Why she deserves diamonds

My ladyfriend, Christine, has taken care of me, or at least watched over the care of me, since I went down with my angioma last fall. She has done so, in spite of my attempts to either die or come out braindead, with a cheerful attitude and a smile.
I cannot tell you, or her, how much I owe her for all her hard work.
Let's just say that the biggest diamond I can ever afford is barely sufficient compensation for what she's gone through.
I would spend the money on anything else she wanted, but that seems to be her lust object in this world, so I'm happy to acquire one when I can afford it.
Know that I will take the best care of her that I can, no matter what it takes.
She's a very special woman, and I'm extremely lucky to have her in my life.

Figuring it out

I've finally reacquired Blogger and enough awareness to get access to the accounts, so I can now post to this blog again. More later.

He's back...

Okay, you weasels, it's really me and I'm going to write it like it is, so hang on.
This has been one of the least-fun experiences of my life, and I wouldn't wish it on more than one or two of my worst enemies.
Christine, my dearly beloved, is to be continually acknowledged as the sole reason I've made it this far, and this well.
It is to be remembered that, at the beginning of all this, I was basically dead.
Not really dead, as Billy Crystal said in The Princess Bride, but mostly dead.
Through the kindnesses of the docs and nurses at the hospital, however, I made it out mostly alive.
Now the nurses at Day Rehab have ahold of me, and aren't letting go.
They abuse me on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and have made of me whatever I have thus far.
Hey, I kid... They are the most hardworking, underpaid, sweet bunch of women, who have given their all to make me better.
And I'm mostly better, which is better than I could have been, surely.
My mind is working, mostly, and my body is pretty much working (I can't talk about certain delicate issues in this blog, per Christine; email me if you need details), and I'm getting back to what passes for normal.
Christine, as noted earlier, has taken incredible care of me throughout, and whatever I am today I owe to her. Along with some serious diamonds, as I understand it...
I grow tired, alas, so I'm going to cut this first post short. More anon.
If you want to see more of Seymour, you need to leave some comments, however. I can blather on for awhile about what's going on in my life, but I'll do better if I hear from some of you.
Later.

Final Blog Entry

Mark should have his computer back on line after tonight and I hope this will give him the incentive he needs to keep in touch via email.

I know I've said this many times before, but please feel free to visit Mark on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Please call first and we will make sure to be home. He really is missing you all.

Maybe you're holding back and think that we must be inundated with visitors. This couldn't be further from the truth.

I want to thank you all for reading this blog and all the good wishes that you've left for him. He's still not ready to read them yet but we did look at all the pictures. He's just now realizing what a long journey this has been and it's still to much for him to absorb right now.

The party was great despite the rain and we all had a good time. Mark is waiting for pictures to remind him of the day. With his short term memory problems, he has a hard time remembering who was here.

Mark's doing well at rehab. He even remembers where we're going in the mornings. During the first few weeks he would ask me a half a dozen times where we were going. Now he even remembers where to go when he gets in the door. He's even remembering his therapists names at times.

I think he's getting used to all his medications too. He's not nearly as sleepy as he was although he goes to bed between 8 and 9 at night. And we must have complete silence, thanks I'm sure to the hospitals inability to control the night noises - usually their voices yelling to each other up and down the halls.

Mark's taste buds seem to be recovering too. He's vigilant about his weight and weighs himself every day and keeps a log.

If anyone has digital pictures of the party, please email them to me. castellano@proofmark.com

Thanks!

The Party's Still ON

We're moving the party inside! If you haven't been here before, my entrance is in the rear of the big house. When you enter either one of the driveways, part out front on the circle. Walk down the driveway that goes down the left side of the house. When you get to the back of the house, make a left on the small driveway that goes along the back of the house. The first door, with the black wrought iron railing and gate is my entrance. See you later.

Party Reminder

Hey all you party poopers out there! Let's make this a really big one.

If you're not:

Scott & Leslie - Mark's stepson and his lovely wife
Dick Seymour - Mark's dad
Pam Bennett - my wonderful neighbor
Phil Kelly - Mark's good friend
Elena Costello - my other wonderful neighbor
Dave Kitterman - an old childhood friend of Mark's
Doug & Vickie Coe - Mark's cowboy friend and his lovely wife
Tracy Beam - my terrific friend
Linda & Woody O'Neill - don't even know where to begin...
Derrick - one of Mark's friends who got him to the ER
Mistie & Meg - my young and really fun friends
Bev & Rich Moyer - Mark's cousin and her husband (a life saver indeed)
Ron Kauffman - the wonderful husband of one of my best friends who can't attend

...if you're not one of the above, please try to make it. Remember, my email is castellano@proofmark.com or call me at 610.716.1791 and leave me a message.

