Prior to the Blog

These are text copies of the emails we began sending out while we were in Italy prior to the start of the blog, St. Michael’s Soldier.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

I have been trying to email you on Mark's computer. It is highly sensitive and for whatever reason the emails seem to be disappearing in the middle of the composing. If you have received anything strange, that is why.He is too critical to move anywhere any time soon. We will be here for quite a while. Peter is returning home tomorrow, because we need things done at home, only he has authority to handle. Mark is getting excellent care from the Italian medical team, which have been wonderful. We have had translators, and the American doctors from Vicenza (the Army post) have been with us as well. The outlook for Mark is currently not good, but we are remaining hopeful. We do not really want anything more said to the press other than he remains critical but stable. They have really been screwing things up. Just so you all know, there was NO FIRE. This was something we were assured by Gen. Helmick, who met us at the hospital. He is the Southern European Commander for the army. He is the one in charge. We have also met with Gen. Franklin of the Air Force and Gen. Sardo of the Italian Army who are in charge of the base here at Aviano. The townspeople in the small town where the accident occurred held a Mass on Sunday and the tiny church spilled over because the entire town and surrounding community showed up, over 350 people. We are being well taken care of. The generals have arranged for us to stay in one of the hotel apartments for however long we need to be here. Two of Mark's best friends have been assigned as our drivers and the FRG (Family Readiness Group) have cooked for us and have supplied us with everything we need. We also have free reign on the base.Jess is better. Her mom, Irene Butler, has been a godsend. She is best described as someone we all would have become friends with under other circumstances. She has helped us tremendously. She has convinced Jess that perhaps they should return to Sydney on Sunday and she can come to the US when Mark is finally moved there. .We did have another bit of news from Sydney. Jess's dad, Wayne McPhee, has been in contact with them regularly, and now we've learned that her 14 year old sister, Sally, fell and broke her heel and lower two vertebrae. She is in the hospital, but is not in any real danger. She is in a back brace and cast and will take about 6 months to heal in a wheelchair. He waited to contact Irene until everything had been diagnosed. I didn't think this nightmare could get worse. I know you will all keep them in your prayers as well.Just know that we are surrounded by loving, caring people on this side of the world as we are on that side. We appreciate all you are doing for us and are overwhelmed by the support from everyone, even people we don't know. Please keep all the other families in your prayers as well. Six died in the crash and we are going to the ceremony today when they are airlifted back home.It is hard for me to email and talk, but we will keep in touch as you are our links to the rest of our family and friends.


Tuesday, November 13, 2007

We just met with the Air Force doctor/liaison on Mark's condition. There is slight improvement in that he is now stable enough that they can do a CAT scan of his head again tomorrow, but also of all the broken bones (scapula, ribs, pelvis, back, leg). This is a step forward. She told us that Thursday night at the hospital, they did not expect him to make it through the night and then again early Saturday. She is French (works for the Air Force) and she felt comfortable enough to agree with me that it has to be the power of prayer.



Friday, November 16, 2007

Today's visit was okay. He is about the same. He did have a slight fever, but it was something that was expected. We met with the doctor and she said he did have some more response on the right side, so that was a good sign, but in order to determine the true extent of the brain injuries and how they are healing would require an MRI. This is not possible because of all the tubes in the chest, ventilator, and brain tubes. His back breaks will not need surgery which is also good.Prayers are working and we need to continue. Our translator, Roberto, is the dearest man and has his men's church group praying for Mark and the others. He seems especially attached to us and even though he is not supposed to discuss his cases at home, he has told his wife about us and she asked to break the rules and meet us. He has even gone in to pray with us.The Italian people have been so gracious and kind, from the staff at the hospital to the parents and families of the other patients in the ICU unit. The other patients are all young men around Mark's age. It is unbelievable. When a family gets bad news, everyone is supportive. Even with the language barrier, the other mothers, wives, brothers, fathers all bond with us. The pain is the same.Irene and Jess began their flight back to Australia. It will take two days. They flew today to Dubai and then they stay overnight, fly to Bangkok and then to Sydney. Jess remained remarkably calm as Irene and I fell apart. Rich and I (and our driver Jenny) miss them. We have promised Jess daily updates and calls and promised the minute we knew Mark would be in the states she could fly in and be with us. Having never met Irene, I was a little nervous about how we would interact. There was no barrier. It is as if we had known her as long as all of you and were immediately comfortable with each other. She even remarked how much Richard was like Jess's dad Wayne. No matter what happens now, we will be lifelong friends.As for moving Mark, once he is absolutely stable and can have a tracheotomy, he will be moved to a hospital in the next town from here, Then after a few days there and knowing he is stable again, they will move him to Landstuhl, Germany overnight (or a day) and then on to Walter Reed in DC. That will be his final destination for a while. That is the center for all the head/brain trauma cases. How long will this take? No one knows. He is still very critical. Their "educated" guess is probably four to six weeks longer in the neuro ICU in Treviso. We will remain here until all this takes place. It is my guess that we will not be home before Christmas.I know this is such a long email, but I have wanted to share what's been going on. Please share what you want with those on your contact lists. We appreciate all the love and support.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

