Dear BookWorm:

You left a comment on "Two More Sleeps" and we just had a take a second to respond. Yes, it is true ... Dad is scheduled to go home ... leave the hospital ... check out ... sometime tomorrow, Thursday, November 20, 2008. That will be officially 61 days after the ViolentSilence. ( ... For those of you new here, the ViolentSilence was Dad's near fatal car accident, which I described as I arrived on the scene here ... ) You said that his recovery was truly miraculous. We could not agree more.

[For all those voyeurs reading this private letter from me to BookWork, I guess that I should bring you up to speed as well. You see, Dad's getting out tomorrow. You ask, "Self, how can that be?" Thanks for asking!

Mentally (as in brain injuries), Dad is on top of his game. There does not appear to be any long-term damage. He has full memories of his life and he even recalled some childhood stories that I have never heard. He does not remember any details about the accident and he only remembers his recovery going back about 3-4 weeks.

Internally (as in heart, lungs and other organs), Dad is recovering well. His broken bones are healing nicely, his lungs work great, no problems identified with his heart, and other internal stuff appears to be good.

Sense-ly (as in sight, sound, touch, taste), Dad has left some room for improvement. His right eye may need a cornea replacement surgery if there is not 100% healing (... but we here at G&G know better, right? ...) There is significant nerve damage that affects the entire right side of his face. There is still some hearing loss due to the impact and bleeding. Dad goes to the EarNoseThroat guys sometime tomorrow.

Spiritually (as in "Who loves you?"), Dad remains a humble servant. He is overwhelmed by all of your prayers, notes, words of encouragement. He knows that he is a now-walking miracle. He knows that his life ... post-ViolentSilence
... will never be the same.

Emotionally (as in, "How are you really doing, Ray?), Dad cannot wait to get home, which will be a better environment for some of you to come by and visit.]

BookWorm, thanks for leaving the comment. We will let you and the rest of the World know exactly when Dad flies the coop tomorrow. I hope you stick around G&G, as we have some great news to announce soon.

Getting back to work,

Self