Here is a picture of the infamous ventilator, if you look closely you will notice that there are no numbers displayed, that’s because it is OFF! Praise God! Today it was off for a whole 8 hours! Dad did not need the assistance of the ventilator for 4 hours in the morning and another 4 hours in the afternoon. In addition, Dad was very calm and very relaxed throughout the entire day so Mom and I were able to speak with him, read Psalms to him, and do exercises with him. The movement in his right hand gets better everyday. He can now grip a small sponge ball with his right hand and actually hold on to it while I lift his arm. When Mom holds his arm in an ‘L’ position he raises his hand up and down as if he is saying goodbye. It’s really cool to see. Everyday it seems as if there is another victory to celebrate. Today after our evening visit Mom and I went to a small café that the Hospital has on the ground level. I knew if I asked Mom she would say no so I didn’t ask her, I told her that I wanted to get a Latte. So we broke the routine and stopped in for a small snack and some “joe”. As we were finishing our snack a complete stranger came up to Mom and said “Excuse me, are you the lady who’s husband is in the ICU with Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS)?” Mom nervously said yes and the woman proceeded to tell us that she had just been up to talk with Dad because she herself had GBS 13 years ago and was treated in this same hospital! She came to the hospital to visit her sister-in-law and the nurses told her that there was someone in the ICU with GBS. When she heard the news she told us that she could not leave the hospital without speaking to him and with us. We had a wonderful conversation and she gave us some very comforting words as well as some very good advice. At the end of our conversation she asked if she could come see Dad during the evening visit this Sunday. We said yes, of course, and she gave us her email address and phone number and told us that if we ever need anything or if we have any questions regarding Dad’s recovery to please call her. Her name is Debbie and she is a dynamo, the word that comes to mind is bubbly. She seems to be in her late fifties and has a very athletic build with absolutely no visible signs that anything was ever wrong with her. It was very comforting to see... isn’t God awesome!
