Craig continues to make progress each day. He did make a trip over to Seattle a few days ago to meet with his surgeon and have x-rays taken. Apparently it was a hot (Craig is like an oven and gets hot easily) and long (ferry over and ferry back again) excursion. Joanie accompanied him in the back of the ambulance for the whole trip. The x-rays showed that his neck is crooked. He'll need another test done to see in detail more. Hopefully it's something that can be fixed. He always seems to be leaning toward the right whenever I've visited him, although today they actually had him up straight for a change. Anyway, he's eating three meals a day now which is great because he'll be able to have the stomach feeding tube removed as soon as he can keep his caloric intake up to a certain amount each day. They have been helping him up to use the bathroom as well. When I went in today to visit he was wearing a patch on one eye. The reason is because he's seeing double which is bothersome for him. The patch seems to help. I'm sure the medication (muscle relaxants and pain meds) probably contributes to the double-vision.

Also, he let me know that he was in a weird position earlier with his legs totally off the bed on one end and his head upside down on the other. I thought maybe he was speaking a random thought (which happens on occasion) but when the nurse came in while I was there to help him sit up to eat, she let me know that sure enough, he was all skiddywampus on the bed earlier. Apparently he wasn't able to reach the nurse "call button" when he had fallen over so he started yelling out for help. His roommate heard him and pushed his own button so the nurses could come help Craig. I wish I had been there earlier to help out but I'm glad everything worked out okay. He's quite the trooper. He thought he could slide his legs off the bed and sit up, but realized it didn't work that way. I hope he obeys the nurses orders and calls for help before he decides to move around like that again. Anyway, I got to feed him his dinner, which I haven't had the chance to do yet. I'm glad I was there to do that. I fed him about a quarter of the calzone and a few bites of salad before he decided he was finished. He did want his cookie for dessert though. Sarah and Sascha were with me to visit and got to go help themselves to the snack station which the nurse informed them about. They had an apple and hot chocolate. I think they wished they knew about that perk sooner since they've come with me several times before to visit.

Before I left, Craig told me that he knew how I must feel because he used to visit a friend who was in a similar facility, and was always glad when it was time to go. I let him know that he couldn't be more further from the truth and that I wished I could've stayed longer and that I always love coming to visit.

What a wonderful man Craig is and to see him so anxious to get out of bed when he can't is heartbreaking. I feel that he's becoming more aware of his condition and being the worker bee that he is, it's extremely frustrating for him. He hasn't been much of a TV watcher, or crossword puzzler, or card player, etc... I know he wishes he were working in his wood shop or playing with his cameras. I wish I had a magic wand to make things all better again. It still seems like a bad dream and that I'll wake up one day and see Craig out front walking Coconut around the cul-de-sac again. My heart goes out to Craig and Joanie and their families. What a challenging time! I know that Joanies son and his wife are expecting a baby and day now (first grandbaby!) and that Craigs son and fiance' are getting ready for their wedding, and Joanie's trying to hold the fort down on her own, take care of Coconuts health and her own, and is having to deal with some other new issues. Please keep praying for their whole family. I know they can use all the prayers they can get in dealing with these challenging times. We love you guys!!!

On a lighter note:
What's all that laundry doing in the hallway (how embarrassing for me to show this!)?


Hey, who are you calling laundry?


Some cute pics of Coconut when I was babysitting her: