. Friday, May 28, 2010 Dear friends, Although earlier in the week Karen had some nausea and memory problems (not remembering that a friend had visited on Sunday, nor any details about a minor fall she had Wednesday), her scene has suddenly changed for the better in a number of ways: * She's had a half-dozen good bowel movements in the last 36 hours -- more than she's had in the previous 3 months! * She's not taken any of her sleep-inducing nausea or pain medications in more than a day. * She was very alert, very present, very Karen most of yesterday and especially during a 2-hour visit from our beloved naturopath Alice Wilson in the late afternoon, and has had some good sessions with Les talking about her life. Karen and I had a couple of heart-to-heart talks -- a difficult one on Tuesday about my discouragement, burnout, and fear of her disappearing into a messy, unconscious death, and then another last night about what it would mean if she were actually recovering (like, what do we do about her stuff and her apartment; and what kind of life does she want if she's got a real reprieve and new beginning). We don't know if her current improvement will last, but the bowel movements have potentially revolutionary implications about her bowel blockage and her cancer (which was causing the bowel blockage). And my eyes may be deceiving me, but it looks to me like she's started gaining a bit of weight. It is all so new we don't know quite what to think. It could all be totally different tomorrow: People who are dying and people who are healing both experience better times and worse times. People are so different and trends are so hard to identify short-term. I'm still oriented to assuming nothing, trying to develop the ability to "return to neutral gear" at a moment's notice. I got a day-and-a-half break during Tuesday and Wednesday -- reading, resting, walking, watching a movie, talking with friends, doing minor errands and tasks -- and am not feeling burned out at the moment. The saga continues... Coheartedly, Tom