As I walked into his room yesterday, Dr. Loenstein (the spinal surgeon) said “his spine is healing great and if he is ready to tap dance, he has my permission.” Of course he isnt quite ready to tap dance (although he moves around freely in the bed and can sit up on his own) but it is great to know his spine is now stable and out of compromise to be hurt further. I would like to thank Dr. Loenstein for his blessed hands that have helped to heal my dad and for his wonderful ‘bed side manner’ that has comforted my family from the beginning. OK, lets get a little personal, cathater had been removed after a good ol Joe style request to the nurse “you know what I want, I want this plastic tube out of my ….” Chest tube for drainage was cleared and removed:) He is beginning to eat on his own, delicious mushy food. Now that I can see inside of his mouth, he is only missing his top front teeth. He is recognizing pretty much every one who visits but we are not for sure on how much he is remembering yet. He is still very very medicated so we will know more about that later when he is not so doped up. We are on our way to making rehabilitation arrangements. Dad is strong and he is pulling through the best he can. Please pray for my dad as often as you can and please spread the word to have others pray as well. Thank you so much for loving my dad. I am so thankful for each person who reads this. Hope everyone has a great rest of the week.
Lots of love, Joe’s daughter, Courtney Self