ERIC AND JEN
My brother Eric gave us another scare a couple of weeks ago when he suffered a stroke. Luckily - if such a term can be used in this kind of circumstance - he was out having a few beers with my Uncle Dan who recognized the signs of a stroke and called 911. He was whisked to the nearby hospital which handled his heart valve operations in 2004 and 2006. They happened to have a neurological team on hand who rushed him into surgery and the clot was promptly removed.
Because of everyone's quick actions, Eric suffered no ill-effects and the physical therapy team deemed him normal after the first visit to his hospital room. In the end, I came to believe that this episode is yet another example of how beer drinking saves lives...
Mary and I scooted across the miles last week to pay him a quick visit. He was released last Wednesday and his fiance Jen, as you can see above, is probably the best medicine. She's smart and wonderful and has stepped in to oversee Eric's transition to a better diet and more carb-free lifestyle. They may never know what caused the stroke but everyone who loves him is just grateful for the final outcome. I only have one brother and I want to keep him around!
While visiting, we got re-introduced to his menagerie. Like our household, Eric has three cats. The eldest is Foggy, who I usually just see via a quick glance. The ruler of the home is the huggable and talkative Guinness...
GUINNESS
That big ball of loveable fur is Chumley, who must weigh nearly 40 pounds...
CHUMLEY
Chumley is just about the nicest cat you'd ever run into ... But Guinness has a lot of personality, too.
ERIC AND GUINNESS
It was good to see Eric and Jen again, though I'm sure we would all prefer less extreme circumstances. He lives in a great town, Normal, Ill., that has a cool downtown featuring a terrific comic book shop and a couple of used music shops, so it was good to spend some time together when we headed out the first day after he got home.
In the past week, Eric has continued to make great progress and even attended his school's honors program. He's a great teacher - the handmade get-well cards he received from his high school students were awesome – and as his year was winding down anyway, he'll get a nice rest before the start of the next school year.
More later,
Mark
1 comment:
Thanks for the kind words. Great pictures, especially the Jen and me one. Thanks again for coming and helping us set up. WE have followed the carb-free plan. Portion contro as well.
WE love ya and I am glad you and Mary have accepted Jen as a sister. She is the love of my life.
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