August 11 (Saturday) - 1120pm

Tonight, I'll start the update with Rich, and for some strange reason he was having some very uncomfortable knee pain. The orthopod doctor was in and after he examined Rich he had some tests run, including an MRI to try and figure out what is causing it.   It may be that there is a hairline fracture or another issue waiting to be discovered, and it might be that Rich might need a leg cast....that's still to be determined but it's not the greatest news.    I'm not sure exactly when the results from all the tests will come back, but they want to see if there is an injury that happened in the accident that they might have missed with the initial examination.    

He had more visitors today, and they were very much appreciated.  Rich is in the talking mood, and he sure is enjoying his visits.     Doug and Reagan spent quite a bit of time talking with him today, and Laura and Sully made it by too late in the afternoon.    Joyce and Maryann and Erika seem to me to be there all of the time, and so the great support team continues.  

Today Rich wanted to know more about Jeannette, and he had Maryann take a picture of him to carry up to his "Honeybears" to show her he is "ok."   When she saw the photo of him sitting up, she made a huge smile and it was clearly a big relief for her to "see" that he is obviously recovering.   

As for Jeannette, her numbers are holding where they want them, but she was having some pain today.    That's not all that unexpected, but they did up her pain meds today to deal with it, and that in turn helped her get some important and needed rest.    She slept a lot today.    The real news is that her slow healing process is continuing.  The weekends seem quieter than the weekdays, even in the ICU.   I oh so want her to be able to bounce back quickly, to hop out of bed and say "Lets go!"  Ah, patience.    There is still a lot of healing that needs to happen, and I've come to realize its just one day at a time.   But the improvements ARE happening, and I can see changes and when I think back on where we were a week ago, or a week before that, then I am amazed.   To me it's clear she is making big progress.   I also realize that she is still pretty banged up, and while both Rich and Jeannette have come a very long way since the first days of the accident, there is no doubt that there will be many weeks, and perhaps months, of long term rehab in their future.   And when that happens, the need for friends down the road will be more important than ever.

I'll mention one more thing, because I think everyone would want to know.   Both of them have upcoming birthdays in the near future and I get the feeling that cards would be appreciated.    

Jeannette's is Aug 31 and Rich's birthday is Sept 13

Send all mail to the Keida home at:
PO Box 116
Willow AK 99688

Their mail is being picked up and is getting to the hospital.

As I close this update tonight I know I haven't said all that much.  But it's a good thing when there is not all that much to say.    Both Sam and Maryann wanted to once again thank everyone for the many comments, prayers, and posts.   They also wanted to relay that the "get well cards" have been a big hit and they read each and every one of them to Rich and Jeannette.  - John