I didn't hear from Mia yesterday so I didn't post, but she called late this afternoon and brought me up to date on Gary. He got his IVIG therapy this weekend which he has been taking for several years for his dermatomyositis and gets it at home with a nurse in attendance. This usually goes for about 8 hours or longer each day for 2 days. At the hospital where he is now, they ran it more slowly and got it over a 3 day period. It seemed to work better and he didn't get nauseated like he usually does. However, it does give him a bad headache and he gets very agitated and irritable which is what happened this time. This is the first time he's had it since his heart attack.

Mia said he hasn't felt like talking much and they haven't had the little voice valve inserted as often because they need to be able to get to him quickly if he has troubles breathing. When the voice valve is in place, he can be understood more clearly. He shocks some of his friends by greeting them when they walk in and many of them have no idea that he's talking. One of his best friends came in and Gary said, "Hey, man!" Mark almost fainted!

He greets Mia each day with a big smile and wants to kiss her. He loves for her to be there with him which is most of the time except at night.

As Mia says, this is going to be a long, slow process and we'll just take it a day at a time and help Gary get better. Please keep praying for both of them as well as all the kids. It's hard on all of them. Even the dogs don't know what's happened!

Love to all and thank you,

Bill and Nancy