Amy's good news!

Hi everyone, its Amy! I am not as good at writing as my Aunt Judi so bear with me. I will try to make this short and sweet. I wanted to share some good news. It is 5:30 in the morning and I just called the hospital. My dad is breathing on his own and is following commands again! He is off all of the sedation medication and the vent is off for now. They still have it hooked up just in case they need to put him back on it which they said that is a possibility. Paul(his nurse) told me that sometimes when you are on a vent for a while you become dependent on it and when you start breathing on your own it wears you out because your not use to it. Paul also said that he squeezed both his hands and gave him the thumbs up sign! He said that he is trying really hard to open his eyes but they are pretty swollen so that will take some time. He is also reassuring dad that all of his family have been there and will be up in the morning. Before getting off the phone I asked his nurse Paul to please let him know that I am coming up there as soon as I can and I love him. I really wanted to tell him to run in there and give him a big kiss and hug but I didn't think Paul would appreciate that too much! LOL! He said he would go in and tell him at that very moment! I am overjoyed right now. This is the best news we have had in days! He is still in critical condition but I have a feeling God is working miracles!

I probably scared Mike to death when the phone rang at 4:00 his time to tell him the good news! He was thrilled as well. I know its killing him to not be here. It's killing me too! I really never realized how much I needed my big brother until he left yesterday! He has been the rock through this whole thing and I couldn't have done any of this without him.
While I am writing I would like to say that I couldn't have done this without Mike nor Aunt Judi, Uncle Jer, Uncle Darryl, and Aunt Kathy. They have all been amazing to Mike and I. This is so devastating to all of us and they still have enough strength to comfort me when I have my daily meltdowns! I cant begin to explain how grateful I am to all of them. Thank all of you as well for all of the prayers, love, and support you have given to all of us here in FL. Dad does not have any idea how much he is loved. I cant wait until I have the chance to tell him! Hopefully we will have good things to report tonight! Keep praying! Love to all!