Saturday 1/7

Dad is about the same.  He has periods where he is pretty alert, then there are periods were he isn't and is very confused.  This makes it so hard on us.  I took Gracie to see him Thursday night.  She is still a little unsure, but we sat in the chair and visited with him for about 15 minutes.  He stared at her the entire time! =)   I asked him who she was and he said, "My sweet Gracie!"   She put her "lips" on while we were there and he got the biggest kick out of it!  When we got ready to leave he blew her a kiss and we said our "I love yous".  As we were walking in the hallway, he said, "Be careful."  I couldn't hold back tears hearing him say that.... what he'd always say as we'd leave to go anywhere.
Last night Mom went to watch the game with him.  I got a message on my facebook from a girl who's father is on the same hall as dad and she said, " I wish you could have just heard your Dad screaming touchdown!!"  I was half asleep, (cause this preggo momma was WORN out) but it brought the biggest smile to my face!   She said she and the nurses started laughing cause they knew it had to be him and they went to his room and he and mom were both cheering!!!  I hate to say he didn't last much longer after that.  Mom said he fell asleep. =(  She was upset, cause she knows how much he loves football, especially the Razorbacks.  Can I say it for the 58443745894382943th time.... we are ready to have him back!!!  It has been a looooong 8 1/2 months.
 
We know there are many of you that are not from Heber who read this blog to stay up to date with Dad and his progress.  I thought I would post the statement that we ran in the Heber Springs paper Friday.  This has definitely been very bittersweet for us.
 

A message from Jack, Dicey, Brett, Anna Kathryn (Morgan), and Caroline Rhodes:

We must not let this New Year begin without trying to express to you what is in our hearts. Many, if not all of you, know of Jack’s serious medical condition as a result of his brain bleed in April of 2011. It became
extremely unlikely that a return to the agency would be possible. As a result, we made the very difficult decision to sell the agency to Arkansas Valley Insurance. The man who owns Arkansas Valley is a good, ethical insurance man and we feel comfortable with the way his agency will care for the Jack Rhodes Insurance customers. Additionally, the same office staff will stay on and continue to give you the good service you have come to expect. We would not have considered selling the agency had we not had this confidence. Taking good care of your insurance needs has been the top priority of Jack Rhodes Insurance.

The past eight months have been totally consumed with supporting Jack and we have not been able to stay in close contact with as many of you as we would have liked. We must tell you what a joy it has been for us to
be in Heber Springs all these many years. It is our home. We love Heber and we love you. You have been so good to us in these difficult times. We regret we have not been able to respond like we would have liked. Now that Jack is back in Heber Springs, life may slow down for us and we will be able to express many of these thoughts to you personally. 

Thank you for your many acts of kindness. The cards, letters, phone calls, prayers and other expressions of caring have been overwhelming to us.