Another good day! Bill was able to use his PMV for quite a while off and on all day, although when he really wanted to be chatty he didn't have it on, and didn't want it on. He was awake most of the night again according to his sitter and tried to get out of bed again. He finally cooperated with occupational therapy and combed his hair and did lots of fine motor skill tasks. His left arm is definitely much weaker, especially his hand. It will need lots of rehab. He also told the speech therapist that the left side of his face, which has a slight droop, is numb. But he managed to move items from one side of his mouth to the other with his tongue, which is a large part of being able to eat. She was going to suggest that his trach cannula be reduced now. All of his secretions are plain saliva that drains when the trach collar is not capped, so there's no "junk" in his lungs. He also painted his own mouth with his medication for thrush.

Dr. Yip said that his biopsy is scheduled for Thursday and if a facility can take him now, he wants to go ahead and have him transferred Monday or Tuesday. He would then go back to Mayo for his biopsy. He also made me cry today. He said I had been the topic of the department meeting yesterday and the entire team thinks I have done a wonderful job of being at the hospital every day and doing what I can do for Bill, while making sure the staff does their jobs. He thanked me for being so dedicated. I don't understand what is so special about being there every day. He's my husband and the most important person in my life. Why would I not want to do whatever it took to care for him and be with him! I said as much to him and he said I would be surprised at how many spouses say forget it and leave. That is something I just don't understand. I know that my mom and sister think the same way. Our social worker Tania came in this afternoon and said the same thing. Anyway, he made me cry, although that's not hard to do these days.

I don't know if Bill has realized what we've been talking about when we talk about rehab. So, I guess that I'll have to bring it up in the next few days. Hopefully he'll take it well. I know he's been thinking about what has happened and trying to put things together.

We also got some sad news today and I'm not telling Bill for awhile, I think. His step-brother Jeff passed away last night. We had seen him 2 years ago when we went to New England and he had been ill for several years. They weren't close so I think I'll wait a little while to tell him.

All for tonight. There were thundershowers all night which kept waking me up. It's rained most of the day and looks like it's going to continue through the night again. We need the rain down here, but I sure hate driving in it!