"Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty I am free at last."

Good evening all,

John is free and looking forward to going home tomorrow. But it was probably a good idea to stay the rest of the afternoon and night at Bucky and Melody's. Traffic was great coming back to their house and I hope it is good for us tomorrow as well. John is napping now and I am so glad he is able to do so.

We have had a great day, but a little stressful. We didn't know they were going to take that tube out and had to wait a while for them to come. We had the eye appointment at 1:00 and as they were taking the tube out Dr. Hsue called and said they could see us right away (at 12:15). So we were kind of in a hurry to begin with and then had to rush even more, but it's okay. John knew the tube removal was going to be painful, but I think it was even more painful than he had anticipated. There was a suction-like cup on the end of it larger than the hole it was coming through. So the doctor pulled hard and fast, but it was still really painful. He told John he was one tough guy because most people couldn't stand that. And Cejae told you what he compared it to.

Everyone on the 5th floor came in to tell him goodbye and say how much they were going to miss him. Carolyn (PT) said they decided the first week he was there when he got ready to leave he was going to be "Patient of the Week." They base it on hard work, attitude, the ability to work with the staff and someone who inspires others. What an honor for him to receive it. Everyone told us when we come up for the follow-up visits to stop in and see them. How nice that people want to be around you even when the chips are down.

They have put another contact on his eye that we remove nightly so that we can tape it shut when he sleeps. When we come back we will see Dr. Yoo again and they will decide at that time what should be done, if anything needs to be done more permanently.

Today with his walker he maneuvered uneven surfaces, steps (with and without carpet), sidewalks, elevators and curbs and did a fine job of it. He is so thrilled to be someplace other than the hospital, but knows he has to take it slow and steady. We had our first meal out of the hospital: soup, crackers and applesauce and he did a good job of that as well. Tonight Bucky is going to fix penne pasta with marinara sauce at John's request.

We may stop at John's sisters in Streator tomorrow. We will see what the morning brings. Love you all and look forward to seeing you soon. Thanks again for everything.

Love,

Cathy