[Oe List ...] More McGuire Drama

[Harry Wainwright]

As Charlie Brown would say, "Good Grief!"  Fred and I went up to Blue Ridge 
yesterday to celebrate Autumn, and the first really cool day, and that Fred
was 
getting his strength back after two major surgeries this year.  I guess we 
overdid it, walking to the top of the mountain from our cabin (not far, but
a 
fairly steep incline.)  Coming back down, Fred took a header, cut a deep
gash 
over his right eye and took quite a bit of skin off under his eye also.  I
made 
record time (for me) driving down the mountain road to the nearest hospital,

where we spent four hours in the emergency room, getting really good care, 
including a CT scan.  No broken bones or brain injury.  They gave him a shot
of 
morphine, which made him sick at his stomach, and I had to set the alarm for

every 2 hours through the night and wake him up.

We made it through the night, but I couldn't go back to sleep after the 4:00

am wake-up, and was feeling post-traumatic stress symptoms.  I got up and 
smudged myself, Fred, the house and car with sweet grass smoke.  Lay face
down on 
my massage table and listened to a healing chant by the Dalai Lama, and
awoke 
there at 8:30 feeling quite refreshed and in the present moment.

Fred looks like he was the loser in a heavyweight championship match, with 
really scarey-looking purple bruises, and his eye swollen shut.  We had him 
checked out by an eye doctor today.  Called our primary care doctor and
asked him 
to read the CT scan report and call if he thought he or a neurologist should

see Fred.  It's now 8:25 p.m., and Fred has slept most of the day, had his 
first solid meal for dinner, and seems to be doing fine.    Has had no pain
today, 
hence no pain meds.

So, all in all, prayers of praise and thanksgiving are in order, though Fred

is very embarrassed, and looks like he's early for Hallowe'en.  Anyway, I 
wanted our beloved supporters to know that this, our challenging 51st year,
is 
continuing to be challenging, but we think we're okay.

I'm reading Ann Lamott's PLAN B:  FURTHER THOUGHTS ON FAITH.  She says,
"When 
God is going to do something wonderful, He or She always starts with a 
hardship; when God is going to do something amazing, He or She starts with
an 
impossibility."

Happy Autumn!

Love and blessings,
Jann