Fall

It's November already. The leaves are turning yellow and gold, grass is slowing down, hunters are going to the woods, and there is a smell of wood smoke in the air. Mark is starting his sixth month in the hospital. He is patiently enduring all the things necessary to finally go home. He had a successful surgery yesterday to close up his bedsore. They came after him about noon, got started about 1:00, and he was back in his room about 3:00 - no problems. The down side is that he must stay off his feet for 3-4 weeks. He's starting to get some simple food, like pudding, and they plan to do an MRI in the near future. They want to make sure there are no lingering side effects from his tracheotomy before progressing to something more solid. Shortly after returning to his room, still groggy but awake, we were more than happy to see Mark still has retained his sense of humor. He can still smile at a joke. I told Mark that I went to see his son Joseph play basketball this week. Joe did great, scoring his team's first 4 points. He's a starter on the 8th grade team. Tomorrow Mark will be able to watch his OSU Cowboys take on Texas - go Cowboys! The one constant that Mark has just now is Corale. She keeps him interested, talks to him, plays little games, encourages him, and is always there. We're getting there, and we all look forward to the day when he can go home.