NEW PROGRESS/NEW CHALLENGES

This is my first writing "blogging experience", so hopefully I can help share a little bit of what went on yesterday, Monday, March 30th,---one day short of being five weeks since Dick's accident. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm Cheryl, Dick's favorite sister---oops, I forgot, my other two sisters are reading this! Sorry sisters JoElla & Kim---Dick & I were trying to keep the "favorite" thing a secret! Anyway, Amy & I arrived at Dick's room at 10:00 a.m.---2 1/2 hours after leaving Morton. Dick always looks at the clock when we arrive to make sure we are getting our full visiting hours in with him! Soon after we arrived, he had to go for a CT scan of his lungs, which we went with him. We weren't able to get the results of that yesterday but hopefully today. The lung doctor told us both of his lungs were badly hurt in the accident and he wanted to make sure everything was good before they removed his trach. He is totally breathing on his own without any oxygen and doing very well. All day yesterday his oxygen level was running at 100%---can't beat that!

The speech therapist was in today with some writing "tests" for Dick. He said to Amy & I, "Oh good, you know how good I am about taking tests!" These were tests to see how well he could identify and match "like" things, follow directions, remember story details, etc. He really did very well. One test was a bunch of squares only made out of 4 dots and he had to draw four lines in each box and make each one different. There were probably a dozen boxes---quite challenging for anyone! He knew a few of them were the same but he concentrated very hard and gave a good effort! Amy & I were glad we weren't doing the test---not sure if we would have done as well. She tested for about 20 minutes and said she'd come back the next day to finish because he was getting too tired. She did tell us privately that he was doing very well!

Amy & I noticed early on that this was going to be a challenging day for him. He had another restless night---as they all seem to be---and he was extra tired and simply not feeling well. He started running a temperature by afternoon and had been complaining of his bladder feeling too full. His catheter had just come out the day before and he ended up with a urinary tract infection. This has slowed his progress down but he is still determined to do his physical therapy so he can be transferred closer to home. When the physical therapists came, he was able to walk about 140-150 feet with only one rest in between. We were very proud of him!

Jerry & Judi will be up with him on Tuesday & Wednesday and Amy & I will return on Thursday & Friday. If you're up in the Des Plaines area, stop in for a visit---he does like seeing family & friends. Thanks again for all the cards and prayers. He loves when he gets mail and we sit and read all of them to him. Please keep those prayers coming---they are a major reason for all his progress. Our family is so thankful for everyone remembering him. I don't think he even realized how many friends he has and how much they care about him. He is loved!

Sorry this is so long but we love to share with all of you so you can be a part of his healing.
Peace and thanks for being a part of our family journal, Cheryl