Another family meeting

We had another family meeting today. Things are progressing well. I was reminded today that, even though it seems like it's been a year since the accident, it's really only been three months. The amount of progress my dad has made in three short months is incredible.
He has seen a neuro-opthamologist and should be getting a new pair of glasses soon. Hopefully that will clear up a lot of his vision issues. They did determine that he is partially blind in his right eye due to cranial nerve damage. Interestingly enough, that's not the eye that had to be re-supported by the titanium plate. That's his left eye, or as he calls it, his good eye.
He has been doing really well in therapy. He should be getting a walker soon and he'll be able to use that to get around rather than a wheelchair. He told me earlier this week that he can feel where the pins and rods are when he is walking and exercising. He said it's really weird.
After the family meeting, we were met by Rydel, his boss at RCH, Mary Lou and Donna, both friends and coworkers. They brought dinner. Panset and lumpia, per my dad's request. For those who don't know, that is the Phillipino version of lo mein and egg rolls. All I have to say is DELICIOUS! Rydel also brought amazing banana bread.
We all ate family style around the kitten table in his unit. It was a wonderful meal with friends and family. We had great conversation and lots of laughs. Thank you, ladies, for that.

He has his wits about him...

I stopped in yesterday to see my Dad for a little bit with all three of my girls. The Transitional Living Center allows children inside to visit. We spent the first twenty minutes or so outside in a shady area with grass and benches. The girls did cartwheels, summersaults, backbends and front handsprings for my Dad to show off their gymnastics skills. He was pretty impressed.
In turn, he showed us how he pushes his own wheelchair around now and doesn't need any help. He has been able to walk about fifty feet with a walker, which is remarkable progress considering that he has only been re-learning to walk for less than a week. Now, he can get himself out of bed and into his chair without assistance. They merely supervise to make sure he doesn't need help, but so far, he hasn't.
I believe that all of this new found freedom has done wonders for his mental capacity as well. He is completely with it and has his 'wits about him', or as he put it, 'he has all of his faculties'. We were able to discuss topics that we would normally discuss prior to his accident and he is still passionate about the things that he has always loved. He has never lost his sense of humor throughout this entire ordeal. He has remained very entertaining with his jokes and jovial personality.
You can tell that his caregivers honestly enjoy having him as a patient. Everybody that we met had already heard so much about me and the girls. They all seemed so excited to get to meet us in person and told us what a wonderful and hard working person my Dad is. He was able to introduce us to a couple of his fellow 'inmates', as he called them. You can tell that they all have a real sense of camaraderie and they help to encourage each other to work harder and get better.
We were able to go inside after a bit and see what his living quarters is like now. We didn't see his room because his roommate was in there. Apparently, his roommate is kind of like that guy on that movie, 50 first dates. His short term memory doesn't last very long, so he has to be re-introduced to my Dad (and everybody else) on a regular basis because he doesn't remember much past his accident. When my Dad told me that, I immediately made the comparison to the movie, and my Dad started laughing because his roommate watches that movie over and over and over on his laptop, so my Dad has heard it multiple times, but never actually seen it.
We were able to see the rest of the facility though. It is very similar to a large house. It has a main living type room with a hand full of recreation rooms that have TV's for them to watch, tables to hang out at and play cards or other games, etc. There is a kitchen area where it appears that they can get coffee or water to drink. A dining room table to gather at and then the semi-private bedrooms.
Overall, he seems to be in pretty good spirits and very willing to work hard so that he can come home soon.