Taylor Talks (sort of)

7:35am
Finally, Taylor rested well last night.

Now that the tube has been removed from his mouth, Taylor definitely wants to talk. The Trach prevents him from actually speaking, but he is able to mouth some words and almost whisper.

Last evening his sister Lauren bent over his bed, looked him in the eyes and said "Hi" several times. He looked at her and said "Hi". After three weeks of no verbal communication, it was a moment to remember. Later in the evening, the Nurse told us that he said "Where am I?". She told him he had been in an accident, that he was in the hospital in Lakeland and that his parents and friends had been with him the whole time. She asked him if he remembered the accident and he shook his head "no". She also asked Taylor to hold up 2 fingers, then 3. He was able to follow her directions.

Last night, Taylor's friend Ryan and his girlfriend Kendall stopped by to see Taylor. I've seen Taylor make a lot of facial expressions in the past 10 days, but had not seen anything I thought was a smile. But, when Ryan told him he was there, and held Taylor's hand, he sure seemed to smile, if only for a couple of seconds.

Taylor's nurse last night had been off for 3 days. She said that she was "surprised" at how much he has improved since she last worked. Everyone tells us that and we know that it's not done just to make us feel good. I'm convinced that Taylor will be one that they will remember and talk about to other families when they give them hope of improvement for their loved ones.

2:10pm

Taylor is off the ventilator and breathing on his own!! The staff began this morning to wean him off of it, and he was breathing 5 times per minute and the machine was doing 8. He did so well that when given the chance to show he could do it by himself, he did.

He is still pretty agitated sometimes. He may be getting conscious enough to realize the situation he is in. We continuously reassure him that he's safe and being taken care of.