My friend Bill came to Cortez this week from Moab and he and I went fishing. 3 days of being out. He likes our local Lake and since we met on the stage he has come down 4 times now. Bill is 85. He has an 18 and half foot Lund deep V boat and I suspicion that part of his reason for asking me along is to not have to do the work of loading and unloading alone. Wednesday we started out trolling some crank baits he had found. I hooked into a nice rainbow first off that threw the hook at the boat. A little later I caught a nice yellow perch and that was it for the day. Bill doesn’t last more than 5 or 6 hours before needing to rest. Thursday was our best. Lost 3 or 4 and boated 4. My thanks to Andys from the Stage for teaching me about Gulp minnows.😁 The pics are from Thursday. Yesterday Bill and I went out to the same cove and caught a couple then Bill wanted to try trolling again which turned into a bust. So Bill went home yesterday afternoon, I have at least 3 fresh trout dinners and a new memory complete with the fact that Ole Stripey 🦨 lost again….

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks. After stabilization and an emergency surgery from the medical emergency my wife was placed in the ICU where she’s been for the last two weeks. She had a breathing tube placed down her throat so she was moderately sedated. Earlier in the week the doctor thought she was breathing well enough on her own that they could remove the tube. After a few hours she had a panic attack and asked for the tube back. She was still able to breathe on her own with minimal assistance. The kids and I decided to consent to a tracheotomy, which was done yesterday, in case she needed breathing assistance, but so far she’s doing good breathing on her own.
That the Medical update.

For most of this time she’s been able to answer yes or no questions by nodding her head, although somewhat groggily because of the sedation needed to suppress the gag reflex. Yesterday she was able to “talk” but is not much more than a silent whisper, is is extremely frustrating for everyone. But she has her sense of humor still. Sometimes while suctioning her mouth she will bite the tube and play tug of war. If you ask if she’s being silly she will grin.

Yesterday I was naming the people that have been praying for her. I told her that my friends on the Fishing Stage were sending her love and prayers, and she nodded. She knows we all have our Stage names so I told her that the Stage gave her her own Stage name. At that point she gave me “That Look” Guys, you know the one-eyes half closed that say “Okay. I’m waiting…” My handle is Chief, so her Stage name is MissChief and she smiled. It fits. She’s gotten into enough of it over the years.

So things look encouraging. The doctors sound hopeful that she may be able to be moved to the intermediate care ward soon. I (we) do appreciate the support from all of you. I believe in telepathy, because I can feel the hugs you are sending. Thank you all.

Me? I’m okay. I’ve been okay throughout this whole ordeal, however it turns out. Either she stays here and b*thes about her pain, or she is relieved of her pain and rests. Either way, I’m okay.

Thanks for the support, my friends. More to come at some point. Cheers!