Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 0721

Good Morning,

I just talked with the group and all is going somewhat OK. While I was talking with David, they were trying to do another blood draw from his left arm. The left arm has been poked and prodded sooooooooo many times that the veins are in stealth mode - they just want to be left alone so it is extremely hard for the nurses to gain access to a good blood source. David has a "Pick Line" in the artery on the inside area of his right bicep, but each time they draw blood from there, they have to flush the line first, the flushing fluid skews the lab work and they can't get an extremely accurate look at his blood counts. David's red blood count has been down the last few days and color has been a little white, we have been told that it is partially because of the little bit of blood loss during the surgery, the skin graft procedure and the pain associated with it, and the enormous amount of fluids still being given to David through his pick lines. I think the ideal count their looking for is a 10 and his last reading was 7.2 which is not critical at all but it is worth keeping an eye on.

Last night the Brecht sisters, they are really mother and daughter but their friendship with each other would make you think they are best buddies. They brought David more treats and fun movies to watch. David really appreciates all the treats and goodies but, for the most part, he is really unable to enjoy them like we would. We ask, sometimes too many times per day, what sounds good for him to eat and then we try to scramble and find it because he really needs to keep up on his protein. He has enjoyed a few of the truffles they brought him. The Brechts are wonderful friends and I have to say that David's Marine friend, David Moran, has great taste in women. Audrey is beautiful, inside and out. (Don't get jealous, Mr. Moran, I just wanted to let you know, if you're following this blog, that you made a great choice - she's a keeper)

David tried to watch Grumpy Old Men last night but did more dosing than watching. When I talked with David, and after having been by his side for over a month, I could hear and feel the lack of strength he has due to his pain, the drugs, the his incredible fatigue. If any one of you call David, please know that he will be putting an extreme amount of effort into having an intellectual conversation and in caring his thoughts from his brain to his mouth and trying to carry your thoughts from his ear to his brain, but now is still not the time to do any more that just visit.

Two days ago we were talking with a Master Sergeant and they were talking about all the wounds people had received. ( In order to protect David's privacy right now I have to be a little vague, but I want you to understand that last paragraph. ) The Master Sergeant was talking about things lost in the blast and David gave him all the details but left one significant detail out so I quickly added that detail into the conversation - David was absolutely shocked and a little mad at me because he thought I hadn't told him. I felt so bad because we had discussed the situation 5 to 7 times (that would be about 6 times) and he had totally forgotten. I'm was looking in his eyes each time we discussed it and thought the drugs were low enough that he was well aware but, oh my, was I wrong. I would venture to say that one of the only things he remembers from the ICU was his Purple Heart Ceremony, and I believe he remembers that because there is a fairly large photo of the ceremony on the wall right in front of him.

If you remember, in some of the first blogs, I typed the words of a letter that was given to David on his flight from Afghanistan to Germany. We read that letter to David in the ICU and he loved it. We gave it to him yesterday and it was as though he had never seen it. He was extremely touched by the sentiments of that young female soldier. He said he didn't know what he was doing to warrant such high praise from someone he didn't even know or couldn't even remember because of the sedation he was under. We could only tell him that his ability to assist those assisting him, his humor, his dedication and respect, his leadership, his compassion, his unselfishness, all shown to this girl while he was laying on a very uncomfortable gurney on a bumpy airplane and sedated to the hilt, was the reason she felt like giving David such respect and praise.

During this whole process, I have thought a great deal about a close friend of mine, Sharon Gardner, whose son lost his leg because of a blood clot. I thought I could really feel his pain but I found, through this, that I had absolutely no idea what he was feeling. Most the time you're not sure what you're feeling, numb, extremely grateful, caring, upset - there are just so many words to describe all the feelings of the day and that's what I'm feeling, what about David.

I feel like I'm rambling a bit and I'm sorry. I have been given many comments about this blog and the questions that come up, when I talk to people in person, lead me to believe that more information is needed so I am trying to give you some of the insights I feel.

All My Love,

Gordon