Standing and Walking and DR. PEPPER - Oh My!!!

My gosh, where do I begin today. I guess it all started around the time of today's therapy session. Dr. Duke, Denise (PA), and Martha are out in the hall (down a ways from Dad's room). Mom sees them talking while on her way to the utility closet and being her usual "chatty" self lets them know that dad's doing therapy. Dr. Duke says he'd like to just see how dad's doing and he'd be down there in a minute (just yesterday he'd pointed out that after these months of inactivity he's "weak as a kitten"). Dr. Duke also lets her know that he's ready to let dad have something to drink. Anything he wants! He says dad will be allowed to have 2 medicine cups full. It might not sound like a lot but up to this point he's never had more than 3 tiny ice cubes OR 1/4 medicine cup of water in an hour. With Duke's go ahead, Dr. Pepper would definitely be on the menu after therapy. With Dr. Duke still in the hallway, Dad got up to begin his workout with therapist Jocelyn. Using his walker he walked out of his room, down the short hallway, and into the main hallway, where in stood in plain sight of Dr. Duke. Duke looked over in sheer amazement and let out an "I'LL BE DAMNED". Not much can leave Red Duke speechless, but this sure did. This was one heck of a walk for dad, probably 4 times further than he's walked yet. From there he got in his wheel chair (remember sitting is quite difficult as well), and mom wheeled him through the halls and around the waiting area. The nurses all told him how good he looked and how well he was doing. When they got back to his room, he got out of the wheelchair and walked back to bed.

After all of this he was treated to his Dr. Pepper. He said it tasted good, although he couldn't really remember what it tasted like before. Following this he settled down for a rest, and he's snoozing now. WHAT A DAY!!!