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Day Nine - A Very Big Day

This has been a very big day. We signed the papers to rent the apartment for Amy, Mike and the other family members who will be spending time here in Florida over the next few months. We will begin moving what few things we will need in tomorrow and Amy and I will spend the the first night in the apartment on Thursday. Just a walk away from the hospital. That's it...top upper left.

Dick has been very active today. He has been reaching out and squeezing hands. When he is asked a yes or no question he nods his head appropriately. He has even motioned to try and write something. We are the ones that are now having difficulty trying to understand his hand motions and what he wants. It is frustrating for us, we just can't fathom how frustrating it is for him. When prodded by Amy he has been trying to open his good eye and he has even given a half hearted smile. One of his best moves is to give us the thumbs up! We are so proud of the strength he is showing and how hard he is working to get back to us. We just know that one of these days he will just open his eyes and start talking to us like he use to; teasing and smiling and being his sassy self. One of the night nurses even asked Amy if her dad was stubborn. She said, "Heck yes." The nurse told her that he had asked Dick to squeeze his hand and he wasn't responding and the nurse told him "Mr. Hasty, I can't tell if you are getting better if you don't respond to my commands". Dick immediately started responding. YEAH! I think that means he is getting better!

We would like to thank everyone for following our blog. It has meant a lot to the family to read your comments and to know how much concern and love there is for Dick and his recovery process. You are helping us cope and it gives us strength each day as we read each and every note. Bless you all for being there.

Day Eight - A Remarkable Day

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you are riding a roller coaster? First you go up, then you go down, then you turn and you might even go backward. That is what today was like for Darryl, Jerry and I. We were looking for housing for Amy, Mike and other members of the family to stay in while here in Florida. I never thought finding a 2 bedroom apartment could be so difficult. We started out the day with the good news from Amy on Dick's progress, what a high that was to start the day! We headed to Tampa to check out housing that we had spent most of the early morning hours calling about and checking locations on from the computer. We checked out a few and saw one possibility. It is almost impossible to find anyone to rent on a month to month basis in Tampa. We stopped in the middle of the afternoon for a while to visit Dick. His progress is so exciting to watch. (but I will let Amy tell you about that) We then went back out and hit the streets, literally. Jer drove down neighborhoods, street by street, surrounding the hospital and each time we would see a house or an apartment that had a sign in the window Darryl or I would hop out and get the phone number and we would sit in the car and make a call. We would tell our sad story and pray that someone would take pity and make something happen for us. Everyone offered concern, some even offered their prayers but only a few offered rent month to month. Afraid to sound picky and a bit like Goldie Locks, we found 2 room apartments that were very small, and some with too big of a price. But one of the last apartments we came across had a charm about it that was perfect. It was close to the hospital, not too far out of our price range. As we got out of the car I told Uncle Darryl, "Look at that bumper sticker on that car in front of us, it's a sign". It read 'Watch Out for Motorcycles'. We went in to look at the apartment and it was just what we needed, we said we would take it. Then the roller coaster took that dive that takes your breath away. The lady with the apartment said, "I have never rented month to month before, I will have to take a couple of days to think about it." OH MY GOD! I thought we don't have a couple of days. We will need to start looking all over again. Uncle Darryl spoke up and asked her if she could please let us know soon so we would have time to find something else. This was 6:00p tonight. We picked Amy up at the hospital and headed back to Orlando. Excited about the news of Dick's progress and depressed over the possible loss of the one great apartment. 7:33p. Phone rings. It's Karen with the apartment. She has decided to rent to us! What a terrific ride this day has been today! Don't you love roller coasters!

Hi everyone! This is Amy again. I spent all day with my dad today. It was a great day. As soon as I walked in the room I went up to him and he immediately started moving around and he seemed to pick up his hand for me to hold. I kissed him and told him I loved him so much and I was so proud of him. Without ever opening his eyes he mouthed LUV U! I couldn't believe it! This was the first time all week I was starting to feel a little positive. Even though I was feeling good I was still on edge. I want him to start doing all of these things but I am nervous at the same time. I don't want him to get to excited. He still hasn't opened his eyes all of the way. I got him to open one eye just a little today for about a second. It took everything inside of him but he managed to get it half way open. I did try to give him some space today to get some rest. It was really hard to stand there and not push to get him to respond to me. He really is a fighter! I see him working so hard to get better. I wont give up on him! Amy

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!

