Our first night together since June 15, 2012! It's hard to close my eyes!

I am so happy to be with my sweet husband tonight as I watch him rest peacefully! After 27 days in Intensive Care Unit , Dean was stable enough for transfer to the Surgical Transition Unit! We came to love and appreciate our ICU nurses and doctors as family. I am grateful for the care they showed him in his time of great medical need. In God's timing, Dean and I will walk hand in hand through those ICU doors to thank them! After taking down our pictures and packing our belongings, the nurses allowed me to take the elevator with Dean to the 3rd floor in celebration of this big milestone! Since Dean was admitted to the hospital, I have been spending the nights along with the support of family and friends in various waiting rooms. Now I am allowed to stay by Dean's side through the night!! He had another great day of breathing on his own with the trach collar! He will continue to rest his lungs on the ventilator through the nights. Dean will be eligible for an acute rehab when he can breathe on his own for at least 72 hours. Pray for God's continued healing touch upon his entire body! 

Our Pastor wept at Dean's bedside this morning and his mother told him who was there. Brother Greg's hand was next to the bed rail and Dean lifted his right hand up to grasp it. Dean gently held his hand and rubbed his thumb in a comforting way. Before the accident, Dean and I held hands often whether it was in the car, taking walks or almost anytime of the day when we were together. I remember the times when he would stroke my hand with his thumb. Even though Dean is in a coma, there have been several times when he gently holds my hand and strokes his thumb in a comforting way.

Therapy News: Dean's CPM (continuous passive motion machine) arrived this afternoon! This machine was set for 1/2 hour at 45 degrees to bend his left knee due to stiffness resulting from the emergency operation on June 16th. Yesterday, the therapist bent his left leg and applied enough pressure that Dean opened his right eye a 1/3 of the way. He was holding my hand with his right hand and in direct response to this pain he pulled my hand across his stomach and raised his index finger to point at the therapist pushing his left leg. They will put him on the CPM 3 times a day to work out the stiffness in his left leg. The therapist also put a toothbrush in Dean's mouth to stimulate a response. He didn't seem interested at all so she brushed his teeth and commanded him to do it. Then she lifted his right hand up to grasp the brush and he took a hold of it. He left go and then grabbed it again. He didn't brush his teeth but he held onto the brush and gently pulled it out of his mouth while keeping a good grip on it. 

We praise the Lord for the progress Dean is making and continue to put our trust in God!

This has been my prayer for years and now I pray this for each of you, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." -Psalm 90:12  One may ask, "What is wisdom?" The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. -Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. -Proverbs 1:7 Dean and I have a plaque in our kitchen with this verse as our daily remainder: "He hath shew thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." -Micah 6:8