Sometimes I wish there were a stronger word for thank you. 'Thank you very much' just doesn't cut it when thanking friends who have taken there precious time to pray for your dad. It really doesn't. Since I don't know a better way to say it, thank you. We have witnessed some remarkable improvements in the last few days. My dad is really homesick, and for the first time in 20 something days, I can actually picture him being able to go home at some point. He misses his cat, "T", seeing his friends, and just being at home. He is working really hard and is making good progress. I am hopeful he'll be able to go home soon, and in a condition where he can do some of the things he enjoys. We went by my parents' house the other day and took a picture of his cat to hang on his wall, at his request. We have 8x10's of all the grand kids hanging along with a wall full of cards he's received.
My prayers during this time concerning my dad have been pretty simple. "Help us, Lord. Have mercy. Love on my dad. Heal him. Encourage him. Help him." I also have come to treasure this prayer:

God grant me the grace to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr