There are a few people here I often think of who demonstrate strength during particular times when most others would give up and throw in the towel. Sally and Hannah are who I think about when the first week or two are just overwhelming and pain meds are not adjusted correctly. Angel and Bud are who I think about when life throws some horrible thing into the mix of recovery (like Bud's MRSA and hip replacement). And Chris and Cora are who I think about when what you have to start with is incomprehensible to the rest of us and so the book must be completely rewritten.

Thanks for keeping the updates coming, Chris, and for posting some more news here and there on Facebook. I always appreciated that you took a wait-and-see approach with Cora, wanting to give her the chance to adjust to things before deciding that her quality of life was poor. Now that your patience (the patience you don't think you have) has given her the opportunity to unfurl the flower a bit, we can see that there is a complexity there that would never have been seen if you'd given up on her the way you were advised to. She is blossoming, just in her own time and by her own schedule. 

Also, Cora has turned into a beauty. She's really lovely.

Shari

(P.S., for those who've never read Cora's story, look it up. In retrospect and with the passage of a lot of time, some the business about getting her into a cart is hilarious. At the time, it was not. There was much hand-wringing and weeping, and it was all justified. What a trip!)