A good day

Today was a really good day. Barb took the early morning shift and went and saw Rob. When she got back, she said that Rob was looking at her and tracking her. I was so excited to hear this. I ran over and saw him and I couldn't believe it. He actually LOOKED INTO MY EYES!!!! I could feel that he was actually THERE. His eye movements are still slow. So, if I would move away from him, he didn't track me but he would close his eyes and when he opened them, he'd adjusted them to be looking at me again! He was awake most of the morning. His eyes were also fully open versus only half open yesterday. I could tell that he was tired but he just kept looking at me. I was holding his hand and he'd start falling asleep. I would move my hand to readjust and he would open his eyes and look at me to make sure I was still there. It absolutely melted my heart. I kept telling him how much I love him and that everything is going to be alright. I explained to him that he had a tube in his throat and nose but that was all temporary and not to be afraid. I also explained to him again that all his soldiers are good and nobody else was hurt. I showed him a picture of the girls and he would look at it for a while and then look away. It's hard for me to know how close to hold the picture and I'm not sure if he was able to see it well. He even tried to readjust his head as if trying to make it more comfortable. When I came back after lunch, he was pretty tired and slept most of the afternoon. I just sat in his room, held his hand, and read a book. When he would wake up, I talked to him some more and played the videos of the girls again for him. But he was so tired and was having trouble staying awake. I told him that I would be right here and just sleep. Again, I saw him readjust his head and he even moved his shoulders around. I'm sure his body is also sore from laying in bed so long so I tried to massage his shoulders, arms and fingers. I would scratch lightly on his arms. I gave him goosebumps so I'm sure it felt good to him! :) Then the nurse needed to check his pupils with a pen light. He asked Rob to open his eyes. He didn't. So I said "Rob, can you please open your eyes? The nurse needs to check your pupils." So, he opened them!!! You could tell he absolutely hated the light shining in his eyes and was trying to close his eyelids tight. The nurse said that a few days ago his pupils were pretty sluggish in reacting but that they are reacting great now. He still isn't squeezing my hands on command but in time I feel this will happen. His body and brain have gone through so much and for him to be responding like this, I feel it's pretty positive. I mean yesterday I was so disheartened because he had an empty blank stare and today he's looking into my eyes! I know that this whole experience will bring many rollercoaster days but I'm so glad today was a good one! On another note, his legs are still weaping some but so far they have been able to reinforce them. I just keep praying that they'll hold their own so he won't have to go back to surgery until Monday. Also, I forgot to mention yesterday that they removed most of the rubberbands on his teeth. He still has one on each side of the mouth but from what the nurse told me, these are moveable bands so once he's able, he'll be able to talk with them. Just continue to pray that Rob continues to move in a positive direction. Every little step is a leap into our future!! Again, thanks for all the comments. I read every one of them, sometimes more than once. It is so therapeutic for me and means more than you'll ever know. I look forward to the day when Rob will be reading them himself.