ago...I'm writing this comment almost exactly a week after they rushed him into emergency brain surgery.
Everyone was jealous of the progress Jennifer and I saw yesterday. Everyone had worked hard to prepare me for the worst, since I hadn't really been in an ICU before. Then I got there, and Dad was talking so much better than they said he would, and even making excellent eye contact.
So today I had really high expectations for lots of progress at every visit again. I guess we wore him out yesterday, though, because today he was pretty groggy. He didn't seem to lose any ground with his mental orientation, and physically he looked so much better as the swelling is going down and the bruises are fading.
But he also didn't improve by leaps and bounds today like he did yesterday. He slept through much of the visitation time, and even when he was awake, it was not for long periods. By the end of the last visitation, when we had so many people there to see him, he even seemed somewhat agitated, and not really in a "John-Dark" kind of way. Jen and I aren't sure how to explain it.
All I can say is, I know he has a lot of things to process mentally. And the more aware he becomes, the more he will need sustaining prayers, to encourage him as he faces a challenging road to recovery. The doctors are still very optimistic. But Dad has been happily oblivious up until now. And yet, the very thing we've been working so hard for--mental awareness and functionality--is the very thing that will be most challenging as reality settles in.
Please continue your faithful prayers, especially for Dad and Lucinda as they face into what their near future holds. I know that Joy is preparing to shoulder a great deal of the burden of helping Dad and Lucinda through this time. Please also pray for her to have the emotional and spiritual resources to be a fountain of hope for them.
Thanks so much for all the support and prayers and love that you've shown. I really don't have the words to say how much that means to all of us. Some of the comments here on this blog literally bring tears to our eyes as we realize how much Dad is loved by so many people, and how much he is wanted. Sometimes it's easy to sink into obscurity when life is going well. Then it takes a near-catastrophe like this to make us realize how much we each matter to those around us.
I pray blessings on all of you,
Jill
Scott, Shellie, and Ryan,
I realized I didn't specifically say "thank you" in my previous comment, and just wanted to let you know again how much we appreciated your coming up to see us!
Jill
Great and welcome news.
(I think Nate's presence held off the recovery. He's just too draining to be around, right? :P )
Never met the man and don't know him but I can tell he's loved. Praying for his steady recovery and for the comfort of his family. Blessings to you all.
Post a Comment
<< Home