I decided to visit Jeff today at his new temporary home at the Texas NeuroRehab Center. When I arrived, his wife Carita was there with her mother and Jeff’s mother and things in a state of great commotion. Within moments I realized that something momentous was taking place – Jeff was awake.

The day before, Jeff began responding to requests from the physical therapist – wiggle your toes, move your fingers, and the like. This morning he opened his eyes and began looking around. He’s not talking, but he is obviously aware of what’s going on. He recognizes people and answers questions with the squeeze of his hand. He understands where he is, but doesn’t remember the accident. When he looked me in the eyes I knew that he knew who I was, and he gave me a wave of his hand to confirm. I was so excited that I didn’t know what to say. His wife just kept kissing him. This is a great day – exactly one month after the car crash that started this whole ordeal.

This isn’t the movies, where coma patients wake up and say “where am I?” It’s not clear how much work Jeff will have to do to relearn how to walk, how to talk, how to eat, how to function. No doubt, it will be a long slog. But Jeff is definitely the most stubborn person I’ve ever met, and I suspect that that trait will serve him well in the months to come. Jeff will be less patient than the rest of us, no doubt.