Saturday June 27

The amount of time Holly has spent with John coupled with her constant coaxing has really paid off. Today, John began drinking from a straw consistently and even ate some ice chips early this morning. She had me on speaker phone as she got him to do this for the first time and we cheered! I told him that I loved him over the phone and he said something which could not be construed as anything but I love you too. Holly was standing next to him too so I didn't imagine it. There are times when we question ourselves...did he really just say that or is he trying to say this. We hope that we are getting it right most of the time. Holly also has been working with him to show reaffirmation of his answers by closing his eyes for, "No" or looking a certain way to let her know that he understands what she is asking him. I must tell you that these steps, minute though they may seem, give us perseverance and keep us constantly trying to figure out how to tackle the next challenge. Therapists continue to work with him as well but it is obvious that Holly being there day in and day out and being so close to John for so many years has enabled her to communicate with him on a whole different dimension. It is really amazing to see in person. This afternoon she went to Church's chicken and picked him up some mashed potatoes which he enjoyed three large bites of. Sometimes he takes a moment to begin chewing but when he does you cannot help but smile big!

We know that his brain was without oxygen and although we don't know how long, we have seen signs of the fact that he is trying to come back to us. Sometimes I feel that I am repetitious when I say these things but there have times when we get frustrated with his progress and about that time he does something fantastic. We have no basis for comparison in this regard except for our day-to-day observations and the fact that we see huge progress from even a week ago. None of us has been in this situation or known someone who has been through what John has. Our friends tell us of people they know and miraculous recovery and we wait with baited breath for the same to happen for John but the thing is...it already is. The daily things that he does and the fact that his eyes are clear as day teach us the level of patience we need. His movements and at times his voice speak to us and tell us to wait for him. We feel him and although it is obvious that this will be a long, slow journey...it's John's journey and we are grateful to be a part of it. And we will wait for him.