Day 10, You Must Salute To Leave

Today has started much better.  Steve got more rest last night, and Kim was able to come in and visit/pray with us.  When she left, Steve's lunch arrived simultaneously with the speech therapists.  They watched me feed Steve, and their evaluation was that Steve is perfect, no problems swallowing, chewing or talking.
Dr. Young also came in while I was there.  He has put Steve on an anti-coagulant to prevent blood clots and says that it should not interfere with his platelets at all.  With the new drug, they have taken the pump-cuffs off of his calves (which made Steve very happy).
Dr. Young wanted to see muscle response.  He told Steve that Steve could leave ICU when Steve could salute him.  Steve managed to lift his elbow off of the bed by pressing his shoulder back and using his triceps to lift the elbow straight up.  Today he lifted a full five inches, the most ever.  Dr. Young was very encouraging to Steve, but there is no date yet as to when he will be out of ICU.
I sent that new progress to my sister, Jane.  This was her response text:
"Salute! Forgive me, but a picture comes to mind from the old movie No Time For Sergeants where the character made all the toilet lids snap up to attention!"
That character would be Andy Griffith, who also suffered from Guillain-Barre Syndrome when he was 57.  Steve is 56.

Steve still needs to work on his salute, but he is able to hold the iPad with it propped on his leg without too much trouble.  He was able to reach over and pick up his ice water off of the table and put it back.  Yes it had a lid, but the motions are what count here.