FINALLY.... a hug

It took 35 days, but today was the day Taylor hugged us.

The ventilator, IV's and monitors are all gone. Only a feeding tube and a little Oxygen remains. The medication that kept him in conscious sedation is gone, so he's becoming a lot more alert. This morning, I talked to him a long time about how far he has come, and the plan for his rehabilitation. I told him that it would not be easy, and his rehab would seem like Boot Camp at times. He seemed okay with everything.

Taylor's vision is still a little fouled up, but he tried to watch television for the first time. He's unable to focus using both eyes, but if he closes one he can apparently see well enough to watch.

His friend, Julian, and his sisters made a poster for him with some photos of a trip he took with several friends to the Bahamas in December. I tried to show it to him before, but he wasn't interested in seeing it at the time. Today, he pointed to it and wanted me to bring it closer. Several of his friends wrote comments on the poster, and Taylor indicated he wanted me to read them to him. All of the comments were about how much his friends missed him, and how they looked forward to having him hang out again when he got out.

Taylor began to cry as I read to him, then extended his left arm and motioned for me to come closer. He hugged me tightly, and we both had a good cry. We both cried for different reasons. He's obviously upset at his current condition, but I was getting the first hug from him in 35 days and didn't want to let go of him. He is a little hard to hug back, since he has a collar on his neck for a fractured vertebrae. But, I managed. There must be something about the 10 o'clock hour. It was at 10:20am today when he hugged me, and it was 10:39am on March 11th when we first saw him open his eyes. When his mother came in, I couldn't help but say "I got the first hug". She quickly got the second one.

Tomorrow he will probably be tested again to see if he can swallow liquid. Hopefully, he'll pass this time so he can begin to drink.

Today, the order was written to move him to the Trauma Unit and out of ICU. It's a bittersweet moment. We're thrilled that after 35 days, the Doctors have determined that he's well enough to get "promoted". But, the nurses that have cared for him are the most amazing humans I think I've ever met. They are not just experts at what they do, but they helped save his life. Their dedication to patients and their families is something you would have to witness as long as we have to understand what a difficult job they have. And, they've become friends. We will miss them terribly, but can't wait for them to see Taylor walk back there one day so they can see the reward for all they've done for him.