Saturday

Sorry, I got a little behind. Much has happened the past few days, although as dad previously stated, we didn't get to see any of it until yesterday thanks to awesome Colorado weather. Anyways! Steve continues to talk a little bit here and there. He does more whispering than he does actual speaking, though, for two reasons. One, he has experienced some vocal cord damage because of the tubes he had going down his throat and inbetween his vocal cords those first few weeks. This should heal in time, but heal completely, we aren't guaranteed. It's another wait and see thing. Also, even though his trach was removed on Wednesday, the hole still hasn't completely closed up yet, so when he attempts to speak, some air is still escaping through the hole, thus making it difficult for his voice to have some or any volume to it. The hole should close in the next few days. Last night Steve was able to name his occupational therapist when dad asked him to, even though he hadn't seen him since that morning, which says a lot about his daily memory starting to come around. However, we know he won't remember atleast the week leading up to his accident, and probably a lot further back, but it's too early to say to say for sure. He is able to count numbers in correct order and can perform daily living tasks such as showering and shaving, with some assistance. During speech therapy yesterday, a spoon of apple sauce was put in front of him and he took it and ate it. Today the same was done with bacon and scrambled eggs, and he ate all of it without being prompted. He still gets tube feedings for the time being, until atleast next Tuesday, but he is able to eat during his speech therapy sessions. On Sunday we plan on giving him Graeters ice cream that was sent to us from the people of KBC (thank you so much!). He is able to tell us if and where he is having pain. Last night dad asked him if his head hurt, and he said "slightly" in a whisper. We thought that was an interesting word choice considering the level he is at right now. Steve continues to do better every day in physical therapy, walking up and down flights of stairs and the hallway several times per session. While he is doing better with answering questions, he is definitely still confused from time to time. Yesterday when the speech therapist asked him where he lives, he said "Ohio state." He uses a lot more expressions now and can focus on a person or object for far longer than he could several days ago. We ask for prayer for the pain he is having in his head, the healing of his brain, and that his vocal cords would heal so we could hear his full voice someday soon!