Tuesday - 6pm Update

Well, now that the sedation is lifting, Phil has quickly become a chatty Kathy, albeit one with a beathing tube still down his throat.

The nurse said he'd been beathing on his own for a couple of hours before they arrived and he talked (using hand signals and facial expressions) with Rhonda and the kids for about an hour before puckering out. He had the kids in stitches on a few occasions. That's Phil, ever the life of the party.

He has no recollection of what happened, so Rhonda let him lead in the questioning so as not to overwhelm him with too much information. And it was like playing charades with them trying to guess what he was asking. He wanted to know where he was (one eyebrow raised), what day it was (both eyebrows raised), what happened (a shrug and slight nod of the head), and the extent of the injuries. He had "dissappointed eyes" upon learning he had broken ribs (knows the pain he will be in) and "great big eyes" when he learned of the emergency surgery to remove the spleen followed by the angioplasty. And once he learned he'd been in an accident, he wanted to know the condition of his beloved motorcycle. Took them forever to figure out he was asking to see pics.

He's responding well to being weaned off the ventilator, but not all the way there yet. They've also turned the chest drain pump off, letting it drain through natural pressure and gravity before it can be removed completely. All other vitals and blood work are coming in as expected.

Let the healing begin.