"We are thankful for so much this Thanksgiving. Eric continues to improve. The health care team has been fantastic. Our extended family and our friends are watching out for all of our non-medical needs.
"Eric had his second skin autograft today, a week after the first. The doctors were pleased with the results of the first autograft.
"Eric is becoming more independent. The respiratory therapists took Eric off his respirator, enabling him to speak. Eric is allowed a full liquid diet sent from the cafeteria to supplement his tube feeding. Yesterday the physical therapist helped him put his feet on the floor and he was able to stand unassisted."
NOTE:
Nobel laureate Eric Cornell is a senior scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and adjoint professor of physics at the University of Colorado at Â鶹¹ÙÍø.
Cornell and Carl Wieman, distinguished professor of physics at CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø, led a team of physicists that created the world's first Bose-Einstein condensate in 1995. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2001 for their creation of the new form of matter.