wednesday

this is tom, not beth. as you can see, i no longer slavishly conform to rules of capitalization and other such trivial matters-that is why beth insisted that i identify myself. on mon. steve went up two steps, on tues. he climbed 2 flights of steps. today he walked the hall accompanied, but unassisted, washed himself in the shower, and spoke, saying "good morning" in response to the physical therapist. the tracheotomy tube is now out and the coughing has subsequently ceased. thats a lot of progress for 48 hours. unfortunately i wasnt able to hear my son say his first words this time around, as beth and i have been unable to get out due to a blizzard,colorado style-4 ft drifts, 60 mph wind for the last 12 hrs and will continue all night. i was out in it for 2 minutes and had to lean forward like one of those weather guys reporting on a hurricane to keep from being blown over and could not get a breath-this is real weather here. thank you everybody for everything-prayers, $, favors, wonderful food prepared and delivered to our door(PIERCED people are the real thing). beth, georgina and i are struggling under a big load, but we would have been crushed by it were it not for the support of YOU.