[ZTABullwinkle]

My dad and arrived at the hospital around 1 pm today, and were greeted by her nurse and the respiratory therapist. They were asking us to bring in some DVDs or books to keep her occupied. We had brought the ipod, and had her listening to it on Monday. We thought nothing of it. It didn't strike us when the nurse said we would notice some different things in her room. I went in to drop off our books before we dressed in the hospital's best yellow gowns and gloves. I immediately noticed two things: she was reading a book and she no longer had the oxygen tube attached to her trach, and was wearing a nasal cannula. When I commented on it, I turned my back only to hear her say "Hello!" Yes, she is speaking! My dad stopped in his tracks when he heard her voice also. What a great birthday gift!

We were able to talk to her, with her fading in and out to sleep. She doesn't remember any of the accident, and had a vague recollection of the events beforehand. She does remember bits and pieces, like Dad's face in the hospital in Columbus, OH. We filled her in on some things, but didn't want to overwhelm her. At one point, we put the ipod on her and she was singing and dancing along to "Spamalot." There were quite a few tears shed on my part. She may not be the world's greatest singer, but she sounded wonderful to me! She even sang a bit of happy birthday to me. She also read the half dozen cards she received in the mail in the past couple of days.

The pain patch seems to be doing a pretty good job of keeping her pain at bay. They have really had to cut down on the number of morphine injections they give her during the day. We didn't tell my brother and his wife before they went to visit tonight, so they are in for the same surprise we had. So, now if we can occupy her mind while stuck in that bed, we will do our best. We are taking a stack of books and the portable DVD player to her tomorrow afternoon.