(Very) Early Monday Morning

I'm just getting ready to leave the hospital. Susan will stay here through the rest of the night until Karen takes over in the morning. Dad's nurse just came in with a nursing assistant to do his hourly check. He did great! He was alert and answered very clearly "yes", "no", and "okay". While she was talking to him, he looked right at her a couple of times and said, "Hi." :)

They helped move him onto his side, which looks much more comfortable. He had been complaining about the oxygen monitor on his finger and trying to pull it off, so Katie moved that to another finger for him. We adjusted his pillows after she left and he looks nice and cozy in his bed. He went right back to sleep and is sleeping more soundly and breathing more evenly than he has all night. They'll be back in in just a few minutes to check him again, but hopefully he'll do what they ask quickly and be able to go right back to sleep.

He's been asking for small sips of water. After each one, we ask if he'd like more and he nods or shakes his head.

We were laughing at something a few minutes ago and he was awake. He looked over at us. Susan asked him if he thought we were as funny as we do. He shook his head no. LOL She said, "Not even a little bit funny?" and he shook his head again. Then she said, "Do you want us to stop joking and laughing?" and he said no. I swear there was a hint of a smile. :)

I'm so glad he is comfortable and doing so well on his evaluations. He seems to be gradually improving each time -- small improvements, but improvements nonetheless.

Karen will probably give the next update in the morning.