Happy Pre-Turkey Day!

Good morning all,

The hotel has computers so I can continue to blog, at least this morning. It is rainy and gray in Chicago this morning which often sets my mood in a non-positive way. But we are hoping for the best and we are so fortunate and blessed, we should never be non-positive.

We didn't sleep all that great, but it is so nice to be close to the hospital and our appointments. Our friend Barbara came last night and took us to dinner, but we were pretty pooped by the end of the night.

Traffic wasn't bad at all yesterday and we made our appointment in plenty of time.

While we were waiting for Dr. Akst to call us back, some little boy (probably about a year old) just toddled over to John, held his arms up and crawled on his lap. He leaned back against John's shoulder like he had known him his whole life. It was sweet and precious and, I think, made John's day. Many people look at him strangely, but what a blessing that children are so innocent and non-judgmental.

Dr. Akst was a really sweet doctor. Everything done at Loyola is put into a computer and when you go to a different doctor/area, all of the information is already there for them to look at. You don't always realize how nice that is until doctors start asking questions and you're the one trying to remember dates, outcomes, medicines, etc. So what a nice thing that is. Anyway, Dr. Akst asked John several questions and then took him for a video look at his vocal cord. Needless to say, the right vocal cord is paralyzed and he said there was something else going on as well. He said it was nothing to be alarmed about, but it was a concern. He called it a medical name which I can't remember, but what it boils down to is that there is something in there similar to a polyp caused built up by scar tissue. He said for that to be there a couple of things had to be present: the ventilator probably started it, but he has quite a bit of acid reflux that keeps it aggravated and then he works so hard for his voice to be heard, that it complicates things. I may not be reporting this at all correctly, but that is my understanding. He believes he can help the vocal cord by injecting a substance (again a long name). What we have to find out today is whether or not Dr. Anderson believes the vocal cord paralysis is permanent or temporary. If it's temporary, he will inject something that lasts about 2 1/2 months; if it is permanent, he will inject something that lasts about two years. He believes it lasts longer than that, but it has only been researched for a length of two years. He likened it to someone going in with flat lips and coming out with puffy lips. The would "plump up" John's vocal cord which would help his swallowing and his voice. After the procedure is done he wants John to work with a speech therapist who is comfortable working with voice issues so that he doesn't work so hard to speak. We have a follow-up appointment for the injection for December 8. I am just glad God helped John find doctors that know what they are doing.

John's memory is so great. We went to a mall up here yesterday. He just sits in the car and doesn't seem to mind at all. Anyway, we went past this restaurant called "The Clubhouse." We had also passed a couple of golf courses on the way in so we had to find out their names also, but anyway, I digress. He wanted me to go into "The Clubhouse" and see who owned it because he thought Kevin Costner or Paine Stewart or Peter Jacobsen owned it. So I go into this restaurant feeling like a total idiot for even considering asking this question. I went up to the desk and said, "I'm not really sure why I'm here, but my husband thinks someone famous owns this restaurant." The hostess said, "Well, they did eight years ago when it was first opened." Jack Nicklaus, Kevin Costner and she named somebody else that I can't remember are the ones that first opened it. They sold it but, once again, John was right. I swear, he remembers everything. But what an amazing, miraculous thing for him to have. God is so good.

I will close for now. I may not get to blog again until we get home. We hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving and we will see you again soon. Love to all.

John and Cathy