New Update from Aubrey

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This e-mail was sent by Aubrey on 3 July at 4pm MST

Bill and Claudia,

I apologize for not updating the blog for a while.  Daniel has made great progress, but has encountered several serious and discouraging set backs as well.  Geoff commented the other day that he hadn't realized how sick Daniel really is.  When Geoff took him out for a drive,  Daniel wasn't even able to slide our screen door open. Granted it needed some lubrication, but still it was an indicator of his lack of strength.  The day I brought him home from the hospital (from his most recent stay there) he looked pretty pitiful.  He stood outside the hospital, in one of their lovely gowns, tied at the back...unshaven, hair disheveled, a bit jaundiced, and very emaciated, trying to maneuver with his pick line and portable IV's.  The doctors feared he probably had C-dif so he was placed on (3) different antibiotics to clear things up.  He remained very sick and has had periods of great pain to deal with.  Since that time, they removed the last drainage tube, even though the abscess is still in his liver.  The tube had quit draining, so they now are hoping with the IV antibiotics, it will clear up on its own.  IHC (Intermountain Health Care) brings his antibiotics in a cooler once a week.  His elbow seems to be healing nicely.  We reviewed his x-rays and it is amazing how they pieced everything back together with long plates and screws.  Out of all those shattered fragments of bone, they only had 3 pieces that they couldn't fit back into the puzzle, so those just got thrown away. They are hoping to remove all of the hardware within a couple of weeks.  Interestingly, I hadn't seen his elbow since the surgery and didn't realize that it was a bit deformed, but hopefully all of that can be re-constructed.  He has started having intense pains again, in both his kidneys as well as his liver.  The pain comes and goes.  He becomes very tired and light headed after exerting his energy, but he has actually started working his muscles on Alex's home gym.  Yesterday, he decided to start back to work.  We'll see how that goes.  

He and Christine are moving ahead with their wedding plans, so when you actually get an invitation to the reception, don't be surprised if you only have a couple of days notice.  Everything is pretty rushed and crazy at this point, but I'm certain it will all turn out well.  Their wedding and reception will be Saturday, Aug.1st.

A week or so ago, I took Alex on an impromptu trip to Tennessee.  He has been so patient and cooperative throughout this whole ordeal, so I decided it would be great for him to spend some time with his friends.  I broke down and rented a 2010 red, Mustang convertible.  That was probably the biggest display of a mid-life crisis for me.  Of course, I didn't wear a hat so my head was red for a couple of days.  I purposely made no plans so that I could be at Alex's disposal, and didn't even call the office for an entire week.  June and Pam were kind enough to lend Alex, Auntie Letha's station wagon, so I was on my own to relax and have some fun.  I had many great visits with family, ate a lot of great food, even made a fresh peach pie, as well as a key lime pie, played a lot of Rook, and managed to fit in a round of golf w/my good friend John Cunningham, and might I add...in the most intense heat I have felt in a long time.  He has become so obsessed with golf that I am surprised he even considered playing with me, even though I am however the one who introduced him to the senseless game.  I even got a new set of PING golf clubs.  Hopefully I will be able to see some improvement in my game.  Anyway, we had a great time.  

Everyone was so gracious to us during our visit.  The most relaxing time was spent with Charles and Harrianne at their home on the Hiwassee River, eating some of the best smoked barbecue I had ever experienced.  Alex and I had a country breakfast with Susan at her "Tom Thumb" restaurant, which was a real treat. The most fun I had was playing cards at Scott and Angela's house.  We laughed until we cried.  Angela just couldn't get in the rhythm of playing 5-handed Rook and nothing was making any sense to her.  Of course, we started making fun of her and it went downhill from there. She started noticing a bad smell in the house and kept complaining until she decided it must be coming from the basement trash cans that hadn't been picked up.  After Scott determined it wasn't the garbage cans, Angela threw her hands over her face and screamed, "Oh no, I think the freezer has quit working and the dog has thawed out."  This was their 3rd dog that had died and the extra freezer was proving to be a convenient place to keep them until they had time to accommodate  proper burials.  Matthew, Andrew, and Hannah were just keeping them too busy, and of course the ground was too hard in the winter, so everything was able to be placed on hold... well, at least they thought it had.

Love,

Aub

Editor's note:  Kelsey (Geoff's fiancee) and Christine (Daniel's fiancee) had their combined bridal shower at Aunt Karen's house yesterday (Friday).  So despite health challenges, the Conner family is moving forward.  Though blog entries have been less frequent of late, we will continue to post updates of Daniel's recovery process and of the continuing adventures of the Conner family.