Wednesday June 17

We had the big move today and I must say that this transfer rivaled any major house moving operation and Mayflower moving vans ain't got nothin' on us! John was so perfect throughout the entire process. He was watching the systematic changing of guard from his room at North Cypress Hospital to Triumph LTAC center and the moving of him from his hospital bed to the ambulance gurney really piqued his interest as if he wanted to let us know how we might do it better. He puckered up when asked for a kiss from Holly and we were able to talk the very kind EMS guys into walking the gurney really slowly when they were outside and even hanging out for a bit before loading him into the ambulance for the 30 minute drive and again when we got there. John really seemed to enjoy the trip and made some facial expressions as the hot air hit his face. As he was rolled out of the hospital you would have thought he was a Superbowl caliber player running through the tunnel getting high fives and hugs along the way! There were folks saying good-bye and patting him and saying words of encouragement all along the route between ICU and through the emergency room to the back ambulance entrance. It reminded me of the time not so long ago when he was pushed down these long hallways in the opposite direction at lightning speed while we watched hopelessly without knowing whether we would see him alive again. Today was so different and really breached the other end of the spectrum...just a slow and methodical stroll with no sense of urgency. We could have easily been in a park or meandering through an art gallery or museum or even walking down the aisles of a perfect bookstore. He could have been the Grand Marshal of any substantial parade (Mardi Gras here we come!) or the Queen of England giving that characteristic slight British wave. His progress has amazed those who have worked with him and they are so hopeful that at some point they can meet this man when he is standing up and feeling better.

The nursing staff has been amazing and given John such incredible care that we know he would not be where he is now without them. Today as I was walking back to John's room, one of the nurses, Archie, was reading this blog! I don't think Archie has had a day off since this whole thing started and he always has a warm smile and the poor fella always seems to be there...I think people who work in the ICU are angels and must have some intangible, unfaltering amount of love in their hearts and lack of need for sleep. They are truly exceptional at this hospital and we feel so blessed and lucky for John to have been brought here. I think they will be surprised by how tall he is, 6'1" but I don't think they will be surprised at all by how kind and funny he is. They seem to have a gift of seeing in their patients what those of the rest of us have trouble seeing in bad times, and have been so positive and supportive throughout each and every one of John's 15 days in the ICU.

His new room at Triumph overlooks a field and we immediately noticed that there was something lacking. John's mother Paulette decided that what needed to be outside his window was a bird feeder. She and Holly are currently on a clandestine mission to buy and install said feeder and I say clandestine because we didn't actually ask if this was okay to do but we are relying on the kindness of strangers (name that reference for $20 payable by Blanch Dubois herself!). We know that it is the right thing to do and should provide John (and visitors) with a great variety of birds. For those of you not in Houston, Tomball is pretty far from the central part of the the big city and a bit more rural with more trees so hopefully we will see some songbirds and maybe even some cardinals or bluejays. I know there will be no shortage of mourning dove or ducks, probably some of whom have gotten word that John is in Tomball and have migrated to that area to come check in on him or maybe they know that some tasty vittles are nearby. I also took the liberty of removing and relocating the disco ball for it's appropriate placement in his window.

Tomorrow will be a busy day because at this new facility, they utilize the team approach which helps with interdisciplinary communication and strives to keep everyone on the same page and headed in the right direction. We are excited for them to get to know John and assess him with new eyes and maybe get some different ideas about how to bring him back to us from his safe place. I feel the need to further explain what I mean about this safe place. I have been using this term as a euphemism to describe John's level of consciousness since we were first told he was in a coma. I want to make it clear that John is technically not in a coma currently but there is no appropriate words to describe it.

I have been blunt in this blog and I intend to continue this, so I must admit that the a variety of words, have come up in conversation, not as a diagnosis but as a descriptive phrase to give us an idea of where he is. Some of us are familiar with the words used in these situations but I must say that there are no phrases or words which describe where John is right now. I want to be clear that John is in a dynamic place and one which has daily changes. What has become glaringly obvious with John's condition is that he does not seem to fit into any particular category and we are absolutely okay with that. We are happy that John is where he is and that he is slowly, but most certainly progressing. I can assure you that we do see changes daily with John and while the fact that he doesn't use words to speak to us just yet, remains an anomaly, we do communicate with him and visa-versa. We are willing to wait until we can establish a new language, even if it is one word at a time or one gesture and we see each movement, noise and even where his eyes are looking as an attempt to talk to us. It is more than enough considering how things were originally when we were watching a monitor to determine if he was in pain or excited or okay. We have become quite adept at watching his heart rate and blood pressure on the monitor and also when his IV line fluids run out and we will most assuredly become equally proficient at speaking "John".

Holly will be buying John a pair of high top tennis shoes tomorrow. These will replace the fancy boots with the fuzzy stuff on them while still giving him ankle support and preventing the drop foot problem. I was actually hoping that my Aunt Honeygal would once again be given the opportunity to pick out the shoes because I'm pretty sure they would have glitter on them or perhaps glow in the dark but Honeygal has some important responsibilities taking care of the pups and making sure things at Holly and John's house run smoothly. She continues to be supportive in an incredible way by giving us the awesome gift of not worrying about things at home. This frees Holly up to spend as much time as needed with John without needing to rush home to the dogs or figure out other arrangements for them. It has also given me the chance to spend more time with her, which is priceless. When I think about meaning in this situation, I find deep meaning in the fact that Holly and I have gained new appreciation for her love for us. It's not that we needed a renewal but we simply will never be able to thank her enough.