Rob receives his Purple Heart

Yesterday, Rob's surgery went really well. They were able to finally close his abdomen. They also put the feeding tube in his belly and washed out his wounds. Today before Rob received his Purple Heart, the neuro dr came in and did an exam on Rob. He is again sedated so not responding. Although he was sedated, the dr felt Rob is moving in the right direction. It just remains a waiting game. I asked him about his MRI results. He said that he did see some brain damage in the middle part of his brain which may affect his speech. Again, in time, we will tell. When I asked him about the superficial vs deep bruises, he said he didn't really understand what the other dr meant when he was telling us that. Again, the other dr doesn't read MRI's so he's not familiar with the tests. He said superficial wounds on the brain affect thinking but he didn't really see this. Overall he was pretty optimistic from what I felt. Of course I am concerned about the speech issue, but hopefully, this will not be the case. Rob is young and the brain can heal itself tremendously. Then as Rob received his Purple Heart, it was a completely bittersweet moment. So many emotions ran through me. I was desperately trying to wake him up. I felt like getting sick. Although this award is an honor, it's one I wish my husband NEVER had to receive. I feel so bad that we wasn't awake for it. President Bush was the person who awarded it to him. When he walked into the room, he gave me a huge hug. He had tears in his eyes and told me he was so sorry. He just kept hugging me. He told me that Rob WILL wake up and when he does, he will meet Rob in person again. I got his business card from his personal assistant so that I can call him when Rob is ready to meet him. He awarded him the Purple Heart and then we stepped out of the room and out of our gowns and mask so we could speak more to him. He signed a 1st Infantry baseball cap Rob had. I know it will mean so much to him. He told me a story about a soldier 2 years ago who lost both of his legs. He told the soldier that when he is up and able, to give him a call and he wants to go running with him. Well, about 18 months later, the soldier called President Bush and they went running on the White House lawn. I told him that when Rob's ready and able maybe he can go wakeboarding with us! He laughed and said "I'm too old to wakeboard." Regardless of what people think politically, President Bush was extremely upset about Rob. Rob's recovery is not about politics, it is about my husband fighting to make a full recovery so he can come home to be with his wife and 2 daughters. That being said, I'm extremely proud of my husband and what he stands for. As always, I'll update soon.