3.27.08 Evening Visit

Steve was doing well tonight, swelling is still going down, but he seemed tired. Again he was asking, "What happened?" Ashley told him all about the accident. He then asked when he was going to Atlanta.

Steve will be transported to the Shepherd Center on Monday morning. I told Steven that I know it's hard right now, but he will be able to better communicate once he is in Atlanta. Communication continues to be a major frustration. Lip Reading is difficult and we only have 20 minutes at a time to visit with him and most of yesterday's 1:30 visit was spent trying to understand what he was trying to say. He was asking for water. But in Atlanta, he will be able to communicate through technology called "sip and puff" which uses his breath to control things like calling for the nurse, and with he'll be able to use a visually-operated computer.

I told Steve that he's made amazing progress and he just has to keep strong. When I told him that we can only see him for short visits, and if we had our way, he would be in a room full of people, he said "I know."

When he spoke with April, he asked her, "When are we going to the beach?" And, "How did you get off of work?" She told him that she was going to be off for three months so that she could go to Atlanta with him.

Steve's grandmothers, Aunt Karen and Uncle Joe have to leave in the morning to go back to New York. He told them all "Thank you" and "I love you." They will be back soon to see him in Atlanta.

I have no news about his vitals--except that everything is stable--which is fantastic.

To everyone who has made such generous contributions to the family: continuous prayers, nourishing food, time off for Steve and his family, and monetary gifts,we can't thank you enough. It's clear that Steven and his family are loved far and wide. Thank you, thank you.

P.S. I know that all y'all call him Steve and I have been trying to do that for most of this blog, but I am his aunt, and he's always been Steven to me, so I will likely flop back and forth. Just wanted to clarify.