July 12

Here's a report from Brian C:

Hello all,

I had a pretty busy week so I apologize for the lack of communication. I

have visited Bob a few times in the past few days and he has been on an

upswing. He is definitely more alert, the doctors and nurses are saying

that his infections have been disappearing (not sure about all of them

being 'gone' but definitely much better in this department) and there is

noticeable improvement from last week's report; which was definitely the

lowest point at which Bob has been. Today's dialysis nurse said she was

amazed at how much better Bob was since she last treated him on July

3rd. I don't think I can say that Bob is out of the woods by any stretch

but he still seems to have some fight left; which quite frankly amazes

me. There is a doctors' conference on Monday and I hope to have a more

specific update then. Bob's nephew Tim will hopefully get a chance to

meet with doctors as well.

Bob still wants the visiting to a minimum - when I check in I sometimes

just sit with him while he sleeps. I did share a bit of news (borderline

gossip actually) with him on Friday and that certainly sparked a

reaction. Sometimes those juicy little tidbits can go a long way. Not

sure that the lesson here is 'gossip heals' but it certainly didn't hurt

in this instance.

I hope everyone is enjoying a weekend with great weather - Bellingham is

perfect today so we will enjoy it while we can.

Brian