Patty says: What a wonderful day!!! It is great to hear that he is breathing on his own and the fever is getting better! He says "Hello" to me on the phone-which is quite a fete considering the last 3 weeks were from hell! He has also said "Hello Brian" on the phone and has jabbered words to Lindsay and smiled when talking to her. It is amazing how delicate life really is and how quickly life can change in an instant. We are so happy to have Walter with us and fighting so hard to get back to us. Each day at St. Mary's will be a challenge but knowing Walter's love of life and family he will come out soon and with flying colors. We will soon be cooking out together and going to Red Wing games. May 5th is Cinco De Mayo which Walter loves to celebrate with Danny and Lori and hopefully he will be home by then!! Go Walter!!!!!
April 4, 2007 3:22 PM
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Hi everyone. I went to see Walt yesterday 04/04 after work. He opened his eyes and said Hi to me and I asked him if he knew who I was and he said yes. Then he looked at the nurse and asked her to turn the fan off! She told him she could not because they wanted to keep his fever down so he shrugged his shoulders and went back to sleep. We did, however, point the fan more off his face and to his feet. It was great to see him open his eyes and speak. I was so encouraged with his progress. Keep up the good work Walt! Linda
This is Brian Corry ...
It was GREAT! to hear Walt's voice yesterday. But then to see him take the phone from Corinne's hand to talk to Patty on the phone -- that was wild! Now, I don't want you to ge the wrong idea either though, he still may have a long way to go before he's holding a conversation. But he's working at it and man, has he improved since I saw him a week ago.
He didn't seem to know who I am -- he couldn't place me. In fact, if he remembered anything bad about me, I was going to tell him I was Nelson Miles anyway -- another friend, former neighbor and all our sons' baseball coach when they were younger. But luckily, it didn't come to that. So Nelson, your name is still good with Walt.
When the doctor from St. Mary's brain injury rehab unit came in to review Walt's progress and asked him a number of questions, he seemed to respond with nods of his head. But when she asked him to do some manual labor like holding up fingers, he just gave her a look (a classic Walt look) as if to say, “Are you still here?” No fingers were movng – not even the one his brother Tippy asked him not to show the good doctor that he apparently used to show to the Tip-meister on a regular basis.
But the doc picked up his hand and asked him to make a fist. He did it immediately. She asked him to hold up one finger. Done – immediately. 2 fingers? Done – just as fast. 3 fingers – again done. She said this was a good sign. Then when she was done and talking to us, he made a fist with his other hand and then put both arms and hands over his head and interlocked his fingers. I noticed him moving his legs now and then too. So his arms and legs all seem to be working pretty good. That was GREAT to see!
As Corinne said, the doc said if his condition remains stable, meaning he steers clear of the fever spikes, he may be admitted to the rehab unit by the end of the week. There she said he’ll get to work on the next stage of the road home and get to wear his own clothes. Poor Walt – no more hospital toga party!
Patty -- I wonder if you can bring home videos to St. Mary’s for him to watch? Oh yeah, I said something to him about all the barbequeing he does out in the garage. He didn’t seem to remember but he kept repeating that word. Rolling it over and over like he was trying to remember or like it sounded very familiar and maybe he was right on the edge of remembering. With all the hours he has spent barbequeing in EVERY kind of weather, maybe that’s something people can work with him on.
Best of Luck to you, Big Guy! Can’t wait to see you dancing a beer commercial jig when we get back from vacation. “Brilliant!” Hope you get to watch the Sabres playoff games at St. Mary’s.
Brian Corry
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