Please bring your digital cameras, email me the pix and I will post on the blog asap after the party.

See you on Sunday!!!

BIRTHDAY PARTY

We will be having a birthday cake for Mark at 2pm, Sunday, April 15. It'll just be cake and lemonade but we hope you all can make it. My daughter Maureen, a pastry cook at the Rittenhouse Hotel, will be making a custom made cake for the event. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket.

Please email me @ castellano@proofmark.com to let me know you'll be coming. We don't want to run out of cake!

the address:

Red Leaf Manor and Cottage (there is a sign at the street)

514 E Lancaster Ave. (the party will be in the rear yard)

Wynnewood PA 19096

house phone (no voice mail) 610-896-6789

my cell phone 610-716-1791

We're right on Route 30, about 1.1 miles west of City Ave. If you're coming down the Blue Route, take the Route 30 exit and go east on Route 30. It's probably a little over five miles from the exit.

Hope to see you then.

Afternoon

I know some of you get many phone calls from Mark. It seems when he feels he is very clear headed he likes to make phone calls. If his misses you and you call him back, he doesn't always feel like chatting. Please don't feel slighted. If he does talk to you and seems confused, please gently correct him. He knows he's confused and appreciates the help.

Afternoon

Mark has decided that writing on the blog gives him a headache and is just too difficult at this time. We've even tried simple crossword puzzles and he complains about pain in his head then too.

Mark continues to make progress at rehab. His arm, hand and finger strength and agility have gotten good enough for him to soon graduate occupational therapy. He annoys the therapists when he asks what occupation they are grooming him for with their pinch tests and the tedious process of putting pegs in holes and taking them out again within a set amount of time. He could probably be CEO of that company by now.

I think his speech therapist is ready to graduate him too. He was given a list of sentences from which to write a story. He chose "The mailman rang the doorbell with a package that needed additional postage. I went into the other room to get my purse and...” Don't we ALL think that this is the beginning of a lewd x rated story? And who's surprised that Mark did and actually typed (on the computer no less) an entire story worthy of Playboy? When his therapist asked him to read it aloud to her (she had no idea at this time) he chose not to (maybe a little remorsefully) so, without knowing what she was getting into, she read it aloud to him. Now, I wasn't there for this event, but I sat in his therapy session the next day and she had a few questions for him. After Mark and I discussed this event, he decided an apology was in order and did so the following day.

I took Mark to the cowboy shoot on Sunday morning. We had a nice ride to quaint Quinton NJ, had lunch, saw some of the other cowboys and went home.

Today we went to the store to buy an eye patch but they didn't have any. We'll have to purchase one online. He did however buy a talking watch. I don't think I'll ever go three minutes without knowing the time.

While we were in center city today we stopped by the sixth floor of Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience and visited the nurses. I'd never before seen some of them soften their stern look and one of the nurses actually got tears in her eyes. They said this is one of those days that they work for. When we got off the elevator and stopped at the family waiting room, I told Mark that was where I spent most of those horrible eight weeks and told him there was a roomful of people going through the same thing. He told them all to hang in there, that he walked back into the hospital on his own just a few months later. I've never seen so many people smile in unison like I did then. I remember being there one day when a woman and her husband (in a wheel chair) came into the room. He was back for a doctor’s appointment. He had had a similar brain bleed to Mark's. I thought at the time that they were very lucky people, and it gave me hope for Mark. I hope Mark's words helped those people today.

Soupcon

Sorry for the incomplete pun, but ths Gates machine doesn't have the ease of typing foreign letters the way the Mac does. Suffice it to say that the title should be "soup's on".

In case you can't read the apron, it's "Don't mke me poison your food", which someone though summed up my cooking style better than Chris', though it fit her better.

Let's just say that eating chez Seymour can be exciting, if not dangerous.

This typing with one eye is challenging. I'll be happy when they merge again. Soon; the do says. Something to do with the mini-stroke of last weekend, I'm told. Other that that, I'm doing just fine, thank you very much. As soon as I have an orgasm, and my vision stops being doubled , I'll be back to what passes for normal with me.

I'll keep you posted.

Until then, let's hope the chili turns out well.

Rico

I'm bak

Rico's been saway for awhile, but he's back now.

First there was this time in various hospitals, in varying states of conciousness, but then I was let out into the world, moe or less tht same as when I went in.

Chritine has, as related below, been taking care of me throughout, for which I am eternally grateful.

I'm as stupid and ornery as ever, I'm told, so the experience didn't change much, apparently.

