Good Day

Elaine had a good day today.  She looked so much stronger even from when I saw her on Saturday.  By the time I got to the hospital this morning she had been up and walked to the bathroom.  She was able to do so twice more while I was there.  The doctors are very pleased with her progress.  Nausea is still an issue.  If they could get that under control, she would be able to do much more physically.  The speech therapist came and asked questions to check her cognitive skills.  She did great.  She is much more alert and talkative too.  It is great to see her personality coming through as she interacts with the doctors and us.  Here are a few of the highlights.

When I saw her at the hospital on Saturday I told her that she was allowed to swear in her mind and when people were bugging her to just act like she was sleeping so she didn't have to talk anymore.  This was our first conversation this morning. 

Elaine: I have been thinking a lot about what you said.
Me: What is that?
Elaine: About swearing at people under my breath.  I've had to do that.

I didn't want to correct her that it was in her mind not under her breath, but I think she is justified to upgrade to under her breath.  :)  It is hard to get any rest with someone coming in every few minutes to check on her.

Later at lunch time I think she was ready to get me on a plane back to Dallas.  This was one of our conversations:
Lynn: Good job you almost ate the whole cookie.
Me: Now just wash it down with a can on Ensure!
Elaine (glaring at me): Whose side are you on?
Me: Yours, that is why I'm helping you keep the feeding tube out.
Elaine: (silence, but still giving me the look.)
Me: I think she wants to send me back to Dallas.
Lynn: I think she wants me to go with you.

Lynn and I thought we were funny.  Elaine no so much, but she tolerated us.

When the speech therapist stopped by and they were talking I was sending an email on my phone when I hear this:

Elaine (pointing at me): Well it's her fault.
Me: What did I do?
Elaine: You told me that when I didn't want to talk to people I could just act like I was sleeping.
Me: Hey now if you are going to tell my secrets to tolerating the hospital, I'm not going to be able to share them with you anymore.

Elaine just smiled at me.

It was so great to be able to have some light hearted conversation with Elaine again.  It is great to see her smiling and see her sense of humor coming through.  I know that some will wonder why I put these conversations on the blog, but I wanted to remember and I wanted her to remember that even in her hardest times she was able to still joke and see the humor through it all.

Another thing that struck me as I visited with Lynn and Elaine today was when Lynn blessed Elaine's lunch meal before she ate it.  It was a beautiful blessing. I know most of us bless our food before we eat it, but how often do we really stop to think what we are doing?  Elaine NEEDS that food to bless her and strengthen her in a way that most of us have never needed.  I felt so strongly that because of the blessing her food would do more then the little amount she could eat seemed able.  She needs every single calorie she can get to heal her body. How great it is that our Heavenly Father allows us to bless the food we eat to make us healthy and strong.  I know I will never think of the blessing before a meal with such irreverence again.

Right before I left another doctor from the rehab floor came to talk with Lynn and Elaine.  They talked about what would happen on the rehab floor and the time frame from there to come home.  Though no specific time frame was given to when she would be able to go to rehab, it was a great sign that they are starting to think about getting her out of the cardiac floor.  That is the last step before she can be home for good.  Once she is on the rehab floor she will do about three hours of therapy a day.  Once she is able to do that her strength should come back fairly quickly.  It was nice to hear the doctors start to talk about her going home.  It shows the great progress she has made.