We were on our own today, driving Mark's truck. We did fine, but missed the exit on the autostrada and had to backtrack through another town, but we made it back without any additional problems. Now we know another way! Just a little adventure.We met with the doctor before visiting hours and the news was good. The contusions in the brain and lungs are getting smaller and much of the swelling has gone down to the point where they haven't had to drain anything today. There is a small pneumonia in the left lung, but it is responding to antibiotics. This is not unusual. The diuretics seem to be working because overall he is not swollen like he had been. The breaks are still there naturally, but they too, have started to heal. As I said in broken Italian to one of the other mothers at the ICU "Fa bene, poco e poco." She gave me a big smile and had to hug and kiss me on both cheeks. Strangely, the Italian popped out without even thinking about it when her son asked how he was doing.There is no news of the investigation and I don't know if we will hear anything soon or not. We are going to church tomorrow morning at the Catholic mass. The chaplain assigned to us is using Mark's faith in his homily. Fr. Kaim is a lovely young man and was so impressed when he saw Mark's St. Michael the Archangel tattoo (yes you read that correctly) that he gave us a statue for Mark that had been a gift to him. He was amazed at the tattoo (he's used to seeing barbed wire, skulls, etc.) and the story behind it. For those who may not know, St. Michael is the patron saint of soldiers and aviators. God has truly given us some very special people to be around us, since we are so far from all of you.Until tomorrow, all our love and thanks.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Today started with Mass at the base chapel. The chaplain we have been working with, Fr. Kaim, used Mark in his homily. He talked about how Mark never wavered in his faith, because he always prayed before they took off and after they landed. He talked about how that faith has helped him so far, so it was very kind and moving. He even joked about Mark's tattoo, and how on him (Fr. Kaim who is small and thin) it would have gone around to his back because his "guns" (as they call arms) weren't big enough.We went to the hospital as usual and the news was good again today. They have removed two of the three chest drain tubes and they are no longer seeing any swelling in the brain. They will keep one tube in his chest and head for a while longer, just in case they are needed again. They told us it will take another 10-15 days for the inflammation in the brain to go down and for the contusions in the lungs to heal, or so they hope. This is much better news than we have had so far. They will keep him in the drug coma and on the ventilator for that time period. Then they will proceed to the next step and try to rouse him slowly.All these prayers are surely working. No one expected him to make it at first. The doctors have no idea what we can expect once he comes to (not "if" in my opinion), but we are still praying for a miracle that he will be able to function fully. Thanks for all your support and keep praying, he appreciates it.

Monday, November 19, 2007

We started today with getting some of Mark's mail from the post office. I really don't think they gave us everything, but we're working on it. They have been very helpful and kind. Then there are all the issues about paying his bills, checking account, etc. We were busy all morning just getting numbers and help in sorting out the system here.We went to the hospital this afternoon as usual. The visiting hours are 3:30-4:30 for consultation and then we can see him between 4:30-5:00. Fr. Kaim, our friendly Catholic chaplain, came with us and while we were waiting to go in. Jenny, who had been our driver initially, came in with her husband who just returned here on leave from Iraq. He too is from this group but is deployed for the next year to a unit in Iraq. They are not allowed to go into the ICU, but he just needed to be there as he and Mark are good friends. As we were waiting, they brought Mark in from another part of the hospital, so Tony and Jenny were able to get their first look at him since the accident. They were delighted to see him doing so well. We were able to go in and bring Fr. Kaim, He prayed with us and was thrilled to see such a change in Mark since last Saturday.They have removed the shunt from his head because there has been no further swelling and no need to release any pressure. This is a big step. The one remaining chest tube is still there, but he should have that removed in the next few days. Everything else remains status quo. We are not sure where they were bringing Mark back from, but since they take him to CAT scan every day, we assume that's where they were coming from.We enjoyed our ride to the hospital and back with the chaplain. He is a wonderful person who became a priest at 39 after suffering from cancer and undergoing aggressive chemotherapy. Prior to becoming a priest he was an aide to Rep. Dennis Hastert who had been Speaker of the House. Naturally, I couldn't resist teasing him about his change in bosses! He really has helped Rich and I get through this very trying time even though he knows we are not Roman Catholic and we appreciate his friendship.Hopefully, the good news will continue tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

