March 23, 9:00, mark

Ginny reports that Joe had a busy and tiring day today -- he was full go on all therapy sessions, while still fighting the troublesome respiratory issues that have lingered since late last week. Lots of coughing left him too tired to eat much supper, but the respiratory specialist, labs, and other indicators suggest that the infection is getting better. Ginny said he was sound asleep by 7:30, and the congestion seemed a bit better than it had been to her as well.

Gin also reported that on Sunday Joe did a great job of propelling himself in his wheelchair. He does this by basically "walking" the chair along by moving his feet in a stepping motion while seated. Gin didn't push him at all, but gave him verbal directions which he followed accurately, and the really cool part of the story is that when he came to a door that required the pushing of numbered buttons to open, Gin told him the numbers and he promptly hit them accurately to open it. These kind of things aren't always consistent -- it depends on his level of alertness, mood, etc., but they are exciting when they occur and offer lots of hope for the future.

Gin was happy to see Phil and Jackie (Joe's parents) arrive back in Atlanta yesterday (Monday) afternoon. They will be moving on to Madison sometime later in the week to help with the boys, who were being assisted by Ginny's brother Ed for quite awhile, and then more recently by her brother Theresa and husband Mike. Huge thanks to them and all the rest of the family and friends who have been handling the Alabama end of the operation for so long now. Joe's brother Paul is returning to Atlanta on Sunday and staying for a few days, and will be followed by Gin's sister Patti a few days later. (Theresa is also coordinating a lot of the family logistics and "rotations" of coverage which, as you can tell, is almost a full-time job itself).

Through it all, the healing process that Ginny often calls "the dance" goes on . . . sometimes three steps forward and then one back, but always charging on.

That's it for now. Thanks for all the continuing love and support.

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