I received a call from the nurse early Sunday morning to give me an update on the old man.  She proceeded to tell me that dad had gone hulk-style on his restraints and pulled out his breathing tube.  This happens rarely and is extremely risky, but incredibly he was actually doing o.k.  As the nurse walked into the room to check on him he said, “someone better tell me what the hell is going on around here.”  She proceeded to fill him in on the details of the past week until I arrived.

Not only did he survive removing his own breathing tube, but stayed awake for 14 straight hours on Sunday.  He was even able to stand up and move to the chair.  Throughout the day he worked to clear the gunk from his throat and lungs.  His voice returned pretty quickly, and so did his sense of humor.  At one point in the morning he began to squirm and grimace in pain and then his eyes popped open suddenly.  The nurse asked if he was o.k. and he said, “nobody light a match.”  Needless to say he felt much better after that.  We bantered back and forth all day.  He was legitimately funny without requiring any mercy laughs.  We filled him in on all the details of his medical condition and the events of the past ten days.  His responses were variations on the phrase, “no shit!”

Monday brought continued advancements in his condition.  He grew stronger as the day went on and he even passed his swallowing test which cleared him for regular meals.  The physical therapists came to work with him on standing and walking in place.  His voice was strong and pretty clear.  His mind was strong and clear as well.  He was able to use his fine motor skills to work his phone and write his name.  The nurses and doctors were quite surprised by his rapid recovery which we now understand is quite uncommon in patients in his condition coming off of heavy sedation.  I ordered him dinner, told him I loved him, and headed home for the evening knowing Tuesday was the day they would do the cardiac MRI and come up with a more formal plan.  We never did get to the MRI just as we never got to that angiogram a week prior.