Note from Norrie Gill

Hi Stacey, I thought I would read your journal to catch up with what’s new. It reads like a suspense novel. All these unplanned adventures would be overwhelming for most but I am proud of the way you meet each new challenge and keep on plugging along. What an example you are for those beautiful nieces and the rest of us. Your friends have such good ways of showing you how much they care about you. I especially like catching up on news from Denise (the comics) and other family members. Your cousin, Ann, and her Dad and stepmother were here Friday. Every 10 years four of her school friends from DC get together…she was here from Mass. for that. They all turned 50. After reading about climbing adventures, this will make you yawn. I’m going on a cruise on the Potomac for lunch and to play canasta or something equally exciting. Stacey, I love you and will keep praying for you. Wish I could give you a gentle hug. Aunt Norrie Gill, from Gaithersburg

Note from Miki

Stacey, your last message has cracked me up. I’m pretty sure that you aren’t inserting icons into your messages, as funny as it would be, given all the postings from go-men, etc. I think anytime you type a “u” “r” or “l” it gets goofed up. I’m no computer programmer, so I just think it’s kind of funny. I wonder what my message will look like! Just winding down after my daughter’s fifth birthday party. I actually got Chris into a Mr. Incredible suit. I sent pics to your hotmail account, can you access it yet? Glad to read (sort of — ha!) you’re home and doing better. You are awesome, Stacey! Much love from STILL the Icebox of the Nation. Miki, from Its Snowing here!

Note from Felix

Hi Stacey, congrats on the surgery and being able to go home! And don’t worry about the [url] spammer; I’m on top of it now. Wishing you a speedy recovery. love, Felix, from Fremont

Note from John

Just FYI, The #@*%! in the following message was not a curse word, but was a programming tag that has already been filtered by the developer. My mom reads the site and didn’t want her to think I was cursing. Love ya Mom and Stacey too… John, from Texas

Note from John

Good Morning Stacey, Glad to hear about your successful surgery and hope you have a speedy recovery. I know it’s tough for you, but try not to push yourself too hard. I think you should give you body time to recover. Sometimes, not always, the doctors know what they are talkin’ about…LOL! As for these hacker types investing your web page, have your web programmer search the message text for “[url]”; if instr(message, “[url]”) then don’t save the information to the database. Of course if that was already implemented this message wouldn’t post..LOL! Sorry, some programmer humor… but the hack that’s trying to redirect your site is going to keep trying till his posts no longer post. The other possiblity is to not post any message till an admin clicks “post”, but that maybe a pain to administer. Just don’t add any messages with #@*%! tags to the database. Have a great day and know that your family loves you. John, from Texas

Note from Aunt Carol

Dear Stacey, I have not checked in for a while and was surprised to find you have had gall bladder surgery. Now there is something I can relate to. Many years ago I had that surgery. It was more stress than giving birth 4 times except when it was over it was over. Just kidding! My sons are a great blessing! I sympathize with you and hope you were able to have laproscopic surgery. We just had a blizzard on the shore of Lake Huron. It was a record for the last 82 years. Spring flowers were in bloom, the grass was ready to cut, and farmers were planting crops. We had high winds and blinding snow mixed with rain over the weekend. The TV said we had 12 inches. I measured many places in my yard and here we had 5 to 7 inches. Your cousin Ron and his 16 year old were at Boy Scout Camp in the wild and Ron came home very sick after two nights in a tent at 30 degrees. Don is working on his Eagle Scout rank. I am back at teaching my grandchildren to sew in preparation for the summer 4-H fair where they will show their calves and crafts. David,12, is making pajama’s from cow print material. He wants to add a detachable cow tail to the pants. One of the show calves is sick and after calling Jim’s wife (a veterinarian) the boys are treating it for bleeding ulcers. I hope it gets well in time to train for the fair. I feel sure that getting rid of the gallbladder will allow you to eat more and get your strength back. Love, Aunt Carol, from Michigan

Note from Peter Mayfield

Stacey, I am so glad to hear you are leaving the hospital! My girlfriend, Karyn Erickson, was diagnosed with LAM four days ago. Karyn has a background in molecular biology so we have been inundating ourselves with web research, and reading countless abstracts. Yours is the only real person perspective we have been privaleged to discover. Thank you so much for sharing your story, situation and positive energy in this way! Karyn is a cross country skier, cyclist and climber. We are just getting into climbing this year as the snow is melting (some days), though this weekend we were back on our skis. I hope you are back on rock soon! I know Karyn will be writting you. We are heading to Stanford as soon as possible for a day of tests at the hospital. Maybe we can meet sometime. I love bouldering in the Bay Area, (I grew up at Indian Rock) and I am teaching a class for middle school students at Castle Rock in May. If you ever need information about Yosemite climbing or introductions to some of the many awesome women climbers who live there, let me know. I have lived and climbed there for most of the last 30 years. Thanks again, We wish you the best, and have a wonderful homecoming! Peter Mayfield, from Truckee

Note from Denise Wirth

Hi Stacey1 <hello fro, france, I am having a hard time with this computer because the keyboard is in french, all the letters are in different places than I am used to, I love you so much and I am so relieved and happy that you are doing well. Hope Mom is feeding you lots: I love you! Denise P;S. Sophia read her first word today! She asked me for something for the 100th time and instead of telling her no I wrote NO on a piece of pa&per and she said HEY MAMA THAT SAYS NO. Hooray!!! Denise Wirth, from Cazaunous

Note from Felix

Hi Stacey. Congrats on the successful surgery! That is great news. I miss you over here and am proud of you for keeping courage. Hope to talk with you soon. Take care during your recovery. love, Felix, from back in CA

Note from Carrie Levin

Well Mark you beat me to the computer today. I too spoke with Dave and he said the same thing to me about Stacey’s amazing recovery from her gall bladder surgery. I want to point out to everyone how dedicated Dave Allen is to Stacey’s well-being. Not only is he one of her caregivers, but he has risen to the occasion many times. His frequent updates on Stacey’s condition, his steadfast loyalty and unwavering support for Stacey, plus the energy and patience he has given to Stacey are just awe- inspiring. I commend you Dave for your loving support you have given Stacey. Stacey you are so blessed to have Dave in your life. Stacey keep on dreaming! I love hearing about them! You never know -they could come true. I am looking forward to hearing about another record breaking recovery. Go girl! I hope to visit you this Friday. love and hugs, Carrie Levin, from Sunnyvale