Day 60, Year 7: On the Road . . . to Recovery
Date: Saturday, January 7, 2012
Weather: Beautiful Day with Temps Around 50 degrees F
Location: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Usually when I write about being ‘on the road’ I am referring to being on
passage on Windbird. But this time the road is leading us to Mark’s
recovery from surgery and so far it has been a pretty smooth sail. We’ve
had no squalls, no rough seas, no sail changes. But we have had one
condition that is a bit worrisome. Mark developed a fever during the night
and the fever persists. It fluctuates from 100.4 to 101.3 but the doctor is
not concerned at this point. Evidently a fever after surgery is normal and
the ‘cure’ is to get up and walk around and to keep the lungs active with
deep breathing. Mark is feeling great, looks good, and has had no pain.
The epidural has worked beautifully and he is able to get up on his own and
walk up and down the halls. Today they have added clear liquids back to his
diet so he is sipping broth, drinking juices, and eating Italian ice and
Jello. It doesn’t sound great, but he was really a happy sailor when the
chicken broth arrived in early afternoon. Prior to that he was just sipping
a bit of water so even Jello tastes great to him.

We continue to enjoy the beautiful views of Boston from this 22nd floor of
Mass General Hospital. Mark’s room overlooks the Charles River, Cambridge,
and much of Boston, and the views from the guest waiting area just down the
hall take in the rest of the city. Mark and I sat in the comfortable chairs
in the waiting area this afternoon and enjoyed the view while trying to
solve some of the puzzles and brainteasers in a book Linda brought for Mark
yesterday. Mark loves brainteasers so he is spending his waking hours
solving more puzzles. Thank you, Linda. It was the perfect book for Mark.
And we haven’t even started on the crossword puzzle book that Sue and John
gave Mark. So he has lots to keep him busy.

Thanks to so many of you for your wonderful email messages. It has meant so
much to hear from family and friends and know that you are ‘here’ with us.
One friend, Rich Corbett, wrote to Mark saying to Mark that he is a an “old
salt” in more ways than one-a rock solid salt. And I certainly agree with
Rich. Mark is weathering all of this with humor and such a positive outlook
on life. In fact, I just overhead him say on the phone to a good friend
that you can’t change what happens to you, you can only change how you
approach it. Good advice for all of us.

120107 Day 60 MGH, Boston, MA–Room with a View