It is 9pm, on Saturday, Nov 24th, and if my calcuations are correct it is the one hundred twenty-ninth day since the accident.   Jeannette and Rich are both home, alive and with their minds and hearts intact.  From my perspective, as a friend of many years, it has been an incredible journey between the THEN and the NOW.  It has also been an incredible saga of ups and downs, of hope intermixed with fear and worry, and a testament to the human spirit over adversity.   In the process I've come to know an entire array of family and friends, and together we have witness a true modern day miracle.   The medical doctors and nurses truly did what seemed impossible, they put "Humpty Dumpty Back Together Again."   Rich is home.  Jeannette is home.   On Friday night they made the journey from the hospital to Willow, and today the new dawn broke with a sky that was bright and clear, with calm air and the awesome quiet of a perfect winter day.   It was an incredible day, a day to see, a day to experience, and a day to remind all of us of the incredible gift that defines the life experience.[...]

Jeannette will be HEADING HOME TOMORROW!!!!   WOW!    That's the news, and it's BIG NEWS of course, the dreamed for miracle now becoming a reality!    And it seems so appropriate that this news is coming over the Thanksgiving weekend.   We celebrated in true chicken fleet fashion, and Sully cooked all morning and the table was set at St Elias hospital by mid-afternoon.   It was a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, shared with Rich and Jeannette and Erika too, and we thanked God for the many blessings and then chowed down on turkey, home made mashed potatoes and gravy, bread crumb stuffing, sweet yams, fresh green bean casserole, and a pecan and a home made pumpkin pie.    If you check out the new pictures you will even see where Rich was so hungry it was almost like there were two of him eating!       ;-)[...]

Tonight there is lots of good news to report!   Jeannette was feeling MUCH better, and was able to eat, keep the food down, and do her PT too!   She walked up and down the parallel bars, and rebounded in a huge way.   In fact, they are actually talking about letting her go home now, perhaps as early as this Friday!    FRIDAY!   Don't get too excited, because like a lot of things in this medical saga its' all tentative, and the doctors have to be all on the same page, but for now that's the direction things are moving towards!   Of course, there are a few big IF's to be worked out, including IF they can get the home help lined up, the therapy sessions scheduled, the required lab work done when needed, etc...  Nevertheless, clearly there was some very big excitement in the air today!!!!!---John[...]

Since the last update on Saturday Jeannette has had a tough couple of days.  The nausea that began over the weekend continued, making her weak and unable to eat, and that in turn prevented her from getting out of bed and working on the therapy that is one of the big keys to her going home.   As she said, "I can handle the pain, and the rest of it, but the sickness is just too much."   Of course, the liquid "contrast media" she had to drink for the CAT SCAN didn't help things, and after that all important "gut check" test, she spent the rest of that day giving it back to the hospital.[...]

Tonight, as I am writing this, the wind out in the valley is howling, the temperatures are crashing into the single digits, and its been a grey overcast day with the threat of snow in the air.   I have been in Florida for the few days, so returning home from the land of "fun and sun" into the dark and the cold has been somewhat of an unpleasant surprise.   But one of the good things about getting back of course was getting home, and also having the ability to get by and visit Jeannette, and that of course was high on my agenda.  [...]

Another short update, just to relay that there are good things to report.   Jeannette's  tracheostomy tube has been removed, so once again less is more!   She is also walking!  Well...two steps forward, three steps back, turn left -- turn right, umm.   Progress!   On the downside, today she woke up with a bruise on her leg, which grabbed the attention of the medical staff, but on the upside they have cut much of her meds and tonight the big plan for dinner is "no hospital food."  That's right, last night it was steak dinner from a local restaurant, and tonight Rich is going out for another locally prepared meal.  Eating well is important; and is one of the keys for gaining strength and getting out of there!   Rich emailed me a new picture of Jeannette's first steps, which has been added to the photo album.   Enjoy!--John[...]

The big news today is that Jeannette worked on her Olympic form on the parallel bars. She took 2 steps forward, 3 steps back and performed a knee bend. That was only 1 set.  There should be a photo uploaded later today. Everyone was elated. It was a lot of work so she also went outside to cool off. Ty, from Occupational therapy, is working with Jeannette with a sock aid. This is used to put your socks on when you can't bend down. She also has a long handled reacher with a pincher on the end. This is used to take your socks off.  Jeannette insists that this is a "trainer" and plans to use it to keep Rich in line.  If there is too much "Honey Bears, do this" or "Honey Bears, have some...(food)", Jeannette says she will tell Rich that he has something on his tongue.... You can imagine the rest.   Now, that the sock lesson is over, we are moving on to pants.  The totally tally for today's activities is about 18 steps, socks on and off and pants all the way on. Ty joked that Jeannette is now ready for the fire because she can dress!  [...]

This is one of those very short updates, that has only a few words but still says a LOT.    We have all heard the expression that a picture is worth a thousand words.   Well, a few minutes ago Rich and Jeannette sent me two new photos, and they speak volumes.   Jeannette is standing up!    See the photo album and enjoy the thrill of seeing her standing on her own legs for the first time since the accident!-John[...]

This is a quick update and is a reflection of my FaceTime visit with Jeannette this afternoon. I also had a chance to say "hello" to Rich and to Sam, both who were in the room while Jeannette and I were chatting. The cell phones were ringing, with lots of well wishers and concerned friends calling in to say "hi" as well. For a Sunday afternoon, things seemed busy to me.[...]

I saw Jeannette earlier today. Rich was packing her up for the move back to St Elias. She was eating some cream of wheat after a bout of nausea during the night. If you girls out there remember baby doll PJs, she was sporting a cute new flowered top. The décolleté gown was gone as was the neck brace. When I got there at 0830, there was no " order" for Jeannette to move. The day was saved when Dr Morgan ( a Sitka girl) came in and made things happen. Jeannette, and the rest of us, just love her. Jeannette was sad that the Dr's next rotation takes her to Humana. Communion was delivered and, big surprise, it was my friend Jeff from the AK Army Guard. He is a great guy so I know the prayers were especially heard this morning. Sam and I moved the bag lady's (all Jeannette's stuff is in shopping bags) possessions out to the car and then I had to leave for a Boy Scout function. I will leave the end of day update and relocation report to John. But as of 1000 today, all was well. Sully