Day 4

I hope no one views this little bit of footage as me making fun of my brother. Much of my family lives far away from here and while news and talking on the phone is good, some images and even video may be a way to keep from going crazy wondering what is really happening.

Today I saw Todd as clear and animated as I have seen him yet. In this verbal exchange, he even initiated conversation. The thing to keep in mind is that the doctors have Todd on some pretty heavy drugs for the phantom mental pain (two of the strokes hit pain centers of his brain; this has caused his brain to believe there is pain where no injury exists).

The video is a small except of a larger conversation which really was more of a protracted interaction with one of his dreams. He was asking us for a set of tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny keys that secured some music in a car. He didn't feel we would take care of it properly. At the end of this segment he is talking about not wanting a scary woman to come back. We're not sure if this was a nurse, or someone else from the dream state he was in. Overall we were all glad to hear his voice pretty clearly again. Both Dad and I think it sounds like Todd when he was about eight. Amy said this is his sleep-talking voice.

The other good story from today came from an instance when Amy asked Todd for a kiss. When Todd gave Amy a little kiss, she said she wanted a "real" kiss. Todd then put his arms around her and gave her a long kiss.

Todd still isn't opening his eyes much. He has for doctors and upon request most of the time. He is also sleeping a lot (which again is very good - see post on 5/15 for details and a link).

The problem today is that Todd needs to get real food into his body. The doctors said they have studies that show the earlier they get real food into a patient's body, the faster they recover. Todd can't eat on his own, so they tried a feeding tube in the morning. That didn't last long. Soon after they put it in, Todd sat up and when he raised his arms, his thumb caught the tube and yanked it right out. They were going to try again tonight or tomorrow afternoon. If that doesn't work, they may put a surgical feeding tube in his side that heads straight to his stomach.

By the way, in case anyone out there has forgotten or doesn't know, family, friends, and any who wish are fasting for Todd from dinner Saturday night to dinner Sunday night (don't eat dinner Saturday and don't eat until dinner Sunday night). Remember that the power of fasting comes along with the prayer and faith exercised during the fasting.

Amy also wanted to let those who wish to help know that the two things that would help the most right now are 1) freezer meals that they can use over the coming months and 2) donations at any Mountain American Credit Union (they have set-up a fund in Todd's name, just ask for the Todd Thelin fund). By the way, if you go to the web site, recognize that what you see is Todd's handiwork.