Note from Stacey

The doctors came by this morning with the latest prediction that I will need to spend six more weeks in the hospital before they take the gall bladder out. This is much more time than I expected. I might as well get comfortable here. Friday, I had the pleasure of many visitors. Carrie came and showed me a video of her son’s play and taught me a card game. We talked about the boys, and I gave Yuri a climbing goal chart for his birthday. Then Stephanie came, which was special since she lives in Seattle and I haven’t seen her since the climb-a-thon time! She stayed several hours, and we enjoyed the homemade Japanese food Isa had brought the day before. Ana, who had a transplant almost five years ago, stopped in to say hello during Stephanie’s visit, and lastly, Mark came by in the late afternoon. I was happy I had enough energy to visit with people. I am feeling a little better. Usually, I have only a couple visitors per day (including Dave) so it was a pleasant surprise on Friday. Thursday, Isa visited for a couple hours and brought delicious miso soup with rice and edamame beans. Unfortunately, I have not been able to keep food down, but it tasted good and so thoughtful of her! Also, later that day I got a visit from a very cute and calm dog in the PAWS program. The owner set her on the chair, and then dragged the chair over to my bed. (You should have seen the look of trepidation on her face as the chair moved under her.) She was very beautiful, and reminded me of our childhood dog, Emma. She was soft and sweet, and took her job of getting petted very seriously, making sure to hold her head still for me. Later on Thursday, the art therapist stopped by, but I wasn’t feeling well enough to do any projects. I hope to do something today on my own. Stacey, from Stanford Hospital