Day Seven - Something New Has Been Added

Poor Dick, if he only knew what was going on while he slept. Today was pretty uneventful for us but for him he had a busy day. He was taken for a procedure this afternoon. He now has a feeding tube in his stomach which will replace the tube going through his nose. Although, they will still leave the tube in his nose for a few days just until they see how he tolerates the new feeding tube. If he aspirates it will come up through the nasal tube and not through his mouth lessening the chance of choking. He also had a CT scan late last night which has shown no change (two thumbs up). We are all pretty amazed at the miracles of science and medicine that we see every day. In the short time that Mike and Amy have spent in Florida most of their waking hours have been spent by their dad's bedside so they have become very versed in what each number on the monitor means and what each tube going into their father's body is for and why each fluid is returned from it. We are all very proud of the way they are holding up under the pressure. They are taking on the responsibilities that have been thrust upon them with great decorum. I know today was a very hard day for both of them as Mike had to return to Illinois and to work but hopes to be able to return soon. Amy still has family with her but having her big brother leave was very difficult, we cannot fill that void. Today has also been a day for us to seek housing. We need to find some place close to the hospital. Jerry and Darryl will be heading back to Illinois soon and I may stay behind with Amy and Kathy for a few extra days. It is unbelievable the things one must think of in a time like this. Housing, rental, deposits, utilities, transportation, all the while considering how close you want to stay to the hospital and how you can keep expenses down so you can afford to travel back and forth from Illinois. Not just us but as other family members want to come to relieve Amy so she can spend some time with her children as the months go on. We need to find someplace that will house at least 4 people. (If anyone has any suggestions we are listening) The responsibilities for Mike and Amy will get greater as the days go on and we the Hasty family will continue to hold strong and support each other. I leave you with this quote by Elbert Hubbard - "Responsibilities gravitate to the man who can shoulder them and the power to him who knows how". Dick would be very proud of both Amy and Mike.

The Story of the Teddy Bear

It's early in the morning and as many days I am having a hard time sleeping so I decided to finally get up and write you this story. I don't know how many of you remember that Marianne loved angels. Small angels, big angels, Christmas angels, cloth angels, ceramic angels, she didn't care, she just liked being surrounded by angels -- her guardian angels. The day of Dick's accident a very interesting thing happened. After all of the emergency personel left and the ambulance had left, Jerry had to leave and take Dick's bike to the fire station for safe keeping and I was left alone by the side of the road waiting for his return. There I stood across from the horrible site of the accident all alone, crying and praying, wringing my hands and pacing back and forth. I happened to look down and there was a little pink thing, little wings laying skyward, sort of dirty and discarded. For some reason it caught my eye and I took my foot and flipped it over and through my tears and without my glasses I could see clearly on its little chest the words "My Guardian Angel". There on the road was this little dirty and at the time I thought unwanted teddy bear but it meant something to me in that instant. It meant that Marianne was watching over Dick. Jer came shortly after that and we left for the hospital and forgot about that little bear until a day or two later when Amy and I were talking and I was trying to comfort her. I told her the story of the little bear and I just knew her mom was watching over her dad. Amy wanted that bear so as it would be Jer and I had to return to Lake Wales a few days later to pick up Dick's bike and we went back to the accident site and that Little Bear was just were I found him the first time. He was again laying there with his little wings skyward waiting to be found. He has been cleaned and is now sitting in Dick's hospital room guarding over him. That day I thought that little bear was there just for Dick. In hindsight, I think that little bear was very busy that day. He was a great comfort for me too when I first saw him. P.S. Thanks Aunt Cissy - We love and miss you every day.

Day Six Sunday- Going Slow

There are days when things go so slow.....today was one of them. Nothing seems to move forward. We go in Dick's room two at a time taking turns hour after hour. We talk to him and wait for a response. We hold his hand and stroke his hair. We tell him how much we miss him... his voice.... his smile.....how much we all want him back. We sit and watch as the nurses swab his mouth and clean his tubes, check his vitals and read monitors. We talk on the phone and give updates to family and friends who share our concerns and I know each of us are saying our silent prayers......and we wait. They say there will be days like this. There will be good days and there will be days that aren't so good. Days of increased temperature and high blood pressure. Days when he coughs so severely it is difficult to watch him trying so hard and you are unable to help him. Then there are days when he moves things on command and you swear he hears you and you hold the phone up to his ear so he can hear his grandchildren talk and he moves his head ever so slightly toward the phone and you know he is there with us. Waiting is all we can do. He had a good day today...as days go. He was highly medicated and rested well today. This recovery work is a hard job and this was the sabbath and so he rested.