Getting better all the time

Dad is making progress. I can see it's a long road ahead, but he's definitely going in the right direction. Any and all cancer treatments are on hold until he decides otherwise.

I visited Dad this AM with Mom and Dave. Dad is less tired but still pretty weak. He's more alert and better able to communicate. He's been doing a lot of fidgeting with his hands and feet. I think he is testing his finger tips with textures of the blankets and building up strength in his arms and legs. We talked to yet another doctor today who is standing in for his primary care doctor. He checked the results of Dad's swallowing test earlier this week and said it would be OK today to try giving him some ice chips today. He seemed to do OK but didn't have too many. He does a good job of coughing up gunk in his throat so I think he's getting stronger there, too.

They still want to move him to a respiratory care ward, but there are only 6 beds available there so we are still waiting for a spot to open up. He's not really fit for a regular hospital room yet. His vital signs are all good. His blood sugar today was a bit high at noon (about 280) so he got an insulin shot. They have to figure out a good dosage schedule for him as his needs change. Lord knows we had a tough time of it.

Dad is still talking in a whisper. I'm hoping we get him using his vocal cords soon so he can communicate better. He's definitely more alert and can handle longer exchanges. He does even better when he doesn't have to speak.

That's all I have for now.

-- Bob