Sunday

Mom has made it one week!
Yesterday (Sunday) was Mom's best day so far. Although Saturday was a little disappointing, Mom was much more awake yesterday.
Dad said she wasn't doing much more than opening her eyes in the morning.
We kids went up after church with friends; during the afternoon Mom was able to blink for 'yes' or 'no', nod her head a little, and even mouth some words!! I cannot even explain how wonderful it was to "connect" with her a little.
Dad and I stayed overnight in the hotel- (not enough notice for his host home to accomodate two). Thank you, thank you for those of you who have given $ for an occasional hotel stay.

Mom will not be having surgery today because her legs and abdomen are still much too swollen. So they have another day to work on getting her more alert. They are thinking about removing her neck brace and are hoping her breathing will even out so they can (finally) remove her ventilator.

Random details of our afternoon ;)
Mom nodded her head when we asked her if she could hear us-- so I told her all sorts of things. She responded a little, but then I mentioned our dog "Rio" (who is very mischievous and ADORES mom) and she immediately smiled!! That was the first time that I knew- without a doubt- that she understood me.
She was pretty uncomfortable through the day; she kept mouthing 'water' because her mouth and lips are so dry. We wet her lips with a little sponge, but she continued to mouth something. I realized it looked like 'watermelon' and I said "that can't be what you want Mom, is it? Watermelon?" and she started to nod her head vigorously. We sadly had to tell her that she couldn't have any watermelon- but it gave Dad and I a good laugh. We think perhaps she mistook the sponge's texture for watermelon.
We called the nurse from the hotel late and she reported that mom had pulled her breathing tube right out! We laughed and warned the nurse how stubborn Mom can be.....

For the next few days please pray for:
- her breathing because her ventilator is very uncomfortable.
-her eyes, ears, etc... although she could hear us, I don't think she sees us yet. Her eyes do not look good, but the heavy sedation may have affected that temporarily.
-Dad is tired and overwhelmed with everything. Please pray for clear thinking.
- for us kids; we have to return to school and "normal" life this week- it is very hard to focus when you just want to sit with Mom.

Also, please continue to praise the Lord with us. He has blessed us far more than we could ever hope to deserve. We were all begging Him last week for help; He answered, and He deserves all the glory for Mom's improvement.