I am very happy to give an extremely positive report after visiting Tom in the hospital in Denver today:
- Tom passed his home-skills-evaluation test today, and he hopes to leave the hospital tomorrow!!!
- Tom had lunch with his girlfriend out of the hospital today!!!
- Tom was able to walk by himself (needing no cane or walker) with only a slight limp!!!
- Tom was still unable to communicate effectively vocally, but it is totally clear that his mind is as sharp as ever. He just can't get all of the words out yet. Although, the Tom I saw and heard today was so much better than the Tom I saw and heard about 2 weeks ago. He can now string some phrases and words together totally clearly. He gets stuck, and sometimes gibberish comes out; but 2 weeks ago, all vocalizations seemed like random mumbling. I was pleasantly shocked by his level of progress over the last two weeks. This bodes well for his continued recovery in this area.
- Tom was able to grip my hand firmly with his right hand!!! 2 weeks ago, he had practically no control over his right side. He's also regained feeling in most of his right side; although, he still only has slight feeling in his right arm.
- Tom's girlfriend Laura is providing angel-like support. Tom is extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful lady in his life.
I've been extremely happy this entire afternoon after seeing Tom's tremendous progress. I am much more hopeful than I honestly was previously; although he still has a long road ahead.
BTW, Tom still has his wonderful sense of humor, which I was extremely happy to see. He was able to see the humor in everything. On that note, I want to share two more things:
- I asked Tom to form the 30-degree-rule peace sign with his right hand. He tried and I told him it was completely unacceptable ... not even close to 30 degrees (it was more like 15 degrees). We both got a big laugh out of that.
- I also teased him that the word that seemed to come out of his mouth most frequently and clearly, especially when he got frustrated was: "f*ckin" ... f*ckin' this and f*ckin' that. Tom, Laura, and I all thought this was amusing, even though Tom may have also seemed a little embarrassed by it.
Regards,
Dave