Keep praying, Annika Blanton says.
Her father, Andrew Blanton, is officially out of the woods, according to his doctors, after a drag racing crash left him comatose Friday.
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The 46-year-old passed his second breathing test and the tube that helped Andrew breathe for four days came out Thursday morning, Annika told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Seeing him without all the tubes and agitation in his face, what a relief,” Annika said.
She said her biggest fear was that her dad wouldn’t know who she was.
“But I am happy to report, he knows our voices, our names and can say those words, ‘I love you,’” Annika said.
The emotional roller coaster took the Gwinnett County family from devastation and tears to smiles and laughter, Annika said.
“The process is baby steps of baby steps of baby steps,” Annika said, “hence teaching all of us one of the main virtues of life, patience.”
Andrew opened his eyes and was alert for the first time Tuesday, exactly one month after his daughter turned 18 on Valentine’s Day.
The Mill Creek High School senior said her dad could see and hear his family, but not speak.
He still needed more time before the doctors could take him off the ventilator, so Annika couldn’t visit with Andrew on Wednesday.
But Thursday morning, Andrew asked for a “toothbrush and water.”
Annika wondered just how long her dad had been begging in his mind to say that.
Andrew started drag racing when he was 15, Annika said. His brother and sister-in-law also race, so it was something the family could do together at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce.
Andrew raced for about four years in the late 1980s but stopped to join the Navy in 1990 and later raise his only daughter, Annika said.
Andrew bought a dragster and started racing again last April, she said.
As his recovery continues, the family is planning to move Andrew to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta for brain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation.
Donations for medical expenses are being collected through GoFundMe.
“For those that haven't had the pleasure of meeting him, Andrew is ‘one of those guys,’” friend Chip Elbers said on the campaign page. “He's got a great sense of humor and will make you laugh regardless of how things are going. He is also a loving father and known by all as a great friend.”
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