Update #100 from Linda

Hello! I hope life is good for all of you, and that you all had a nice Thanksgiving.

We took Steve to Muskegon after having a great dinner on Thanksgiving, stayed in a hotel, and spent the next afternoon at Aunt Jean's house visiting with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Steve has such a connection to those people and that part of the state...it was wonderful therapy for him (and us!). We did a little driving around to see some familiar places, scooped up a bag of beach sand, spent the night at the hotel, and drove home Saturday. Such a nice time.

We are so often reminded that Steve has wonderful friends. People that stay in touch, include him in things, and take time out of busy schedules for him. You know who you are, and we thank you for that. So does Steve.

We're often asked about communicating with Steve. Please know that he reads all of your text messages, but doesn't always respond. He keeps his phone handy and checks it often, so please keep those messages coming! He truly looks forward to them. As far as email goes, he gets on his computer every few days, but usually needs help reading those notes. It might be a vision issue...not sure. You might want to keep them short and know that he loves to get them, but probably won't respond. I realize this makes things a little one-sided, but thanks for your understanding. You just can't IMAGINE how important contact with his friends is to him.

We are in the process of ordering a portable communication device for him to try. It's something that allows him to type messages using an on-screen keyboard, push a button, and the message is read out loud (by a voice named "Mike"!). This will give him the chance to hear his words said out loud, and he seems to like that. It will also give him the chance to "talk" on the phone, although the process is very slow. The other thing they think it will do is allow him to repeat these messages himself, which will hopefully help with his speaking. We're hoping to have this in a few weeks.

Last night Rob brought us a drink from Starbucks...Steve had his favorite white chocolate mocha with skim milk :) and drank the entire thing. We were remembering the first time he had one during the summer and managed about a teaspoon or two of it. This time he took the top off the cup and slurped every drop with a straw! Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of the progress he's making, and then a little thing like that happens to remind us.

We're asking for prayers for "Matt" who is a good friend of one of Steve's very good friends. He visited Steve in the hospital and compared scars and stories with him. He's facing very serious new health challenges now...please send energy and prayers to him. Thanks.

As always, thanks for EVERYTHING. Stay warm and take care of yourselves and each other!

Love,
Linda