i'm writing right now from my dad's new room in Mayo Hospital. actually, at this moment, Clara has her guitar pulled out and is about to perform for us . . . some of my dad's favorite songs:) we all just ate lunch together (granted, my dad ate pureed hospital food, and we ordered Chipotle), and my dad is happily reclined in his chair.
he was transported yesterday morning from North Memorial by ambulance. my mom got to ride in the ambulance with him, and they arrived a little after one. we like being here at Mayo, and we have some absolutely WONDERFUL family members who work here at the hospital who have been so supportive and helped accommodate us here in Rochester. my dad is getting wonderful care, and therapists have been coming in and out all morning, evaluating his speech and right arm movement.
he is on the neurology floor right now to be evaluated before moving him on to therapy, but we're hoping that within the next couple of days he'll be ready to move out of neurology -- we want to get him into rehabilitation!
something so exciting happened today. the speech therapist came in to check up on him, and at first he was not very responsive, he could only make one word sound ('you') and didn't quite seem to follow with what she was asking of him. but finally, she said, "Geoff, let's sing together, okay?" and she started singing Happy Birthday . . . and just like that, my dad opened his mouth and started singing along with her . . . soft words, but he sang right along, and it was just so beautiful to sit there with my mom and watch him sing. they sang the song twice together.
he continues to do better day by day . . . he is much more peaceful and not nearly as sleepy as he was earlier. his brain swelling continues to improve each day, and we love just sitting and interacting with him. earlier today my mom and i looked through Sam and Joanna's wedding album that we had brought, and he loved that.