Day Twelve in ICU - Mom Update!

When I saw Mom today, she was definitely more alert!
She had a fever earlier in the day, but all of her vitals were stable when I was there.
She is still on the NG Tube, but was enjoying a cup of ice.
There's talk of moving her from ICU tomorrow!

Mom alternated between trying her best to talk to me and confusion, but she has definitely made progress.
She was confused about the time of day and also thought it was a holiday.

There was a moment though when I knew for certain that Mom was definitely coming back to us...
I was leaning over her trying to hear what she was saying when the nurse came in and was standing next to me.
Mom pointed at the nurse and said, "Smart butt".
I looked from the nurse to Mom, trying to figure out if my Mother had really just called the nurse a smarty pants and at the same time trying to figure out if Mom was trying to tell me that the nurse had been rude to her.
Apparently, my Mother has been giving the nurses a really hard time - all in fun.
When they asked her if she knew where she was, she told them "St. Louis" and when the nurses got a little concerned, Mom told them that she was in "UAB" and it was "2012".
She obviously got tired of everyone asking her if she knew where she was and what year it was, because she just started making stuff up.

That's when I knew - for certain - that my Mom would finally be just fine.

She acts like she has no idea where I get my sarcasm from...

There were other moments when Mom was confused, but I reassured her that she would begin to think more clearly as the medications got out of her system.
I can't imagine how scary that must be for her.

I may only be hearing my Mother through a painfully raspy voice, but it is so nice just to have her trying to talk to us!