"Can you hear me?"

Well, to answer my Uncle George's question, the picture at the top of this blog is one of my favorites of me and my dad. It was taken at a beer and blues festival (naturally) in Mammoth about a year ago. Over 60 of the state's best microbreweries and unlimited tastings (many repeat trips to the Green Flash tent), so to make a long story short, we all end up passing out in lawn chairs and missing most of the music...nonetheless one of the best weekends we've all had in recent memory.

But on to the big news of the day: I think my dad can hear us! I've been saying it all along, "Oh yeah, I know he's in there. I know he can hear us and he's going to wake up and remember all of this...etc." But I can honestly say now that I was LYING. And the reason I'm comfortable admitting this is that now I actually do think he can hear us. While I was reading to him this morning, I thought I saw his foot move. So naturally I said, "Do that again, Dad. Move your toe." And I swear, he did it again. And then twice more on command!

So he's still not breathing entirely on his own, his hemaglobin is low, still running a low grade fever, and not all of his movements are purposeful (some still cause for concern), but nevertheless I left the hospital this afternoon with...dare I say...a good feeling. Without going overboard, I can say I'm getting a little more comfortable now with the optimism my mom has maintained from day one.

"Turn your face to the sun, and let the shadows fall behind you." -Maori Proverb