NZ Sun Jul 19th 3:15pm

Thank you all for the love, prayers, and healing that you send in your messages. I read every message and feel touched and healed by each one. Altogether they are overwhelming, but in a warm, wonderful, uplifting way. I treasure each one of you and I love going back to reread your messages, knowing they will lift my spirits again.

Today I am 10 days out of the hospital. I admit that I was very afraid of leaving the hospital because I was terrified that without the constant TLC I was getting from the 3rd floor staff (read “Angels”) at Hutt Valley Hospital, I would not continue healing like I was under their care. I have since found that I have continued to recover, thanks to being with my family (Emily included) and being in a “home” environment. Actually, I have made a lot progress since I left the hospital. Some highlights, if you’ll permit me:

I have regained my sense of SMELL! (Good thing, because before that, I wasn’t sure if I smelled bad since I couldn’t smell anything.)

I can breathe through my nose with my mouth closed! This may not sound like a big deal to you, but it sure is to me! For the better part of my 16 days in the hospital I had a trache tube, but even when they removed it (THANK GOD), I could not use my new nose and sinuses to breathe. Since coming out of the hospital, I’m breathing normally!

I can blow my nose! I’ll be really thrilled when it all comes out green instead of the leftover blood from the accident and surgery. I’m getting there!

Every few days, I feel more of my face. On a funnier note, due to the blindness of my right eye, I sometimes hit my head on things I don’t see. But hey, I can’t feel it, so that’s a blessing!

I haven’t taken more than Panadol (Tylenol) for pain since I left the hospital, and I have only taken it once a day for the past 3 days!

I can hear from my left ear! I don’t think there’s anything permanently wrong with my right ear (although they had to reattach the lobe and some of the cartilage part after the accident), but right now I just can’t hear anything from it.

All the bruises on my body are gone except for the ones on my shins and some on my face.

I’m down to wearing my finger splint only at night.

I can pour a beverage without missing the glass! (My left eye -- my “good” eye -- is my distance eye, so I can’t see anything close up without reading glasses, so it really limits my depth perception close up.)

Better than that, I can now drink a beverage without it all coming out my right nostril! (I swear to God, you can’t take me anywhere!) When they put my face back together, I still had a jagged crevice in the roof of my mouth that extended from just behind the center right of my mouth back to the soft palate. My mouth is wired together with “braces” and rubber bands, which is pulling the two pieces of my mouth back together, and the jagged crevice is almost completely closed now. Progress!!!!!

I have an appetite! Simply put, Sarah is a magician in the kitchen. She makes nutritious, amazingly delicious main dishes, soups, and smoothies. Most of what she makes she purees for me, and it is WONDERFUL! The other day she came into the warm room, looked at the fire, and said, “I have an idea!” Right then she decided she was going to make s’mores. We had Cadbury caramel bars and marshmallows, but no graham crackers. No worries! Sarah and Emily found an Alton Brown recipe and made their own graham crackers -- way better than anything you’d find in any store. Just a warning to Marky and Ray: Sarah thinks it would be a good dessert to bring to The Clam Bake!

At this very moment I am smelling the lovely, hot aroma of a loaf of bread Sarah just made! I can’t wait until the day that I can eat some of it!

Day by day, my tolerance for wearing reading glasses is growing. They strain my good eye and their weight (as minimal as it is) hurts my face, but I am able to wear them longer each day.

Yesterday was a nice, sunny day (mid 50’s in the sun), so Joe and I were able to take a walk in this beautiful yard. We were outside for about half an hour. The scenery is absolutely spectacular here from any vantage point. Amazing. Even though Joe is on crutches, he is a great help. I have to put drops in my blind eye, which I cannot open on my own, so he does that for me 4 times a day. On the other hand, he can’t get around, so I enjoy being able to get him a cup of coffee or help him carry something from point A to point B. He always has been, and will ever be, my very best friend and the love of my life.

My family says I look better every day. My color improves and they say I am starting to look more like myself.

I take great joy in doing mundane, mindless tasks. I love drying the dishes, making a cup of tea, and microwaving something to eat, especially for someone else. It just feels good to be alive.

It’s funny. You don’t know where you’ll find inspiration and encouragement. Today I was in the kitchen and happened to notice some of the magnets on Janet and Ray’s refrigerator. I smiled in spite of myself. Some samples:

Attitude is everything.

Don’t let the sands of time get in your sandwiches.

A great journey begins with one step.

You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?

And a bon mot from Albert Einstein: In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.


So -- lots of good news, right? I hope this makes you worry less and rejoice more.

One more bit of good news: Last night the New Zealand All Blacks (national rugby team) defeated the Aussie Wallabies 22-16 for bragging rights in the South Pacific!

Love and thanks and blessings to all,

LuAnn