Edema

Steve's symptoms have been accelerating since he returned home. We think the increase is from the edema (swelling) around the lesion. Each day he is able to do less with his left arm and hand, and his speech is markedly worse. Last night he began a new course of steroids -- oral Decadron. We are so hopeful that his symptoms will begin to respond right away.

The four of us are having a family portrait taken this morning at the photo studio we use for the kids' annual birthday photos. Bob, the photographer, has known us since Cooper was 3 months old. We've never attempted a group photo with Bob -- we just rely on the church directory photo sessions for those, and the results have been mixed. In the last one, Katie was just less than a year old. We each are looking in a different direction. Some of us struggled with a genuine smile. There are some hair issues. Today should yield better results!

I am behind on all the thank-yous, and good gracious there are a lot of them. I'll work on those later today, I hope. You all are an inspirational group.