I had the best surprise of my life this morning! I zipped around the corner into his room and there he was sitting up looking right at me. He was awake and a giant smile spread across my face. “Good Morning Sunshine!” I said as I always do. “Good Morning”, he replied. Yes! HE REPLIED!!!! His actual voice. More Kermity than normal. I almost fell to the ground. I ran over to him and squeeled in joy. The doctors had capped his trach and gave him a valve to allow him to talk. It was amazing! He said to me, “I have been waiting for you for 3 hours.” Awwwww….I explained that visiting hours don’t start until 9am. He asked where the kids where. I told him they were in Washington and he said, “Oh. I thought you would have them with you.” I told him that Darian was coming and I would bring him in to see him. He asked me, “Darian is still 8 years old, right?” I laughed and said,”Yes, we haven’t been here for that long.” He asked alot more questions. I asked Pam to go get Leia but not to tell her that he could talk. Leia walked in and Lang said, “Hi.” She beemed ear to ear and gave her big brother a huge hug. He asked us to go get him food. He asked us if we could leave. He asked us what we were waiting for.
We were told that he also was able to walk up and down the hallway with the physical therapist too. I was so excited! We were able to witness this later in the day. Myself on oneside of him, holding his arms, smiling like I had just one the 200 biggillion dollar mego lotto. 
I was so proud of him! He did normal steps. No more old man shuffle steps. We actually had to tell him to slow down. Go figure! He continued to amaze us through out the day. He also fed himself! Soup, pudding and milk. It wasn’t the pretty sight or the cleanest but he did it himself and that was amazing! He was so proud of himself.
Since he should be out of there by now, the nurses and doctors are really enjoying seeing the recovery that Lang is making because they normally don’t get to see this part. So there is a constant stream of nurses and doctors coming into the room to meet Lang and talk with him. Their smiles are infectious and reassuring. Lang continues to bring smiles and joy into peoples lives.
Grace & Peace ~
Carla
Filed under: Lang's Accident & Recovery
Really wish he could get to Madigan. They have a program that would be just what he needs. He would be more comfortable back in the military environment, and it would be easier on all of us.
Blessings Continue. So proud of you all. Love Grandma
Carla,
OMG! What an excellent surprise to actually hear his voice! I am very excited that his recovery has been going so very well. Happy Thanksgiving to both of you. May the journey from here go well!
Sincerely,
Julie
Wow, it sounds like your going to have a wonderful Thanksgiving with 2 of your favorite men! Not to mention wonderful conversation! Thank you God!
Happy Thanksgiving! You have much to be thankful for….
God is truly amazing! Even though you have felt so much pain seeing Lang at his worst, you are able to see a working miracle right in front of you. What a blessing!
Wow! What a great Thanksgiving day you all had! He’s making such great progress and thank you for the address. I read these updates daily. Lang is thought of every single day and our kids ask about him too. Thanks for the great news and the very heart-warming blogs.
Praise the Lord!!! What an incredible update, Carla!!! I pray your Thanksgiving has been filled to the brim with hope and love. Please give Lang a hug from all of us in Tucson. We are thanking our gracious God with you!
Thank you for the updates. I’ll keep Lang in my prayers. I’m glad to hear he’s making improvements. Very encouraging!
Hi Carla and Lang- Leia should be on the plane coming home by now. Erick is super excited to see her!
Rick and I had a very nice Thanksgiving – saw the movie “Australia”, which was very good, and then went out to eat at Gino’s restaurant in Pt. Orchard – food was great and as usual I ate way too much! 
Sounds like you and Leia and Darian had a good Thanksgiving dinner at Julie’s house! Hope all is going well for you today! I wish I could have been there to hear Lang talk for the first time since the accident- a time to cherish for sure! We’re praying for you guys each and every day, and look forward to seeing all the awesome things that the Lord will do! 
Love you so very much dearest son, and love you lots and lots too Carla! Hope to see you both soon! 
Love, Mom and Rick.