Update from David

Sent: Friday, November 26, 2010 9:37 PM

Aloha, Friends & Family,

"pretty damn good!" -- Those were the words of the attending Trauma & Surgical Critical Care physician during today's rounds when reviewing Theresa's progress.  The main reason for the exclamation was because Theresa opened her eyes during a neurological evaluation and according to the resident who performed it, Theresa even flexed the fingers on her right hand.  For whatever reason, Theresa did not give the finger to the Neurologist later that morning so she is not cleared for neck surgery yet.  Until then, further diagnosis and imaging will be performed over the weekend to get a good baseline and ensure the ortho and neuro surgeons know what they're dealing with.  E-mails from two more friends in Wisconsin confirm that Theresa visited them over the last few days, even spooking one of their cats (Theresa never could let a sleeping cat lie.)  To me, this means she is still traveling but checking in with the home office now and then.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day and it had its high and low points for Wanda and me.  It started on a high when the Neurologist thought she saw Theresa react by moving her eyes to the flashlight.  That showed promise which was fulfilled during this morning's rounds.  The next high was that Theresa's ICU nurse gave us her free turkey meal pass to use.  Then the lows started -- the cashier wouldn't accept the pass without ID so we ended up paying for the meal.  Not that we're budding restaurant critics but the best thing to say about that dinner is the gravy was lukewarm.  The turkey was colder than the salad and blander too, and the pumpkin pie would have been rejected by Sara Lee.  Looking around,  there was a display that proudly proclaimed Sodexo as the provider of meal services.  It turns out Sodexo also prepares meals for schools and prisons and in a travesty of justice, prisoners receive the most nutritional food.  Then the highs started again.  Since turkey meal #1 was a bust, I used my phone-a-friend option and took up his offer of dinner with his family.  My apologies to the other four friends that had also invited us but Ward's house was closest to the hospital in case we had to rush back.  Turkey meal #2 more than made up for the institutional disaster and best of all, the dress code was not powder blue and white.

To top off the evening, just before the end of visiting hours, another friend and colleague called to say he was coming over with turkey meal #3.  After meeting up with Danny Akaka (Mauna Lani's Director of Culture) and his wife Anna, Danny stopped to greet a distinguished-looking woman and her striking daughter in the ICU hallway.  It turns out the older woman is Zora Furtado, a well-known Hawaiian teacher and spiritual healer, and her daughter is Shakti Stream, the girlfriend of Colt Brennan and driver of the vehicle that collided with Theresa's.  Initially, I had misgivings about meeting them but this melted away with the introductions and Zora's heartfelt hug that lasted over a minute.  Both she and Shakti apologized for the accident and Zora let us know that she has prayed steadily over the past week for Theresa's wellbeing.  As with Colt's father, it was all I could do to forgive them, especially seeing that Shakti's arm was still in a sling and she was in visible pain.  Recently, Shakti lost her job and health insurance along with it so she is waiting for the new coverage to begin before treatment can proceed on her broken clavicle.  The six of us then proceeded to Theresa's bedside where a prayer circle was formed, hands joined, and we directed love, prayers and healing energies to Theresa.

I've said this before and it bears repeating.  The prayers, love and healing energy from our family and friends and their families and friends all over the world is what makes the difference in Theresa's recovery.  I did not mention it in prior updates but four days ago, the same physician quoted at the beginning of this update was telling us to prepare for the worst.  That moment has passed as we look forward and continue to pray for Theresa, Colt and Shakti's recoveries.

Mahalo,

David