July 18th

I made it in for a short visit yesterday and found out that my Dad had moved rooms because of staffing reasons and his need for a 1:1 ratio. When they finally buzzed Ted and I through and we went looking for him in his room, all of the nurses called to us at the nurses station because, there he was! Sitting up in a modified bed/chair thing right there at the nurses station with his foot up on the desk!
We were so excited to see him up and about. He was there keeping them all company and entertaining the crowd. He seemed very happy to see us. After some small talk, his back started to really bother him so he decided it was time to get back in bed.
Once they helped him back into bed, we were allowed in to see him for a short time before he fell asleep. He was exhausted from being up and interacting so much, but hopefully the change of scenery helped him out a little bit. He keeps trying to get out of bed and saying "Let's go, let's get out of here", so hopefully it felt like he had a chance to go and get out a little bit.
At this point, his confusion is primarily due to his brain damage. He is hardly on any medications anymore. He has been on a diet consisting of pureed food the consistancy of honey. He seems to be doing well with that and even was encouraged to feed himself with a spoon that had a special attachment to help him grip it better. He was able to successfully feed himself for a short time before he got tired and had to be fed the remainder of his meal.
He still has the PEG tube in that is feeding him through his stomach as well. I am not sure when they intend to remove that, but it is likely not going to be until he is able to eat more solid foods on his own.
I am going to post a picture of him with Ted and I from yesterday that his nurse took for us. I have not posted pictures before this due to my concern for his privacy and the possibility that he may not want people to see him in his condition.
The reason I have decided to post this picture is because he is looking so much better. He was up and alert and smiling and this is the first time that I've seen him so with us. I also want everybody who has been following so closely to be able to see for themselves some of his facial damage. It looks 150% better than it has looked over the past few weeks even though there is quite a bit of drooping on his left side. He will have to undergo more surgeries to position his eye back up where it belongs and hopefully diminish some of the scarring as well.