As I lay here in bed, on the eve of the 3rd week since this all began, I read some of the memories that friends have left in the comments pages. I am reminded of so many wonderful times with my Dad, and thus encourage more of these comments. If you have an awesome memory of him, please share it. The comment section of this page was my mothers idea. I am sure it pleases her to see the lives that have been touched by this man. Many of you don't know what to say, or what you can do. It is sometimes the simplest thought or gesture that can mean a smile on our faces, or a tear in our eyes (happy tears, of course). The truth is, you know what you can do, but you find it "insignificant", as a friend of mine put it recently. NOTHING IS INSIGNIFICANT. If you can make my mother smile, I would owe you indefinitely...as would my father if he were reading this.
As far as this weekend goes, he is doing wonderfully. He is beginning to move his neck around, checking out his surroundings and taking it all in. My mom and I believe that he is concerned his left side is not functioning, and try to tell him not to worry about all that. A good friend of his swung by today to give good thoughts, and check in. He is a good man, and a good friend.
My Dad's RN today was this little sassy old Filipina that has been trying to lift our spirits while visiting. She clearly does not realize we have been sitting by his side for the last 3 weeks. She tells us to talk to him, tell him about our days, etc, etc. She even tried to tell us that when asked
how he feels today he said, "Oh hunny, I am doing just fine thank you." in her broken english.
THIS was the first time I had seen my mother laugh uncontrollably in three weeks. We waited till this woman left, and had our laugh. Next thing ya know he will be doing the Waltz with this woman while we are not looking. Clearly they need to make another bed available....but her heart was in the right place.
We brought Jack in to see him, and he (Jack) was just a little too excited to see his friend again.
My Dad reached up to pet him, and had a very excited look on his face. It was quite the treat.
My mom snapped the picure to the right so that you can see his progress. Three weeks in, and almost all scars are healed, and his hair is soon to be thicker than my own. A long road ahead still, but a good weekend overall.
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4 comments:
Hi, Chris
This old dog is learning new tricks. I have been working on this for over an hour. This is a test.
Bud
Hi, John and family.
Now that it appears that I have this (maybe), I will try something a little longer. First, I would like to have Chris's email address in case there are personal things to discuss and so I do not have to bother Claudia.
I am glad to hear that John seems to be progressing. Like you, I do not even want to think about negative happenings in 3 months or even 6 months. Olga and I very much enjoyed our visit with all of you last week.
I am hoping and praying that the SNF recertifies John as it did not seem like they had given him a fair chance to recover from such a massive trauma.
I can empathize with the tears in that I have had a few of my own in the last 3 weeks. Also I get a real jolt nearly every night on the computer when my screensaver comes up with a photo of John and me taken about this time last summer near Shelton, WA.
John, you are constantly on my mind, either in the forefront when I am not busy or in the back when I am occupied with other things. Needless to say, I try to stay occupied.
I see the reference to PayPal on the side bar. Is there a bank account set up somewhere, so that if we send you a check, you can deposit it. It is amazing the number of hits the website has gotten. I did not know a person could have so many friends. I doubt that I do.
John, you will recall when Mother was in the hospital the last time, I was speaking with a doc there that I knew and wondering how she was holding on so long. His answer was that she came from strong old roots that would not give up life easily. You are an acorn off that same tree and have built a strong set of your own old roots. Now is the time they come into play. Stay strong, stay tough, beat the odds, and I will see you in September.
Olga sends her love as do I
Keep up the hard work John.
Bud & Olga
I just want to say a big "THANK YOU" for this great website. It is wonderful to read about John's daily progress.
Cheers!
Linda
P.S. I hope Claudia got a giggle from my post.
John,
It was great to see you on Saturday at 3:15pm as John Stark and myself along with my significant other Christena had the pleasure to visit you in person. It was good to see you acknowledge that we were there by blinking when John S. asked if you knew we were present. I hope that we did not bore you by talking about the old days but you were the perfect captured audience. Some people say that I tend to rattle on with a story? We enjoyed our time we were able to spend with you. I knew that you did not want us to go by the way you held onto my hand. We will see you soon and I am sure you will be much stronger when we do. Love Rob Junge & Christena
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