Willie here…2:45pm 5/2 (Friday)

Well, it’s post Ethel-ectomy +1.5 days and Deb’s progress continues to be outstanding. She’s received her official NYU frequent traveler card as she’s on her 3rd different room as of this morning. It appears she’s progressing so well, they’ve decided to disconnect all lines & tubes and now placed her in a semi-private room without any monitoring devices. She’s starting to eat solid food again and is able to get up and walk to the bathroom, and will be attempting a walk through the hallway in a matter of minutes, albeit with some help. My guess is she doesn’t really need the help, but she’s a giver and trying to help us feel useful. OK, maybe not useful as much as provide a soft landing should she suddenly take a header.

Last night, Debbi shared her hospital bed with me and settled in to watch a little TV. About 15 minutes into it, she noticed that the bed was getting very wet. Now, I know our incontinent dog was about 60 miles away, so we quickly searched for the source to find that the little pee tube had decoupled and provided a very colorful cascading waterfall. It would have really looked cool if somehow we could have affixed a gargoyle to the end, but we took comfort in knowing that they were out scaring little children.

Dr. G. stopped by today and echoed what we knew – she’s making great progress and could possibly go home tomorrow. In fact, they’ve already removed her belly dressing and plan on taking off the head dressing (hat) tomorrow. Belly dressing you say? Yep, while she was here, she decided to have some liposuction – not that she needed it. Actually, it seems that they use the belly fat to fill the void left behind. I brought some GE Tub & Bath silicone joint filler, but it only had a warranty of 20 years; whereas not unlike butt fat, belly fat appears to last forever.

Debbi remains in great spirits and the numerous calls, visits and posts continue to be an inspiration to all of us.

Willie