Saturday, December 12, 2:30pm

Dear Family and Friends,

Hectic days around Murray Re-hab!! I'm sorry to have skipped a few days but we've had lots of excitement in the way of Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Nurses stopping by on a regular basis, which has been great. We managed to get through the day without power/phones all day yesterday from about 2:30 Friday AM due to the ice storm. Thank heavens for a great wood stove which provided us with heat, hot water and a warm-up lunch! Because we have Time-Warner Cable package with includes our phone, we had no phone service except for my cell phone which was running low on "juice". By the time the power was restored and our TV and phone was back up, the phone had been not charging for nearly 22 hrs and that's when all the phone calls began! We lost a few callers due to the low warning beep and then it cutting out completely but hopefully, we were able to get the reason for the sudden "hang up" out to you!!

Mom is gaining some ground nearly every day but the therapists still tell her it will be a few weeks before she can think of returning to the island. She can make about 3 laps around the house (inside, of course) before needing a break and she surprised me today by calling out to come and see and she had gone up one of the steps on our stairs (alone)! Dad and Pat made an island visit to check on the cottage and the house and make sure things were ready for any more upcoming winter weather. I'm sure Dad liked being out of the house, since he hasn't left Mom's side and has been her constant assistant!

There is still alot of congestion to get rid of and makes sleeping on her back uncomfortable as she feels like she is smothering after an hour or so, and so she relocates from recliner, to chair, to bed several times a night with Dad's help and manages to get in several power naps throughout the day. She is eating good and wanted to sit in the dining room this afternoon after her lunch, to pay some of her own bills! This is a big step as I have been doing that job for the past 6 weeks. It's just one more step in the right direction.

My plan is to return to work at the school right after Xmas vacation ends. By then, Mom and Dad should have things pretty well worked out and I can leave for the 2-3 hrs. without worrying about them. Mom hopes that a week or so after New Years, they can return to the island but we'll see.

Next week, Mom has two different doctor appts scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday and we are plotting our mean of getting her out of the house and into the car safely. We have a wheelchair which Barb brought from the island (it was Jon's "toy") and we will use it as a back up to the "chair with casters" that has worked so well up til now.

Well, that's about it. We are all trying to fine-tune our schedules and roles but I still can't believe it when I look at the clock and it always seems to be yet another mealtime! We've been eating a lot of easy meals and I so miss my regular spicy, garlic and onion filled creations but I haven't talked Dad into wanting to partake of anything that exotic yet!!

Lots of love and thanks for all of your support and prayers.

Bev