But it did give me a new sense of gratefulness for smal pleasure and courtesies, so it wasn't a wasted time.

i"ll relate what I can recall here for your amusement as we go along. Questions are welcme, and some may actually ge answered.

My undying love and gratitude to those who too care of me, startig with Christine.

It"s an odd thing to say, but I'm grateful to be back, and apparently in such good shape.

More anon.

Mark

Morning

My 15 year old cat, Blossom (she was in a photo with Mark on the blog recently) died Monday night. Like most older cats, she was in kidney failure. She seemed fine when Mark got home and stayed by his side all the time. I think she was waiting for him to get home so I wouldn't be lonely.

I have decided to turn over the blog to Mark and he has agreed. Remember, his time and place are still confused at times, especially when he's tired. He's still not up to email, but I think that'll change soon.

Visiting

Here is Mark's address:

514 E Lancaster Ave. B1 (just 1.1 miles west on Route 30 from the intersection of Routes 1 and 30)
Wynnewood, PA 19096

The property is an old mansion converted to co-op apartments. You can only park out front, on the semi-circle. Our entrance is in the rear of the main house (don't go all the way to the rear of the property to the rear building). After you turn the corner you walk down a paved path and you'll see a green and white two seater glider and a black wrought iron railing and gate. This is our entrance.

Since rehab is almost an all day event on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, I'd like to limit visitors to Mark's days off: Monday - Wednesday - Saturday - Sunday. Please call ahead so we can make sure to be home and ready. If you make arrangements with Mark, please make sure to give me a call too so I can make sure it's on the calendar.

Home phone: (no voice mail) 610-896-6789
My cell phone: 610-716-1791
Mark's cell phone: 904-687-9876

Morning

We've had a very busy weekend. Mark's friend Alan brought Chinese food on Friday night and they had a short but great visit. On Saturday evening we went to a reception hosted by Mark's good friend Doug and his wife Vickie. It may have been a premature outing, Mark's vision isn't very good at night and finding Mark's suit and sewing on the missing buttons took some time. It took a few tries but he got his tie tied and suspenders adjusted, but he wanted to see Vickie. I've included a picture of the two of them getting very cozy.

Evening...at last

It's amazing how long it can take two adults to shower, eat breakfast and get out the door. But we arrived at outpatient rehab on time, ditching our errands we had planned on the way. Mark had a full schedule from 11 am till 3:30 pm and we stopped at the grocery store on the way home. We arrived home after five, and ate dinner around 7. Mark hit the sack at 9. The only nap he had was the ride home from rehab which takes about 40 minutes. The boring chat on NPR radio and the warm sun shining in the car windows was very condusive to sleeping. After we got home, Mark watched some TV which is something he hadn't been interested in for months. I asked if he wanted to write tonights blog but he declined. He's awake for extended periods of time now and napping a lot less.

He wanted the caption on this picture to say "although I can't walk far or well on my own, I can still drive like a mad man". He very much enjoyed the motorized cart at the grocery store and intends to motor up and down the aisles often until he gets flagged by the store staff!

Afternoon

And last but not least, Mark enjoying sitting in a quiet place at home. Even the cat (nasty thing that she is) was either glad he was home or just needed someone warm to sit on.

Afternoon

Mark was escourted to the curb by one of his nurses. I think all the ladies wanted to walk him out. I'm not sure if this was due to his charming ways or they were glad to see him go. I think it's the former.

Afternoon

Well, Mark stuck to the original plan and was discharged today. The morning was uneventful and we saw his neuro psych and the neurologist, got lots of directions and prescriptions, and we're home. And we have the evidence to prove it. The picture at left is Mark and his friend David with all of Mark's discharge supplies. The bed in the rear of the picture is a vail bed which zips completely closed for the very common Houdini type patients. Almost anyone who has the strength to get out of bed on their own has one.

And the picture on the right is Mark's room mate Ken. They made a great team, sort of like the odd couple.

Evening

Mark continues to show impressive progress. His major complaints are his vision, which seems to get better all the time and the fogginess in his head. I think a lot of the fogginess is due to his anti-seizure medications which I hope they will begin to cut back soon. Mark thinks getting a quiet full nights sleep in his own bed will be even better!

The schedule hasn't been finalized but Mark will be attending the day program at Rehab for the next 3-6 months, three half days per week.

I will post our address and directions soon after we get home. I'd like to limit visitors to his two weekdays off and the weekends. We'll keep a calendar so we can all plan ahead.

Mark hasn't wanted access to a computer yet but I'm sure he'll be back to email and blogging when he gets home.