Sunday Night Successes

It's been quite a day here at Lake Wobegon. Tracy is in her own room and ate more lemon yogurt than she wanted and some mashed potatoes that were probably made in a laundry room and drank like a regular human being all day. She sat in the chair for hours at a time. She walks herself to the bathroom. And she tells funny stories. Now, this is great, but she also feels crumby, her head hurts a lot when she coughs, (and she must cough to clear out those lungs) and, of course, she has some significant pain. The right side of her face still doesn't work and her right eye doesn't produce tears. So, she sleeps with some lubricant in it and a patch over it to keep it closed.

I am on a chair/bed next to her in the room. It is nice to be near her. We had some time alone together tonight just talking gently and quietly about what she wanted to talk about; nothing real significant, just being together without having to pay attention to essentials and other people's needs or personalities. It was serene. There is a shower stall in the bathroom and the practical care assistant said I could use it. What a treat! I'm clean, wearing night clothes and can actually sleep in a prone position tonight.

I want to be sure and say thank you to all of you for allowing me to communicate with you through this blog and not on cell phones or visits right now. I have tried to tell or read to Tracy some of the comments, but it is too much right now. Too many words and too much to process. So, I just kind of tell her who wrote and the shortest summary I can think of . Even then, sometimes she says, "not now". I know why she feels that way, because I know that girl. She wants to receive these comments in her heart. She doesn't want to just hear it. I am trying to get all of the emails copied onto a word document so she can read them when she is able. I have 28 pages so far.

She said something interesting tonight. She said, "God is good. Today, while you were gone I was able to meet with God. Before now I have just been to out of it." I was so glad to hear that because we (Tracy and I) have not been able share our faith and dependence on God with each other. You know, even the un-spoken communion that one has with their spouse, we couldn't have while she has been so out of it.

It's about 11:30 p.m. and the night nurse just came in to introduce herself and do a little assessment so she could know about Tracy. So, in another 30 minutes or so, Tracy should be free for the night to sleep.

One last story that Tracy was telling to make everybody laugh. Her nurse last night was a fella named Curtis and he was a nice enough guy, except that he was not amenable to letting me spend any time with her in the middle of the night. Tracy said he talked to others about how he had to get her husband out of the room. (Harumph) Well, anyway, Curtis told Tracy how his shoulder was hurting so badly. He thought he may have broken his clavical while he turned in his sleep. Tracy said she was thinking, "Why are you telling me this? Why don't you try having a tumor removed from your brain?" She said she thought she should publish a list, "Things You Don't Talk About With a Person Who Just Had a Tumor Removed From Their Brain". She's a crack-up.

Things are looking really good. God answers the prayer of his faithful. And you have been faithful. Thank you for your love.

Jeff