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

We just talked to Mia and she said Gary was doing good. He's still breathing on his own with some oxygen added to keep the brain fed properly. He set off the ventilator alarm a few times during the night and today, but not for long; it was just when he went into a deep sleep pattern. No word yet on the EEG results, but probably will be tomorrow.

Mia said there was a lot of company today and her two boys came and stayed a while. She said that Kameron (the youngest) got the biggest smile thus far from Gary. She said Gary's whole face lit up and one time it looked like Gary was trying to play the guitar. He and Kam and Brandon do a lot of jammin' on the guitars and drums. I told Mia that they should bring the guitar in sometime this week and she said they had already decided to do that. The boys also thought that Gary was trying to talk but they couldn't understand what he was trying to say. He's also done that with Mia.

I'm sorry that I didn't get to post yesterday, but we had a full day with the graduation and then going out to eat with the graduate and her boyfriend. We had a wonderful time while there and left today around 11 or so. We've landed in Arnold, MO - just south of St. Louis and will drive home tomorrow. Mia will be calling me tomorrow after she talks with the doctors. I will post again tomorrow evening from home.

Thanks again for all your prayers and concerns for Gary and Mia. Pray for all their kids, too; it's really been hard for them to deal with both their parents being gone so much.

Love, Bill and Nancy