Second Surgery

The second surgery was a success. This is Susan coming out of the operating room this afternoon. She will be on bed rest at Shriner's for a few more days. Her doctors said she did extremely well and her spirits are good. She is in some pain so she will likely sleep most of this evening and feel better in the morning.

Check In at Shriner's

Susan and John made it back to Shriner's today for round two. This is in the parking lot before check in and later, reading and resting before surgery in the morning. Susan is a little nervous but also excited.

Back to Boston

Susan gets ready to unpack after a successful trip back from Portland, OR.
One day at home and then it is back to Shriner's for surgery number two.

Snow & Submarines!

Several members of the Providence team spent the day with John and Susan on Sunday playing in the snow on Mt. Hood and exploring some of the nearby forests and snow-melt streams. The day was spectacular, and the snow pleasantly overwhelming for our Ugandan guests!

The previous day was spent back at OMSI watching another IMAX movie, followed by a tour of the USS Blueback which is permanently moored there.

Susan's leg continues to heal beautifully, with one tiny patch (approx. 2 cm) remaining that seems to have a timetable of its own and is testing John's patience!

A Noteable Change

Recovery

The pictures below document the healing of Susan's right leg. The first picture, taken June 4th, was the day her graft was removed. The next, taken June 9th, shows how raw and vulnerable this new skin became as it adjusted to her body. The rest, taken in the weeks following, show the amazing ongoing healing.

Healing

Susan's Holiday Weekend

We continue to stay very busy with John and Susan, exposing them to as much as possible during their West Coast stay.

David Robinson, who went with the Providence team to Uganda was kind enough to host a festive and scrumptious backyard barbecue that was attended by a fascinating group of people from far-flung places including Brazil and Austria. He's pictured here seated next to Sallie Tisdale who led the mission early this year.

After the party we all came home and enjoyed a spectacular fireworks display from the deck of our condo.

Within the last week Susan has experienced two films at IMAX (one of which left her a bit queasy and another that found her reflexively pulling her injured leg back from the jaws of a huge prehistoric shark that seemed about to swim into her lap!) and also the amazing (and highly recommended) Wall E flick from Pixar.

Thursday at the Zoo

Susan had a splendid day today seeing many of the exotic wild animals of the world at the Portland zoo. Her favorites were the zebras and the baboons with the funny noses.

Above you'll see Heidi trying unsuccessfully to impress

Susan with her uncanny ability to walk with her eyes closed and not fall or crash into anything.

Good thing we took lots of photos, since Heidi missed it all.

Dessert!

Susan and Heidi take a tour of Papa Haydn's bakery cooler -- A very pleasant place to be with temps in the 90s!

Susan and Heidi explore the map

Getting a sense for where she is and from where she came relative the the rest of the world. Her surgical wounds continue to improve every day!