Dr. Korell has authorized me to be the person to send messages to Germany...and to receive Beverly's communications from Germany. If you would like to send a greeting to Beverly and Mary, this would be great!!!
Please send your greeting to me ( Helen ) at: olddad66@runestone.net . It would be helpful if you would type: " Greetings to Bev and Mary " on the Subject line of your email.
>Sent: Friday, July 21, 2000 5:53 AM
Hello from Germany from Bev and Mary...
I will be out of communication's range this weekend as Dr. Matthias Korell is off; therefore I have no PC access. Not many over here have a PC or Internet access. I cannot search the IAS Message Board as the PC here is too slow and I cannot use up ALL of Dr. Korell's time...-)
Mary is up and walking today, ate some, is in good spirits. She is, of course, anxious about the second-look surgery next Thursday. Of course, every pain she feels, she is convinced her adhesions are back, and that will be the course for a long time to come, I'm afraid. But the second-look surgery will give us more answers for her and, I am sure once we get that done, she will settle down for a bit!
Until, she IS able to lay on her sides, roll over and lie flat on her back...NO this is not training rigors for a dog...it is Mary finally being able to move with new-found freedom..and loving it too! She is sleeping well, eating better, and cannot wait to get outside to take a walk past these little quaint houses around here! We have a very big and beautiful park across the street from here that offers lots of walking trails...and even though we have no idea as to what the signs indicate on the streets or trails, we will soon find out by trial and error!!
As for staying out of trouble, Helen: well, short of blowing up a coffee pot by putting ice in it - and having the " Chief of Surgery " shop for our toilet paper, we have not done too bad!! Again, Dr. Korell is great, he is all smiles, and his eyes light up and twinkle when he laughs, which is often! He is considerate and very thorough when discussing any issues relating to Mary's surgery! He is knowledgeable on ARD to say the least! For me, he is wonderful to listen to as he uses terms that are directly related to what this disease is all about, and he simply shows respect for it!! Like Dr. Harry Reich, Dr. Korell says, " He must think like an adhesion, if he is to combat it!!" WONDERFUL!!
Mary wishes to extend her appreciation to everyone who has made her trip here possible and comfortable... Helen , Leeanne, Pam & Bob, All Teachers at my place, all friends and family...all your prayers...letters to Mary and me ( Hello Kay!! Love you too, sis, Hugs to U ! )...to be able to be here to get this chance at this surgery and a chance of getting Mary's life back...and to be able to know that we can communicate to all of those in our countries...really has filled her heart with happiness and peace!! Many thanks to all of you with her whole heart...hugs to all!!
I too am so grateful for the show of support and caring, as well as the personal efforts of so many of you to just pitch in and make it all go, and keep going...talk about a " Global Effort " here folks, my gosh, it is simply heart- warming and wonderful!!
We are treated very special here...and we are trying very hard to overcome a few obstacles...food is one, and probably the most difficult for us. And no ice is available here, everything is served room temperature ( that is why I blew up a coffee karafe the other day in the main dining room...sounded like a gunshot when it blew and EVERYONE had great big eyes when it happend...the counter lady and I started to laugh so hard when we realized what had happened. It blew up all the glass inside it when we put ice in it...and you might know it was the only ice we found that night too!!!!
Water is another thing that is difficult to get...at least the kind of water WE like. Almost ALL drinking water is carbonated...ALL of it! So we have settled with lukewarm tap water for our choice of beverage...soda is not so good here either; but none the less, we do drink some of it! Food is mainly bread, processed meats and cheese...yup, even at breakfast! But today the fish and spinach quiche were great!!!!
Beds are small in our room, comfortable though. The pillows are about half the size of the beds, and the blanket...yes, one blanket, is like a feather bed in a covering! Anyone someone over 6 ft. tall would not be able to cover his shoulders and feet at the same time!!! We thought it was specific to our room, but it is the same in the hospital too...comfy though for Mary and me...as we're a couple of shorty's you know!!:-)
Weather is now sunny and beautiful. We stood and watched a couple of " German " bunny rabbits hop around the courtyard here outside the window...so nice!
We are both anxious to get home and see our families; but we also know how important this is to Mary and her life so we simply drift through each day and focus on what we need to do in order to get this done for her...and when we DO arrive back in the United States, Mary will have hopefully been rewarded for her efforts here!! Her family in Canada awaits a " new " mother and grandma..and we are working very hard to get that accomplished today!! Until next week then... love and appreciation to all...
Love, Mary and Bev