A miracle....

miracle - highly improbable or extraordinary event.

I got to spend the morning with my dad again today.  I brought some odd things today for us to play with, a hospital room can get pretty boring.  I walked in to find that they had shaved his face - which I know made him feel better.  He has never been a fan of hair on his face.  I think my mom said that like 20 years ago he grew a beard and hasn't since! I saw that he was lifting his leg up over the guardrails and somehow getting his left foot on the floor and then had his entire body moved to the left side of the bed all in an effort to get up.  He has never been a fan of sitting still.  I decided to turn the tv off and start working on getting that right foot to move!  Once I went through it once with him then I recorded it the second time, just so I could pass it on to my siblings and my mom.  By the end of the recording he is definitely moving those toes.  So guess what?  We will be doing that at least twice every morning now while I am with him because I know he is able.  My husband told me a story about a guy who was only able to move his pinky but just kept doing it and eventually got full use back of his arm.  I am choosing to believe that my dad will get full use of his right leg back and be walking.  After that we played with a spinning top - he grabbed it and tucked it under his hands and then smirked as if to say, "Its mine now."  So I let him keep it and proceeded to set a few more things out on the table - just odd things - a pen and paper, a ball, a motorcycle.  When he saw the motorcycle he threw the top down and picked up the motorcycle and said motorcycle all on his own!  It was incredible.  When he was done with that I gave him the ball and told him to throw it to me.  He counted, "1,2,3" and moved his arm in the throwing motion, it took him doing that motion a few times before he released the ball but he did it! When we were growing up and he would play ball with us in the backyard and he would always say 1, 2, 3 and then throw the ball.  After throwing the ball he started counting.  Then I handed him the pen and we started practicing writing the letters of his name.  After me helping him for three or four times then he did it on his own!  Once again, I was in awe and completely amazed!  When  speech came in and asked him the names of his children, he said all of our names!  He is doing better when it comes to speaking without a prompt of somebody saying, 'say ___'.....it is truly amazing to me - now I know what I can do with him in the mornings!  Somebody gave me a different perspective last night.  She has texted me everyday since my dad had the stroke to check on me and check on his progress.  She said, "Just thinking about all of your firsts your dad must have treasured, the first time you smiled, your first words, etc. Now you get to cherish all of his firsts."  That seemed kind of backwards, not something you ever get to experience, nor hope that you ever do. In some ways he is starting over but its so encouraging to see his determination and see that he recognizes all of us.  He was so proud of himself after moving his toes.  I have included a video - truly a miracle to see him doing this 12 days after a major stroke. I might sound kind of cheesy in this video but its worth the watch.