Hi, all,

Another difficult day for Lea, as her body had a difficult time maintaining normal blood sugar levels today. This morning the nurses had to give her lots of insulin to keep somewhere near normal, and this afternoon and evening they had to keep giving her sugar (Dextrose) to get her levels high enough to sustain minimal blood pressure.If you were one of those who noticed that the evening status recording wasn’t done on time, it was because, Laura, bless her heart, was kept so busy trying to get Lea back into bounds. When I left after 11:00 p.m ., Laura was still bedside, watching the monitors and doing practically constant blood testing for sugar levels. Laura will work through the night trying to get Lea stable, so that she can get her needed surgery at 1:15 p.m . Wednesday. These surgeries are needed to make sure she isn’t developing any infections, and delaying a single day due to a complication like this can be serious. You should be able to hear a status report by 8:00 a.m . If you do not, call to inquire about Lea’s condition at the nurses’ desk just outside her room .

Generally speaking, Lea is still in pretty much the same situation . . . . critical but stable . . . . although she wasn’t as stable as we would like yesterday or today. She developed a runny nose today as well, so Laura added a Sudafed drip to the smorgasbord Lea is getting, and by afternoon her runny nose had subsided. So, if you’re keeping count, she was getting 18 drips . . . they added steroids yesterday to stabilize her, and Sudafed today to stop her runny nose . . . 20 medications! It is just amazing what the medical field can provide in the way of healing assistance.

I am spending most of the day with Lea, reading emails and greeting cards to her, playing music on the DVD player, brushing her hair, holding her hand, and looking for any signs of response. I know she can’t respond, but I can’t help hoping that she’ll acknowledge me. I have arranged to take a treadmill stress test this Friday, to see how my heart is holding up, and to hopefully be able to get into the cardiac rehabilitation program here during my stay. I had been going to the cardiac workout center three times a week back home, and don’t want to lose the progress I have made.

I’m afraid the prayer page has not been updated recently, since Link and Lance have both been on the road . . . Link had a planned minor surgery today in Hawaii, and Lance is in Atlanta IN trying to help us get the house ready to sell. I had told them that I would update it, but haven’t wanted to do much other than be with Lea and try to comfort her as much as possible. I’ll keep you informed on progress to that page as we can get it updated.

I am attaching yesterday’s message below, since I had requests from several folks to be added to the distribution list, and I want to be sure they have a little backgrounding in the situation at hand. As always, we are very grateful for all expressions of affection and good wishes. We received a couple more greeting cards today, and several eGreetings sent from the Hartford Hospital website. I am posting those in Lea’s room, more for the nurses’ benefit, since they are all becoming so attached to Lea. I am also making a copy of each message and putting it in a three ring notebook for her, so when she wakes up she can read them at her leisure.

We have received several notes stating that Lea’s ordeal has caused many of our friends and family members to pause to tell their loved ones that they are loved . . . something we all too often neglect to do. The Lord is at work in this illness, and Lea would be happy to know that you have come closer to God and your loved ones because of her suffering. Can’t you just SEE that beautiful smile of hers?

God bless each of you with compassion for others in your lives, and appreciation for the gift of time to spend with those you love,

Larry