Keep a Goin'!

Hi Everyone!

Dad appears to be moving right along with the slow and steady progress. His sister, Liz, and mother, Mamaw, went to see him on Friday and reported that he looked a lot better than the last time they had seen him. As a matter of fact, Dad was giving Liz a hard time when she walked in his room door and announced, "I'm back!" She couldn't read his lips at first, but then she figured out that he was saying, "Finally!" Liz said of course Lil' Bro has to give his Big Sis a little grief.

Dad is moving a few more muscles here and there, and was able to turn his hand over the other day. Of course, this stuff comes and goes and then comes back again to stay. But the main point is that new things continue to happen and we've had no set backs (knock on wood).

Just so you know... I haven't mentioned the visitors that Dad has been receiving because I wasn't sure who felt comfortable having their names and/or business on the blog. Everyone has been so gracious and loving, that I was afraid of offending someone or putting them in a bad spot. But someone mentioned it again, so I'm setting up some ground rules. If you would don't mind us posting your visit with Dad to the blog, send us an email and just tell us about your visit with him. This will also give voice to others about Dad instead of everyone just reading what April and I have to say. Also, don't forget that there is a section on this blog that allows you to comment on each of our posts. So don't be afraid to chime in when you want.

To recap some recent visitors, Dad has had numerous cousins to visit him from out of town since he returned to Virginia. Some of them visited him in Roanoke when he was there, and others came by a couple of weeks ago, both of which really cheered Dad and Mom up each time. Last week, his cousins gave Dad a big card that was signed by what I believe is some, if not all, of his cousins. From what I heard, the card had done a lot of traveling just to get signed, not to mention getting sent to Kansas and back. If anyone would like to send me the whole story or post a comment about it, I would love to hear it.

Also, when Dad was first moved to Lynchburg, his nephew, David, came with his wife, Julie, mother, Jeanne (sp?) and stepfather, David, to visit Dad. Now, if anyone knows David (nephew), they know he has a lot of talent for singing and playing the guitar. Although I wasn't lucky enough to be there to hear and see it, I understand that David serenaded Dad with a few blue grass and country tunes. I know it tickled both Dad and Mom, not to mention it probably helped uplift some spirits for a few of the patients in nearby rooms.

Of course, Dad continues to be a popular patient and receive cards on almost a daily basis. They are mostly from family and close friends, with a few long distance get wells every now and again. Be sure to drop him a line when you can by either email on the hospital's webiste or regular mail to let him know that you are thinking of him. He is at Virginia Baptist Hospital, and there website is: http://vbh.centrahealth.com.

OK... that's it for now. We'll update you again real soon. I'm going to put our email address at the end of the post so that everyone has access to send us their stories of visiting Dad. Even if you don't get to visit Dad and would like to share a funny story about Dad rather than posting it as a comment on this blog, send it to us and we'll make sure it gets posted.

Team Jerry all the way!!!

Todd & April's email: jthawkins@comcast.net