Janaury 1 2010 - hospital day 6

Happy and blessed New Year all - God is good. I am excited to share this morning an have a lighter heart than I've been able to indulge in of late. The neurosurgeon who assisted in surgery on MIly was just in and assessed her while Kari, Millie and I (Beth) were at the bedside. Up to this point we have questioned whether or not the movements we have seen on Mily's left side have been purposeful or reflexic in nature. When he asked her if she could feel him touching her L arm, she gave a thumbs up with her right hand and he asked her to push against him with her L and she was definitely purposeful in her ability to do it. It wasn't a hard push - but nevertheless great to see. Here's a glimpse that our Mily is really still with us: The neurosurgeon was at Mily's bedside and Kari asked him a question about the possibility of a neurologic backslide; he at that point said that he'd like to step outside to speak as he was aware that Mily could hear him. We stepped out and he told us that the likelihood her neurologic status would slip was minimal. On a much, much more important note though was Mily's reaction to being left out of this conversation. Her heart rate doubled and she started wiggling all over the bed as if to say "Hey - don't you leave me out of this! Tell me what's going on!" While it is upsetting to see her agitated (she calmed again quickly with soothing talk about what she missed out on), it is wonderful to see our feisty Mily show herself - it brings tears to my eyes. She went for another CT this morning and there is slightly less swelling than the previous scan and currently her shift (degree of swelling) is less than half what it was upon admission. And so the journey continues. Mily has been trying to reach for her tubes and lines as is normal in these situations; she is very good about leaving them alone but needs lots of reminders as they are quite irritating to someone who is aware of their presence. Danny's father, Ken and his wife Patty have been here for support as well and Danny's brother Kevin and family friend Vickie arrived today. Danny's mother Sharon arrives from Pennsylvania tomorrow morning for additional support. Josh, Leslie, Debbie, Chris and Melissa all flew back to California this morning; we know they are still here in spirit and feel their love hovering around Mily.