Let's See How Shelby's Doing...

Shelby and The Beard - circa New Year's Eve-ish

Sorry it's taken me so long to post!

Rob sure has been throwing that right hand around a lot and has a pretty good grip when you hold his hand.  Do we trust him with a razor yet?  Better keep on growing that beard for now, Shelby.  :)

Jack and I made it home last night.  A have to say a big thank you to the Southwest pilot who not only flew us back here safely, but who also folded up my stroller and put the car seat in its travel bag while I held Jack on the jetway.  I mean, he wasn't busy getting ready to fly the plane or anything.  

ICU updates from today and yesterday - Rob got his PEG feeding tube and they're probably starting to feed him through it right now as I type.  He's getting really thin so we're glad that this procedure was done today.

Several people came yesterday and helped him sit on the edge of the bed.  He's seemed pretty blah the last couple of days, and we got a little more insight onto what he's processing and feeling from a traumatic brain injury specialist.  This specialist thinks that he's having a hard time filtering everything happening around him and wanted his blinds drawn and the radio turned off.  We're going to uphold the two visitor limit more strictly now but might also have to say no visitors sometimes depending how he's doing that day.

Mom received a Traumatic Brain Injury binder yesterday and I think it was a little bit depressing.  We know he took a blow to the head but we also know that the CT scan was okay and that he seems pretty with us.  We're going to take all the information we're given but not get hung up in what is typical.  Nothing about Rob's recovery has been typical so far.  Yesterday Mom and Candace wrote, "Rob, we love you" on a whiteboard and sat it in front of him, saying nothing.  He nodded...because he could read it.  The binder suddenly didn't seem like a very big deal.  He took the marker in his hand and seemed interested in writing something but couldn't do it yet.

Today was the first time he made an effort to mouth words.  He's opened his mouth before like he wanted to talk, but today he mouthed either "Help me out" or "Help me up".  So...they sat him up and he seemed happier.

There is something new each day and I know that he'll continue to make huge strides.  I have some thoughts that I'd like to share on this special miracle but I need a little more time to process it all and do it justice.  It's on my mind a lot and I want to make sure to use this experience in a positive way, as a wake up call for my own life.  Maybe it's a message for all of us?  To be continued...