The healing begins

Mom's breathing tube came out first thing this morning. She would only stay awake for a few minutes at a time and was not able to speak because her throat was raw. Throughout the day she improved little by little. By afternoon she was able to sit up in a chair, and even got up and walked around a bit. It was exhausting but she was able to do it. She has lots of tubes and wires so she can't just get up at will and walk around, but eventually she will be able to. By this evening she was able to stay awake for longer periods of time and could speak a bit, just a whisper, but she could tell us what she needed. Her blood pressure is a bit elevated tonight and she is experiencing some pain in her stomach. She let us know it hurts to laugh which, if you know our family, it's really difficult to be together and not be laughing. She'll be spending another night in intensive care but we expect her to be moved to a regular room tomorrow.