God Made a Farmer

Carlie here again,
Today has been an absolutely amazing day for our family. I have been away from Dad for about two days because of work. Let me tell you, that man is a completely different person from the last time I saw him! When I left before the weekend he was still struggling with moving his extremities fully, and he was just barely starting to mouth a few words. When I walked into his room, I couldn't stop beaming! They were just getting ready to put a speaking valve over his trach, and I cannot even express how incredible it was to hear my Dad's voice again. It brought tears of pure joy to my eyes. The monstrous uncertainty that has plagued our family for three weeks is finally starting to recede. Dad is awake, he can move, and he can speak! The speech pathologist asked my Dad if he could identify me, and he pointed to me and said "this is my youngest, Carlie." I thought my little heart might burst. He is allowed to keep the speaking valve on for about thirty minutes at a time. They want to give him plenty of rest so that he doesn't weaken his voice too much. Mom and I enjoyed a nice little chat with him during that time. We also called Colby, Che', and Cortney so that they could hear him speak. I got all of the phone calls on video, and they are really touching. We are all just so relieved and grateful to hear that man on the other end of the phone. It's truly incredible. The plan for tomorrow is for Dad to head to the rehab unit here at the U of U. We are all very anxious for him to begin rehabilitation. However, I don't think that anyone is more anxious than Dad himself. He kept telling us that he was going to be heading home tomorrow. Not quite Dad...we told him not tomorrow, but soon enough. :) While there have been amazing strides, there is also a lot of frustration that goes along with this process. Dad wants to get moving. He is struggling with not eating or drinking anything. He broke my heart tonight when he kept asking me for a drink. I wanted to sneak him a Diet Pepsi so bad, it was killing me. Because of his trach, and the uncertainty of his swallowing ability he will likely be unable to eat or drink anything by mouth for a bit longer. I believe that this will be one of the many hurdles Dad will have to deal with. He is also very eager and anxious about all of the things going on at home. He kept saying that he can't wait to get back to work. One of the first things out of his mouth to my Mom and I was to ask how his trucks were running. I guess you don't work as hard as my Dad has his whole life to just give it up for one little stroke. I must say that I am somewhat relieved by this. I had a lot of concern about what the future may hold for him. I know that he would never be satisfied if he isn't doing what he loves. I hope that this will motivate him even more to work as hard as he can in rehab. It also comforts me that my Dad will not be a completely different person because of his injuries. He is still Judd. He can't wait to get back to the farm, and his sense of humor is still very much intact. Oh, and he can still roll his eyes with the very best of them. ;) Che'Lyn and I went back to the hospital tonight, and Dad had his speaking valve on again. We had another thirty minute conversation with him. As we were talking with Dad he was telling us about what he remembers about the night of his stroke. I was surprised to find that he remembers most everything up until he blacked out. He told Che'Lyn and I how scared he was. He said that he knew that he was probably having a stroke, and he knew that something was very wrong with him. He told us that he was very scared at the idea of what may happen to him. He didn't know what would happen to his family if he didn't make it. As I was driving home tonight it really hit me what would happen if we didn't have my Dad. He is such a key influence in my life and the lives of so many others. He has been the Knight in shining armor for as long as I can remember. I think that the mood for our family right now is one of incredible gratitude. Our journey has been long, and it is not over yet. But Dad is better every single day. We have high hopes for his future progress. Stay tuned for tomorrow. If everything goes as planned, Dad is off to conquer rehab. Wish him luck. They are going to whip him into shape!

One final thought:
As I was driving home tonight I was reminded of the Paul harvey speech "So God Made a Farmer." Many people saw the commercial featuring this speech that aired during the Superbowl halftime. Dad was particularly fond of this commercial, and I just wanted to quote this one part because I think it so perfectly sums up my feeling on this amazing man.

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark. It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week's work with a five-mile drive to church.

"Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer

I'm so grateful God made this particular farmer, and that he has been so carefully watched over in this life. Have a great week everyone. Thank you all for your continued support.