If I remember correctly, it was around the end of second week that one of the male ICU technicians informed us that our father opened his eyes. My sister and I were ecstatic. Having watched way too many Indian movies where eye opening by a critical patient only means that he would walk and talk in matter of days, we could phantom no different scenario for us.
It was involuntary movement (the eye opening), when they changed his position in bed or made him sit on a chair. We were of course delirious and distributed samosas to the ICU security personnal. Why them? I don’t know, we didn’t know anyone else at the hospital and we were happy.
Visiting hours were one hour during the day and one hour in the evening. My sister would incessantly call him to open his eyes and I would try to block all the noise out and pry. We surely were a spectacle during the visiting hours.
He eventually heard her and opened his eyes, although with some physical help like shaking him or slightly lifting his eye lids. He seemed to see us without really looking at us. There was some hint of recognition, eventually we realized he recognized us alright, just had not much facial expressions.
In about three weeks, he was weaned off the ventilator, his lungs looked better, the doctor no longer said he was critical and in the next of couple of days he was moved to a private room.
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