John Ephraim Versluis

I was with Dad this morning for 3 hours he was a wake a lot of that time. I talked with him about why he is in there. What happened, showed pictures. He did some frowning. I said, "Dad it is very important that you do what they ask you to do. So if they ask you to hold up fingers or wiggle your toes you need to,that's how they gage your progress. So if you want these tubes out of your mouth and out of this bed you need to do what they ask." Prior to that, the nurse said, "Does he like to watch t.v.?" I said, "ya, can we turn it on?" She said, "yes, try and put it on something he'll like." So I put it on the Mountain channel (sports) and BYU was on. I talked to him about that, and he smiled. He liked it on for a little bit. So after I went down to grab a bite while he was resting, I came back up and the nurse said he did better today. When she said wiggle your toes he did. So he's in there. Don't assume he can't understand. Mom said a prayer last night that he'd be more aware and receptive today, and he was. Bring things for him to look at when you are talking about something. Sports, grandkids etc.. Bring a picture that relates to what you're telling him. That will help him. I felt he has had a good day so far. He is still sleepy. But if you catch him with his eyes open get his attention and talk about things he likes.

Tahna