1 August 2007

Another good day. Mom is doing very well with rehabilitation. She will be coming home on Friday. This will be a good thing as she will be in more familiar surroundings with paint on the walls and floors covered with something other than gray linoleum. Hospitals are in serious need of mood enhancing makeovers. I am convinced that a regular, healthy and well adjusted person would begin to feel depressed and disoriented if confined to a hospital room for a week. The smells, the muted colors, the constant beeps and buzzes, the shared rooms, the limited space for visitors, the needles and oh yes THE FOOD.

It will be good to have mom home. This will give us a chance to prepare her for the difficult days which lie ahead. Chemotherapy and radiation will be difficult.

Mom had her mask made today for radiation therapy. They made a full face mask of her face. She will put her face into the mask and get a CT scan. Then each time mom gets radiation treatments, she will put her face in the mask so that the treatments are directed to the exact location necessary. When she is done with radiation, we will use the mask to make a statue to put in the entry. That should be fun.

Tonight, the nurses trained Lisa, Mara and Dad on how to administer medication to mom and how to care for her once she gets home.

Mom is getting back to normal. She is planning parties. She has planned a tea party for all the girls in the family. She is planning an Armenian bash in October. Mom loves parties. It is so good to see her slowly returning to herself.

Finally, we know that many of you would like to come and visit now that mom is home. We want to make this as easy as possible and reduce the jumble of having house guests for mom. So, here is the plan.

We have opened three, four star hotels. Each is less than 3 minutes drive from Herb and Liz.

- The Christensen Courtyard (Brad and Kim Christensen’s home)
(Two rooms, three beds, kitchenette, large family room, 1 bathroom)

- The Christensen Renaissance (Dave and Leilani Christensen’s home)
(2 rooms, 3 beds, 1 bath, lots of floor space for kids)

- The JW Ambuehl (John and Mara Ambuehl’s home)
(1 room with 1 full size bed, 1 bathroom, in room big screen TV with satellite included free of charge.)

To arrange a visit, please phone or email our lovely reservation clerk, Kim Christensen. She can be contacted at mama4boys@comcast.net or at 801-836-7550. Thank you for helping us minimize the impact of house guests while maximizing your ability to visit. Mom loves visitors as you know.

The Christensens