I got in to see Andy today. When I got there he was sleeping. It was 
getting close to noon and I figured he'd be eating lunch soon so we stuck 
around. After a little commotion from the bed next door, Andy woke up. He 
was moved to intermediate care instead of right in the ICU department. 
When he woke up he sat up and I started to talk to him and etc. He gets on 
this spitting thing and was doing that. I don't know why he gets on that 
but he begins to spit, or tries to. I asked him some questions and he 
mumbled something, I asked him to speak up cause I couldn't hear him, so 
he said the same mumble louder, I never did figure out what he was trying 
to say. Then the rehab nurses came in to take him for a walk. My daughter 
got to wheel the IV stand and the two nurses walked on each side and 
I  walked along side or behind them and talked with the nurses. I found 
out that he is walking very good. A slight issue with balance at times but 
he was trucking along at a pretty good clip, a normal slow walk.  The 
nurses, just shortly being assigned to him asked me if there was anything 
more they needed to know about Andy, that is with reference to topics of 
general conversation so they can begin to talk with him. I said he had a 
son Bradon. They said "Oh that's what he was writing, we wondered, he 
wrote out Bradon's name on paper". I thought that was awesome. As we were 
walking down the hall they asked him where he lived and he said Marinette, 
which really isn't true, he lives in Peshtigo, but had lived in Marinette 
most of his life though. He mumbled something about  probably needing a 
smoke a couple of times. Between his walk and lunch I had asked him again 
if he  remembered who I was, I had asked him when I first got there and he 
didn't really reply, just that mumbling. This time I asked him and he 
didn't say anything again, then I asked him again more persistently and he 
said "Brad Dunse" right out clear as day. That was moving for me. I asked 
him if he was anxious to get out of this place and do some fishing. He 
said he went fishing Monday and that's where all the pictures came from. 
He has some pictures in his room of him holding some fish. Then he got on 
a repeating thing which his mom said he will do. He kept saying over and 
over "Went fishing Monday, went fishing Monday, went fishing Monday" 
and  what seemed  sort of encouraging to me was he was saying each phrase 
as though  he was saying something else, he was using a different 
intonation in his voice. Like he was trying to say something else but the 
fishing thing kept coming out. And he would wriggle his legs sort of 
fidgeting like a boy. So I asked him what kind of fish did he get and he 
told me Walleye. Then he went on with the fishing on Monday thing and then 
I asked him where did he go fishing and he told me Hattie Street Bridge, 
which is  where folks do go Walleye fishing in Marinette. One time, before 
his walk he said something about his cousin, my daughter. I think he was 
asking if his cousin was going too on the walk. Because they asked my 
daughter to hold the IV stand and walk with it ahead for them. He asked 
about her again and then chuckled a bit. One sort of funny thing happened. 
I asked him if he'd been watching any fishing shows on TV or if they had 
any good fishing shows on TV. He replied "55 should be alright". Of course 
I dismissed it as more jibberish. But later when talking with a  guy in 
town here, he said that channel 55 is the outdoor channel here. So I guess 
I was the one off the mark. Andy doesn't talk much but answers you. He 
doesn't initiate conversation, but he seems to understand things at times. 
If you ask him persistently or firmly louder he answers you.  The nurses 
came in and said we're your favorite nurses, and he chuckled at that. He 
also had asked if the "other girl was coming", he was referring to another 
day nurse who had been there. At one point I mentioned his son Bradon, he 
said something that sounded to me like "my son is helping me", I asked him 
to repeat it and he repeated the same thing. I think from his comments, 
which there was another mumble he did that I thought referred to his son, 
plus his writing his son's name, I think he is very much fighting out of 
this thing for his son's sake, using his son as incentive to get out of 
the dazing state he is in. I talked to him asking him stuff like. "did 
grandma and grandpa come see you" and he said "I don't think so". They did 
but he was sleeping at the time and I told him so. I was extremely pleased 
at his progress. He fed himself some today, said "yuck" when he ate some 
of the hospital food, told the nurse "I can't " when she wanted him to eat 
more. He can speak very clear, even cussed once which came out clear haha. 
I don't mean to make light of that but we'll work on that later, now just 
getting him back to dialoging normally is the goal.  He's done some 
muddling too but I think could be just his pain meds and perhaps because 
he has of course had major head trauma and is a bit internal in his 
thoughts and communications. After lunch  the patient next bed over was 
coming back from a test and so they asked us to leave. I went to Andy and 
told him that we had to go but we'd stop by before we left town, he didn't 
say anything, so I told him again, and then again, and my daughter said... 
"Dad he's holding out his hand to shake your hand", I grabbed it firmly 
and told him I  loved him a couple of times and we'd be back and to take 
it easy. He didn't say anything but just the fact he held out his hand to 
shake it meant he was cognizant and also caring about our relationship. I 
am really really glad I came. I could have spent the day there no problem 
just to see him and talk with him. He has got a long way to go, and I pray 
the repeating phrases ,spitting , and boyish behaviors and stuff goes 
away. He sometimes will sit up half hunched over looking at his bed and 
moan a bit or move about a bit but I suppose he is still hurting pretty 
good. We spent nearly three hours there and maybe  an hour or so of that 
was waiting for him to wake and waiting out the door while his roommate 
was being attended to. Your prayers are affective and yet coveted, and I 
plead with God to maintain the miracle he's working in him, and that Andy 
somehow realize God is healing him and that he turn to him for all he has 
to offer.

Brad