Today was hopefully my last day at Anderson Mercy Hospital as a patient for a long, long time. We were skillfully registered by Jillian; ushered to and cared for in “my SSU room” by Glenda and Angie; wheeled up to the CT Scan by Ronda and Ashley (without hitting the walls or other obstacles!); CT Scanned by Tracey and then cared for well over an hour in the Radiology/x-ray room by Ronda, Ashley and Dr. Charles Young (with guest appearance by Erin.)

I mention the names above to provide you a glimpse of the number of folks involved with my care each week. I’ve written about Mercy Anderson as a precious gem in the Anderson Township jewelry box and it’s the people more than the building structure that I reference. These people have made the hospital experience wonderful in spite of the medical nuisances. Please do me a favor and hug someone you know in the medical profession the next time you think of it. Should they ask, tell them “it’s for all the Steves they deal with so effectively and lovingly.”

On to the Herbie news. The third sclerose agent, betadine, seems to have successfully finished the task of deflating Herbie to a fraction of his original size. Most of my last several days have involved no drainage which was a priority before completing treatment. So, today we performed one last betadine sclerose and took Herbie’s tailpipe out. That little 12 inch piece of pipe/hose is a welcome removal. We now count on Herbie to stay entombed with no further awakening. Herbie RIP!!!

How can we fully thank you for your part in making this journey so successful? We can’t. What we can do is share our thanks in these words plus hugs, words, smiles and other future expressions of appreciation. Here’s a video expressing a little of my thanks for your love, support, thoughts, prayers, notes, cards… https://youtu.be/hVPCZe_k4Ec

Many thanks for all you’ve done to lift me up as though on eagles’ wings. While doing some reading this morning, this Krista Tippett quote resonated with me:

“The intention to walk through the world practicing love across relationships and encounters feels like a great frontier.”

Thanks for navigating this great frontier with me, practicing love on me. I’ve felt it “big time!!!!!” I love you!!!!

Steve