First ride in a wheel chair:)

Friday, Oct 15

Today we had some significant progress forward.
Gary was lifted into a wheelchair. He immediately told the nurse he did not need to be pushed but could do it on his own...and proceeded to wheel down the hall in ICU to the amazement of the nurses. Then we not only took a walk around the ICU but we went outside. Those of you who know Gary well can imagine how much he loved that. At one point he just looked up at the sky and said to me "Look at how beautiful that blue is".
Afterwards he was lifted back into bed by this amazing machine that was like a crane ....they wrapped him up in a sling type of contraption and the machine picked him up, moved him over the bed, hovered a moment and lowered him down. I told him he looked a little like Dumbo when the stork delivered him...he didn't think it was all that funny - but he did say "This is kinda fun."
He is still in pain and having trouble with his breathing and his digestive tract. Once again the medical staff assures me this is normal but nothing about this seems normal to me. It is hard to watch.
We are still unsure what and when rehab will be, but it appears that it may be as early as this coming week.
My son Bax, is now staying with me full time and picking up some of Gary's chores. I am so grateful to have him here, but of course NO ONE could accomplish as much in one week as Gary could in one day. Hali is back again and I am so glad to have them both with me at this time.
Gary and I are so grateful for all the cards letters and phone calls.
One thing that became clear to me in the last few days is that the vocabulary I use regularly is simply not adequate for this situation. I feel like I need different words to describe what is going on.
Thank you for your love and support.
Judi