Day 8: P.M.

Today continued to be a day of "baby steps" toward Dad's recovery.

Dad appeared to be slightly more alert today (when he's not sedated for getting some solid rest.) Even when he's been sedated, I think they are keeping it a bit lighter than in days past.

He continues to raise his left hand, and even rolls his fingers like you would if you were tapping them on a table. He will flex his left wrist against the wrist restraint, like he's stretching his forearm. He will turn his head, raise his eyebrows, open his eyes (more open than in the past, where he was peeping out), then he would close his eyes and scowl like he was frustrated. Mom said it was as if he went from bewildered to confused over the course of the past couple of days. It does appear that he will look in the direction of someone speaking next to his bed.

He has a coughing "spell" every now and then, which is helping keep his lungs clear ... another good thing for him to be doing. During one spell, I was holding his hand and saying, "Dad, it's OK. You're doing great." He opened both eyes as big as I've seen them since the surgery and looked toward my face for a bit before closing them again and making his frowny face as if to say, "Is this tube still in my throat?"

His right side is still somewhat "dormant" as he has not been moving it as much as he had in the past. That may be the result of shifting pressures in the head and may indeed resolve itself in due course. Again, we're being graced with the patience from God to take it one day at a time. It sounds cliche, but it's so very true.

The respiratory therapist dropped in a few times, and late this afternoon indicated that Dad is continuing to improve slightly toward breathing on his own. She explained how the machine is set to do a certain amount of work, and that Dad has to create enough pressure on his own to breathe. However, when he's heavily sedated, the machine does all the work, which she called "riding the vent."

The third neurosurgeon from the practice stopped by today as well, and indicated that Dad appears stable at the moment. He felt that Dad would not be coming off the respirator this weekend, but we'll continue to take the baby steps as they come.