A Pretty Good Christmas...If I Do Say So Myself!

Hmmmm... When last we chatted here on my little corner of blog-dom, I was ready to throw in the towel as we figured that Lou would be ready to succumb to her illnesses. There was only one problem in that process... somebody forgot to tell Lou... Someone forgot to tell her that she was supposed to give up. Lou's high fevers have finally subsided and she is still in a world of suffering. But the funniest thing happened: Lou is actually starting to get a little bit better. Her numbers for her ability to get off of the respirator still suck. And though it's difficult for her to communicate because of the trach, she has gotten a lot better with her cognizant skills and we spent Christmas together in the hospital. Our conversations have been lucid and she understands what she's up against. Last week, with Christmas coming upon us, she had nothing in her room to reflect that Jesus' birthday was coming up. So I said the heck with this noise and went and got a 3 foot Christmas tree and took it into her room and spent an afternoon putting it all together. She had a small radio that was playing Christmas music so I started goofy dancing like a big goofy idiot while I was putting the tree up and I look over and she's looking at me and laughing. When I get her laughing, it makes me feel really good... at least until she starts to aspirate on the trach. Then I feel terrible. But it's good to see that smile back on her face. It's hard to see her struggle like she does, and her prognosis is crap... but she's more cognizant and is able to focus and we are able to have great conversations and I've grown closer to my sister. I've learned more about toughness and courage from her in these several months than I ever thought I knew... She really has been our best Christmas gift...