Despite the circumstances I had a lovely birthday. My day was full of birthday calls, cards and gifts. My Sister arranged for us all to meet at a down town restaurant (Pasta Shelf) for a dinner and I finished my meal with a huge slice of decadent chocolate cake ( I shared it).

Al’s room mate and his wife had tickets to Mamma Mia but because Harold was too sick for a pass I was offered the tickets at a hideously reduced price. So after supper my friend Donna accompanied me to the KROCK to see the production. I fell asleep singing Abba and woke to SOS this morning after a sleep that would rival the dead.

Funny how the best gifts come in such non-tangible form. Yesterday Al sat bedside without incident. And he struggled a bit to find his new center of gravity, but Lisa his Physiotherapist talked him through where he needed to place his hand and what to work toward. After sitting up several minutes he was air lifted into his chair and we strolled to the sunroom and Al had a couple of visitors. We have now moved into goal setting, so the goal is to start sitting bed side once a day and get into the chair for longer periods, building strength and endurance. Lisa was very pleased with today. I was also excited and deemed the sitting success a highlight and my best birthday gift.

Al has developed an infection in his blood which is being treated with intravenous antibiotics. Seems there is a continuous circus of small things to overcome. His sodium and electrolytes are remaining stable and that is great news.