I'm staying overnight at the hospital. He is in a private room. There is a chair that opens up into a bed. They say I am welcome to stay. A nurse supervisor even made up the bed for me. It's comfortable. (Hospitals today are very into good public relations. I've lived long enough to have seen a dramatic evolution in how hospital staff talk to patients and families.) I feel comforted. A specialist will see my guy tomorrow and recommend how to treat what's going on with him - a reaction to a drug that started as a rash and then became like areas of 2nd degree burns.

This morning, while trying to talk myself into not vegetating, I got a call from a friend that I'ld not spoken with in a couple years. It was such a warm, caring call and so unexpected. I can't adequately express what a nice surprise this was. Once in a while life tosses a lovely bouquet of the sweetest blossoms right into your lap, on a day when it's the last thing you could have anticipated.

After the call, I was kind of in a state of emotional overload. But I'm settling down. The phrase "change of this magnitude" resonated deeply with me. What I've gone through internally over the days since starting this thread has felt like an internal earthquake. I am very satisfied that I've made sound decisions and have a good plan, though the process of doing that felt wrenching.

I am so grateful for all these encouraging posts. At times I've felt a wreck. Now I see the light. I was flying through a storm. Now I think I can land safely.