Quiet Morning

It has been a very quiet morning today. Dad has been sleeping soundly since his physical therapy this morning. The speech therapist stopped by, but because he had just finished physcial therapy, she said she would come back later, after he's rested, so she would have a better chance of having him stay alert a little longer.

The nurse (Carrie, who is super), checked on the results of the cat scan for me. She said she was told there was 'no change'. Hopefully when the Doctor stops by, he will be able to explain further. All the nurses I have met have been amazing. Super attentive, and seem to check on him very frequently. I asked his nurse how many patients she is caring for at one time, and she only has 2. This allows her to spend much more time with each patient, which is nice.

Also, he has not eaten yet. Based on the swallow test the speech therapist does later today, they will determine whether or not to put a feeding tube in. I am hoping he wakes up long enough, to be able to try to eat on his own, so that does not have to happen. But only time will tell.

Sharon and I asked the physical therapists this morning, if there is something we can do to help dad, when he is awake. The therapists only come in once a day, and so most of the day is spent with one of us, just sitting while he sleeps or talking to him if he wakes. They did suggest a few things we could do, to try to help him regain his strength (encouraging him to move his arms, especially his right; standing on his right, instead of his left, so that he will be have to turn his head to the right to see us, because he favors his left side so much right now; ask him to wiggle his toes, move his foot, etc). It is nice to know of some things we can try to do to help him recover more quickly, instead of just 'being' here.

He has motioned several times today, for either Sharon or I to come over to him. He tries to speak to us, but it's very difficult to understand and usually sounds quite garbled, and this is quite frustrating to him....and us, as we want to be able to help him. Hopefully today, the speech therapists can offer some suggestions of things we can do to improve our communication with him.

I brought his glasses yesterday when I came, and today I cleaned them and asked him if he'd like them on. He did, and has been wearing them ever since. He was glad to be able to see clearly again. He has looked at his wrist several times today, used to his watch being there, and then asked what time it is. I'm not sure what difference it makes to him, but he seems to like to know. :)

I will be leaving at 2, and Diane will be starting her shift. Hopefully the Dr. will be in soon, so we will have some more information to give. Lastly....when Sharon left this morning, my dad told her goodbye, so I asked him to wave to her, which he did. Hooray for simple things!