Dad was talking to Mom today…

Prayer really works! God is real and He is active.

Dad has been talking to Mom a little today! Now, just to clarify, he is still in a random state. He is not awake today; however, Dad has been able to talk to Mom and have some conversation with her.

The speech therapist (Michael) came in and asked Dad who Mom was and he said, “Kim”. Michael asked who my Maw-Maw was and he said, “Barbra”. After that, Michael showed Mom how she could cover the trach to let Dad talk, and then he left the room.

Mom had a short conversation with Dad a few moments later:

Mom: “Do you know you are in the hospital?”
Dad: “Yes”
Mom: “Do you remember that you were in a car accident?”
Dad: “Yes”
Mom: “The accident was not your fault.”
Dad: “Whose fault was it?”
Mom: “A tire came off a truck, crossed the median, and hit your car. It made you flip over. Do you understand?”
Dad: “As much as possible.”
Mom: “Do you remember that Justin was in the car with you?”
Dad: “No”
Mom: “He was, but he is okay now.”

This conversation happened slowly and over time. Dad is still in a random state and is in and out. He is not awake, but he is having moments of awareness. This is a great sign of improvement! Keep praying!

After a while Mom called me on my cell phone. I was on the way to Fish Club (the outreach ministry Dad started at Santa Fe South Middle School). While Mom was on the phone she told Dad it was me she was talking to. Dad said, “Hi.” Mom asked me what I wanted to tell him. I told her to just say I was going to Fish Club and that we are praying for him. She said, “Greg, Brandon is going to Fish Club and they are praying for you. Do you remember what Fish Club is?” Dad said, “Yes.”

We gave the report to the kids at Fish Club as an answer to prayer. Fish Club went great!

I heard that after that Lauren talked to Dad on the phone. Dad said, “Hi, Lauren Ashley.”

This is great news! It is also the sign of what is hopefully the beginning for Dad. Dad has not really been aware for a month now. It is hard to believe a month of his life is gone. Dad will be facing new challenges and hardships that come with awareness. He is still in a random state and could be like that for a while.

Now I know this news makes all of you want to jump up and go to the hospital. As much as we value your support that would not be helpful right now. What Dad needs is rest, and what Mom needs is to be with Dad. The rest of the family wants to see Dad, too, but we are going to take it slow and make sure we do not overwhelm him. The time for friends to see Dad has not come yet. We want to try to let the family see him first before we have any other guests.

Also, they are moving Dad to Select Long Term Care Facility today. Dad should be moving right about now. We would like to ask that there be no visitors other than family for now until sometime in the future. We will post again in the next few days when we have a better idea of Dad’s new location and have a plan formulated. Maybe then we can allow visitors. For now, please just continue to pray for Dad and the family. We appreciate your understanding and you helping us do what is best for Dad.

I am sure many people have questions. This is all we really know right now. Mom has sent and received over 2000 text messages in the last month. That is about 1000% more than normal. Please avoid texting her any questions. It is completely fine to text encouragements, but please avoid saying anything that requires response. You can post questions to this blog in the form of a comment. I will try to answer any questions in the next post.

Thanks again for all your prayers and helping us honor my Mom and do what is best for Dad. We will keep you informed through this blog. If you haven’t done this already, add your email address to the mailing list on the right side bar and we will email you all the updates once a day (if there is no new post, no email will be sent).

“Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of Christ Jesus concerning you.”