good morning.

well, my mother and i spent last night in the hospital with my dad . . . he remains minimally sedated and on the respirator, but hopefully that will not last too much longer. a CT scan was done this morning to check up on the swelling. what the doctors have explained is that the left half of his brain, the affected half, was pushing into the right half, endangering the healthy part of his brain as well as potentially damaging other arteries, so when the CT scan comes through, what the neurologist checks up on is if that swelling is continuing to push into the healthy, right half of the brain. and this morning we received wonderfully encouraging news -- the swelling has reduced in the last 24 hours! his other vital signs are also holding steady, and the neurologist was positive and did not see the need to step in for further prevention at the present . . . the nurses will keep a close eye on him and try and see him through this peak swelling phase.

so we are all greatly encouraged and have new hope . . . we're not out of the woods yet, but we hope this is the turning point. our family remains by his side 24/7 and continue to pray in faith.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
-- Hebrews 11:1