Wednesday, November 7th, 2007

8 PM Washington D.C. time.

Well, Wednesday came and went and we are still here in D.C. They tell us that we may fly Sunday or Monday. Who knows? (Someone reminded us that Monday is a holiday - VETERAN'S DAY. We are learning to be flexible. Sort of!

David had a good day, with lots of positive feedback from doctors, nurses and occupational and physical therapists. It made us appreciate how well he is progressing. It just seems soooo sloooow sometimes. Patty and I are afraid that our reports might make David's condition seem better than it really is. We watched some video that we shot yesterday, and were taken back by the lack of any expression on his face, or in his eyes. We don't want some of you to see him and be shocked. In the beginning, we were forced to face the fact that David might die, or be a 'vegetable' the rest of his life. From that 'low' point everything looks up. It is a good day when our son lifts his right thumb as a sign. We praise God and thank the medical professionals for how far he has come, but the reality is that he has so far to go. In many ways he is like a newborn baby. He can't speak, eat or do anything for himself.

Now that we have established how bad off David is, we can start to brag about him some! The occupational and two physical therapists came in today, at the same time, and worked jointly to sit him up on the side of his bed. In getting him ready the O.T. asked him to put his sock on and David raised his knee and brought his foot back so he could. He only has one usable hand so he really couldn't finish the task, but after she 'started' the sock he attempted to pull it on farther. He responded well to several other 'challenges' also. As he was lifted and held in a sitting position by the PT, with his toes on the floor, another PT and Patty massaged and worked his feet to relax/stretch enough to lay flat. This all took 30-45 minutes, and was quite a work out for David (and the therapists). They say that in Palo Alto he will get many hours of therapy.

We are hoping that tonight they moved him up to the fifth floor. He will have a couple less wires attached to him (blood pressure, oxygen sensor, and heart rate monitor that aren't needed anymore). Plus he will get more therapy there. That makes us excited. We just said we should walk back over and check him out! So off we go...... Steve