(Originally posted March 15, 2009)

One month ago, I had just left INHP to travel back to the hospital, where my husband was confined to ICU room 6. His smile was crooked, the right side of his face was slack. His right eye didn't track with the other eye. He could wiggle his toes on his right foot but couldn't lift his heel off the bed. His right arm didn't move reliably and his fine motor control was almost non-existent. He communicated primarily through nodding/shaking his head and verbal responses were limited to only a few words (yes, no, hello, okay, thanks, I love you). He was allowed nothing to eat or drink due to the fear that he would aspirate anything he took orally. He was having trouble breathing and was receiving oxygen through a nasal canula.

Today is a completely different story. J.J. is home; cooking, playing games with his children, leaving his socks in the middle of the floor for me to pick up. He is walking without an assistive device of any kind and is not limited in the distance he can walk (they didn't even issue us a temporary disabled parking sticker). His fine motor control has progressed to the point that his signature really doesn't look any different than it did before. His beautiful smile is back. His laugh lines are back. The sparkle in his eyes is back. His speech is vastly improved. And he's anxious to get back to driving in the next couple of weeks and back to work within the next couple of months (he's shooting for no later than 5/15/09, three months after the stroke).

What a difference a month makes.

God is good.