Dear Family and Friends,

Today we met with the therapists and the doctor about Dad's progress. Each therapist (physical, occupational, speech) said he has improved since last week, but the doctor is concerned about a few things. We thought he might be dehydrated, but the doctor didn't even seem to consider that a possibility. We are trying to get him to drink and eat more but everyday it seems to get harder and harder for him. Today he only kept down 11oz water, a cup of watermelon, and 2 oz carnation drink. It makes me sick with worry that he isn't drinking/eating more but the hospital staff don't seem concerned about it. Discharge (if all goes according to plan) will be August 2nd.

Dad went to all of his therapy appointments today and made it through, but it was a pretty strenuous day and by the end he was wiped out. When I picked Mom up at 6:00 he was fast asleep with his dinner untouched next to him. Usually he perks up when I come visit, but today he was really a goner.

His roommate leaves tomorrow, that's probably more good than bad. Hopefully Dad can get good rest and have more energy.

Tomorrow night he is going to the sleep center for observation in a sleep apnea study. They are hoping this will help him have more restful sleep. They may give him a machine to use at home if he needs one. Does this make sense? I don't know the technical terms but I know you're all smart enough to decipher my language .

Please keep praying, these are the hard days of his recovery. We continue to remember how much we have seen God do in the past few weeks and have faith in His FUTURE GRACE (Dad would appreciate this, as it is the title of his favorite book by John Piper, if you haven't read it I recommend it!). We are getting tired, please pray for our strength. Thank you all for everything you do for us.

Love,
Laura, Josh, Sam, Matt, Dad, and Mom