August 16 - quick update

This past week Larry has once again spent several days in the hospital (argh!) with another bout of pneumonia. He also has a resistance strain of bactéria in his blood so he has come home with IV antibiotics which we hope will take care of the problem...once and for all!! He continues to do well with the soft food diet and we are just using the feeding tube in his stomach for his medicines and ocasional supplemental feedings. Mealtime has become a much happier time! We really enjoy those times together. Our goal is NO more hospital stays and NO more infections.

August 5th - Get news!!

Yesterday was a milesone day for us. Larry was given a swallow study at the hospital and the results were very good. He can now eat soft foods in small amounts! YAY!!! What an awesome change for him...and me! Never eating or drinking is a very difficult way to live and we have sure learned the value of enjoying a meal together. It has made us so much more aware of how much our lives revolve around eating...food is everywhere!! Sometimes I would find Larry concentrating on the TV and look to see that it was a comercial about food...they have them constantly!!! He´s even been found watching a food channel...which he would NEVER have done before. He just couldn´t seem to help himself and I couldn´t blame him one bit!!! Somehow just getting formula through a feeding tube just didn´t `cut it`!
I´ve even missed cooking (sometimes!) which has surprised me because I used to complain that after over 40 years of cooking meals I was getting pretty tired of it. Who knows what you wll miss when it is taken away from you. The smell of a cooking meal can bring a great feeling of comfort to a home. I`m grateful for the things we have learned through this experience and for the awareness and empathy we have now for those who go through similar difficult situations.
I know that the Lord has helped us through this difficulty as he has through other difficult times in the past months. We are receiving remarkable blessings that we have been told would be very improbable and unlikely in Larry´s circumstances. We continue to proclaim that we know.....
 `With God, all things are possible`!!