Visiting

It was a relief to see my dad in better spirits. I have never seen my father as emotional as he has been the last several days. His voice is hoarse, he's wept a lot, he has been exhausted and anxious. But today he was hopeful. And more relaxed. He even thought he might come home for a couple of hours later today (he didn't. She had a rough evening, apparently).

She saw family members one by one. She started with Brittany's husband Heber (who she hadn't spoken to at all yet), then Karlee, then me, Grandma (her mom), Jay, Elliot, and Lilian (Elliot's wife, featured in the video link in my previous post). She even saw Wes. She calls him Hal. Not because she's crazy. It's because she thinks he looks like Harold in Harold and the Purple Crayon. It must be his perfect bald head.

She smiled. That is a big deal. Many of you have mentioned her signature laugh. She can't use it right now. As I mentioned earlier, she has to be cautious. When she speaks, she is careful to emote very little. This has been hard to adjust to since she is by nature very animated. But as Dad explained to us on Sunday (before we were able to see her): "She can't tolerate it. She feels love too deeply. Seriously. She sees you guys and her mind registers deep love, and her heart skips beats." We saw evidence of this when she played with Weston, even insisted on holding him, and experienced a few PVC's (irregular heart beats) which corrected without defibrillation.

Her method of communication has improved drastically since Sunday, but it isn't typical Betsy (not that I should be expecting typical Betsy right now). She is very direct. She says what she wants to say. She knows that if she talks too long, it will exhuast her. She knows if she emotes too much, the defibrillator will shock her. So she says what she needs to say as calmly and directly as possible.

I told her that her name was being offered in prayers all over the country. I told her I had heard that she was prayed for in a Relief Society meeting in our old home town of Gig Harbor, Washington. She said, "I don't deserve it." Maybe that part is typical Betsy.