A Friend...

I visited Suzie today, she was being wheeled around the halls of the 9th floor by her Dad when I saw her. She was having a tearful, frustrating moment, but she looked right up at me when I approached, burst into tears and said, "You forget." "No, I did not forget you, honey." I held her hand and I told her how pretty she looked, she held my hand back. There were bursts of tears and "Forget" a lot...and then I remembered that I had brought her a stuffed gorilla (picked out especially by my daughter, Mabel), so I showed Suzie the gorilla, and told her that I had something for her. "She stopped crying, looked at it and said, "Oooohh....a friend." Then I noticed that she had on a little touch of make-up, so I told her how pretty she looked and I saw that she had make-up on. "Oh, you know." , she said. Then it was time for her to go back to her room, and her sister came to greet me and give me some info on how she is doing.

She's making phenomenal strides. The therapists are all being quite aggressive in getting her to do more and more. The breathing tube was removed yesterday, and her wound looked nice and clean. They were planning to take away the feeding tube soon, as well. From all other accounts posted here, I must agree - the room she is in is quite nice, at the end of the hall, private, and with large windows with a nice view. All kinds of CWA decorations, and family all around. Suzie is such a fighter, and however long it takes, I feel confident that we'll get her back. One day at a time.

I walked away from the hospital feeling inspired. Several doctors came to visit while I was there, and clearly she is in good hands.

Mia and Janine joined me after a little while, can't remember the exact words that were said, but at one point, she actually looked up at us and gave us a little Suzie-smirk.

Her sister Cindy, advised me to let everyone know that while Suzie is making great strides, she gets incredibly tired from all of the therapy and then while visitors are talking to her,  she gets very frustrated and stressed from not being able to communicate. Hence, the "fuck." I must admit, it was hard to not smile while she was going into her bursts of "Fuck", but her Dad was standing there saying, "Now, not nice words, not nice words!" Cindy did ask that we provide the therapists with a chart (she said a list of names), but the production in us has to produce something, a Powerpoint? A Keynote? Digital photos? Do we need a projector? Mia and the rest of us (met with Rick, Erin and Kathy L afterwards), decided it had to be with photos and names. I'll let the producers produce....but know that there may be a request out for some photos! Cindy also asked that maybe we try to not overwhelm Suzie with too many visits. Keep them short, no longer than 10-20 minutes, again - a detail that I'll let Mia and Janine communicate better.

I like to think that maybe Suzie knew who I was, hard to tell. Nonetheless it was comforting to see her, hold her hand, get a little smile. Hoping that she found it comforting, too. Hearing her voice, loud, strong - wow, she is something!

Like others who have posted here, I concur that it is good for her and for you to see her, hold her hand, talk to her, give her words of encouragement. Respect the family's wishes by keeping the visits short, and when Miss Suzie looks tired, it's time to go. At one point, Suzie looked at us and said, "Over." Okay, we took the hint...it was time to go.