Voices.... I Hear Voices.... (apologies to Russ Ballard)

Sorry it took so long to update... but it was worth it. Lou has continued to confound all of us by slowly but surely continuing to improve. Between September and now, she's nearly bought the farm like 4 different times. She's survived having been given meds that she is allergic to more than a couple of times... yet, in spite of every chance she's had to give up and let go... she's battled through and has endured. That woman is like a Timex in that she can take a (severe) licking and keep on ticking. I really have come to believe that God isn't ready for her yet. I believe He has spared her for an express purpose. New Year's day was awesome in that we all happened to decide to visit with Lou at the same time without telling each other. Lou was in her glory with all of us together, just being ourselves in her room. She has become much more lucid and though she still has great difficulty with breathing, they have tried taking her off the vent for a few minutes at a time. She was taken off yesterday for an hour... They put a plug in her trach so she could breathe through her nose and mouth again. The other part of corking her trach is that by doing so, she could talk. Now Lou hasn't spoke in months, let alone, been conscious and able to coherently communicate with anyone. When the respiratory therapist told her with the cork on her trach she could try talking, Lou shook her head no. She was coughing and then said out loud "I can't talk" and when she heard herself, the look of shock on her face was absolutely priceless. She had eyes as big as saucers and her mouth dropped wide open. I couldn't suppress my smile nor my laugh. I was so glad that I was there to share that moment with her. She then got the shock of her life when her very best friend Nan stopped by and surprised her. Since Lou went out of consciousness and had been completely out of it since last summer, she hasn't really spent any kind of time with Nan and has been missing her since she has been improving. So a couple of days ago, I called Nan on my cell and put it on speaker so that Lou could hear Nan's voice. I served as the interpreter. It really lifted Lou's spirits. So yesterday, Nan shows up and they were just a couple of crying girls. Tears of happiness. I still don't know what the future holds for Lou. But for whatever time we've got, I know she is going to appreciate it... come to think of it, so am I...