Day 13

Joanie's email: joaniecarle "at" gmail.com

When I went to see Joanie this afternoon, about 5:30 PM, she was wanting to get into bed. She was exhausted! I kept her up so she could get her hair cut and have supper. I guess she had a steady stream of visitors--each of whom she loved to see. Alas, she feels compelled to hold up her end of a conversation with each one and it's still too much.

Tim M., from PUC, wrote her an email that began: "I'm speechless. I guess you were too, eh? (ok, bad joke)". My kind of a statement...

Thanks to the good care Joanie's getting, she continues to progress in small but steady steps (pardon the pun). Her headache is diminished to a level that she now enjoys opening the blinds to see the views. Her appetite has improved with the more normal food she can eat.

Jan D. dropped a card off in my classroom yesterday with quotes from both her kids. Her son, Adam, who had Joanie in kindergarten, said, "If she had to go and have a stroke, she picked the best kind to have." He recently graduated from medical school. His sister, Sarah, a medical student, said that Joanie needed to be reminded that she taught Sarah to skip in kindergarten. She remembers Joanie telling her, "it's just a little step and a jump". Jan closed by saying, "So much for rehab advice".

We continue to be amazed by people who are reading this blog. Because some of Joanie's friends correspond frequently with mutual friends, Joanie is able to hear, by email and cards, from people she's not seen for years.

Thanks you.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
Herm Albright