"We cannot always see the end from the beginning. We trust in the Lord and wait upon Him, knowing that in His own time and His own way, He will bring about His miracles."

Day 13

That quote is from a talk by Elder Anderson. 

Wow, what a weekend. It was not short of many ups and downs, thus resulting in lack of update posts, to which we can only apologize and know that you're understanding. 

Today, Sunday, Papa is well. He has a new breathing tube, having worn through the first, he is alert and communicative, which is such a blessing. In short, the past couple of days have been extremely trying on us. They give Papa a medicine in the morning that will make him extremely aware and awake. (BTW, It is called 'ProVigil' - it should be for our mom, instead.  She is a Pro at keeping a Vigilant watch over Papa.) It is a double-edged sword medicine because as he increasingly becomes more alert, he is more aware of his pain and discomfort, and he becomes anxious.

The hardest part is just that, SEEING his discomfort. The best we can do is talk him through the seconds of pain, massage his hands and feet with Bath & Body Works Fresh Picked Tangerine hand and body cream, and pray that he remains stable. 

I have mentioned before the "vegas nerve".When Papa coughs, he tenses up, holds his breath, and if he holds it long enough, this nerve is triggered and he flat lines. Not fair at all, I know. Which is why every time he starts coughing we try our best to talk him through it, try to keep him calm and breathing, all the while being completely fixated on the monitors to watch his heart rate. When he flat lines, we say, "He vegaled" or "He went to Vegas". It is easier to say than the real words.

Yesterday, he vegaled. As hard as his vegals have been, he always chooses to come back quickly. We know of his love for us because of the fight he puts up to stay with us. And we are grateful, we love our Papa. The vegal wasn't the only incredible thing that happened yesterday, soon after, his physical therapy team came in. We sat out in the lobby so they could have their time, but when we returned, his nurse said, "He stood up for two seconds!!!" Papa stood up for the first time yesterday! It was a miracle. It took 4 people to help and it wore him out, but he did it. 

As for upcoming procedures, tomorrow will be a big day. He has his brain MRI in the morning, which will tell us a lot about his strokes and other things in his brain. He will also have his tracheostomy, which will be quite the procedure. It should make him more comfortable and more able to communicate. We pray that all will go well.

Thank you for your support,

we love you,

The Baers