Not much to report today, although Craig's breathing has continued to improve without the ventilator. We'll see if they pull the trach tomorrow. Physical therapy went well today, and Craig is holding up his head much better.

A small setback tonight. The newly placed feeding tube did not work properly, and a new one had to be put in. That meant the whole deal over again. Craig seems to have tolerated it well however, and looked pretty good tonight. The ventilator has been disconnected and replaced with a small mask over the trach. This provided oxygen and humidity to his airway. The next step will be to removed the trach altogether.

The procedure went well and it will be nice to Craig again with nothing attached to his face. He has to keep the old tube attached for a short time, unil they are sure the new one is working well. The next goal is to get rid of the trach tube, and we are hoping that will happen in the next day or two.

Craig is scheduled to have his feeding tube moved this morning, and we are waiting for the doctor to come in. This requires a minor surgical procedure and while we are a little anxious, the doctors assure us the risks are minimal. I will update again today after the procedure.

Craig underwent some pretty intensive physical therapy today which left him pretty tired for the rest of the afternoon. The PT people had him in a standing position for about 45 minutes, working the muscles of his back and neck. After so long in bed it is tough for him to support his head for more than 15-30 seconds at a time. The respiratory folks are ready to remove the trach tube and let him breath normally, but are going to wait until after the procedure to move the feeding tube.

Craig continues to improve slowly. The goals for this week are to eliminate the ventilator altogether and move the feeding tube from his nose to his stomach. This is a minor surgical procedure, but both issues will greatly improve his comfort and ability to get ready for rehab. He is awake most of the day now, but we have learned that waking up from a long coma is a process, and not an event (like in the movies). He is still finding creative ways to pull on the tubes and wires, and the nurses finally gave up and moved the finger oxygen sensor to his toe.

Thank to all who came up to Craig's birthday party at the hospital today. Once again, your support is overwhemling. I thought that Craig would be pretty tired tonight, after the steady stream visitors all day, but he was pretty active this evening pulling out more tubes and wires. I am sure he will sleep good tonight.