(Update) Wednesday 8/17/2011

"Hi, my name is dale, I live in a pail, sometimes it hails, can't put me in jail." These were some of the weird little songs Dale would make up when he was younger and scream/sing them at the top of his lungs while running through the house. Apparently, from what some of the cards and get well wishes have mentioned, things have not changed since. Dale is most definitely one of a kind and we love him for it.

It seems that nighttime hours are best to update everyone. The ICU settles down for the night, it is quieter and Dale seems to rest more comfortably during these hours so here goes. Earlier today, test results showed that some areas of concern from last night were improving and test values were falling close to or within normal ranges. Dale still has a fever that we are monitoring. The good news is that his fever seems to be falling albeit very slowly. Hopefully the trend will continue and in a few days time, a healthier Dale will be able to undergo surgery. There have been no negative developments and/or setbacks for which we, the Ahn family, are thankful for.

Something funny happened today. Dale was awake for longer periods of time during the day. I could tell that he wanted to speak and get some point across. Unfortunately, because of the tube placed in his trachea he is unable to speak until it is taken out. So out of pure frustration on both our parts, it finally hit my dense brain to try to go through each letter of the alphabet with him to spell out what he wanted. This is what came out:

Wat ER
HEAD

I thought "what E.R?". I told Dale he was at the ER at LIJ Northshore but that he was no longer in the ER and now in the ICU recovering. He nodded like it was something he already knew. Then, I asked him if he was asking about his head and I went blabbering on about how his head was fine and that the injury was his neck. At this point he rolled his eyes at me and shook his head. Apparently, I was not understanding the blatantly obvious and boy did he let me know with those eye rolls. So, we spelled out another word:

FORE

His eyes kept pointing behind me at the wall then back to the words then up to the ceiling. Over and over. I pointed to "Wat ER" and he nodded. I kept asking my self what is "Wat ER". Say that five times fast, "water". When I finally figured out "water", I could almost hear him give an exasperated sigh. Then, I asked him my next dumb question of the day. "Water", "Head", then looking at the ceiling. Clearly there must be water dripping from the ceiling onto his head! Needless to say, I was wrong again.

What would Dale mean by the three words "water", "head", and "fore"? Water on head? Water on fore head? YES!! Here comes my 3rd dumb statement of the day: "Dale why would you want water on your forehead?" I answered my question as soon as it came out of my mouth. Dale has a fever. Cold water compresses placed on the forehead feels good.  As for pointing with his eyes to the ceiling? Well, that's his forehead. As to the wall behind me? Well, there is a sink there with cold "Wat ER".

At least we are finally communicating albeit a little slowly. Conclusion for today? Lisa=0, Dale=1