We were able to get more of the "housekeeping" things done this morning. We were finally able to straighten things out with Bank of America and they were very cooperative and understanding, as was CapitalOne. (I hope I don't sound like a commercial, but these two companies really have been great when we explain the circumstances.) Tomorrow it's on to the Italian bank!Mark's status is the same today as yesterday, although they have begun to lower the doses of medication that keep him in the drug coma. The orthopedist was there today when we were. They are evaluating whether they want to do surgery on the pelvis fractures (bacino in Italian, which literally means basin). They want it to be stable when they move him. Hopefully, we will know something more tomorrow.We have gotten very familiar with the families of two of the other patients in the ICU unit. Even with the language barrier, they ask about Mark as we do about their son and daughter. Somehow we manage to understand, which I guess you'd say was just the language of mothers and fathers. There was a new patient today, and it was very hard on his parents. We saw ourselves a week and a half ago in their anguish. It's hard not to care about these other families who are going through the same thing.We have discovered the Italian mess hall here on the base. Most of the American airmen and soldiers eat there too. (Far better food we are told than the US chow hall.) It is good food at a reasonable price and we have a larger lunch and then just come back to the apartment and warm something light up for dinner after the hospital. We had so much food brought to us in the beginning that we froze some of it which was nice. The hospital is about an hour and fifteen minutes from here, so when we get back we've about had it for the day. Fortunately, the autostrada is a good road, but we do have about half the drive on a super strada which is a main road with lights and traffic.That's about all for today, Again, thank you all for the prayers and support.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

We saw Mark much later today than we have been. The ICU was extremely busy and they did not start calling the parents for consultation until about an hour after they normally do. Then we all had to wait to see our children.Mark is still grave, but there is improvement. He does have pneumonia and a fever and they are giving him antibiotics and drugs to reduce the fever. They are still slowly weaning him off the sedation for the drug coma. He occasionally opens his eyes, but they do not actually react. However, that is something he was not doing before. They are finding that he is responding more to stimulus. They will probably remove the final chest tube tomorrow since he is no longer bleeding into the chest cavity. The doctor said that although his condition is still delicate, they have seen improvement little by little. He said it would be very slow going. They have decided that they would not need to do surgery on the pelvis, which was wonderful news. He certainly doesn't need any more stress to his poor body. They will probably perform a tracheotomy in the next day or so, but the doctor wasn't sure exactly when.The doctor from the Army base in Vicenza will be here with us on Friday. We should know even more at that point. Our translator just relays our questions and answers, but the doctor knows additional questions to ask and can read the charts (he is bi-lingual) so that makes it a little more informative.We will be having Thanksgiving dinner with the family of the other soldier who is currently hospitalized. We have met the parents of this young lieutenant who was acting as the second crew chief. He is now out of intensive care and is coming along nicely. We know that one of the other airmen is still in ICU in the same hospital as Mark, but not the neuro ICU.Thank you all again and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.I forgot to mention that Mark's commander here received an email from his former commander at Fort Hood (who was also with him in Iraq). He had heard about the accident and wanted to get in touch with us. They printed the email and gave it to us. It seems that this Capt. Chris Clyde (who is originally from Cincinnati) is now in charge of a unit of "warriors" at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He is in charge of 230 young men who are transitioning back from injuries. He intends to see that Mark is put in his unit when he gets to Walter Reed. This is just another of the many coincidences that keep coming up.Another was that my cousin Marianne, who lives in Fair Haven, NJ, mentioned Mark to an old friend at church on Saturday evening. The friend has a daughter who lives in Cleveland, and she asked Marianne if Mark was the boy from Strongsville. When she said yes, she said she had already been praying for him at the request of her daughter.Who knew that lives could be so intertwined? We certainly didn't, but it is greatly appreciated.

Thanksgiving, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the parents and sister of Lt. Smith who was in the accident with Mark. While we were eating, his parents got a call that he was going to be released from the hospital. So we were all grateful for that. He was acting as the other crew chief.Mark was a bit better today. We spoke to the doctor briefly, without the translator, and he explained that the pneumonia was responding very well to the antibiotic. His fever was just about normal. They removed the final chest tube. He told us that the latest CAT scan showed that the contusions in the brain continue to decrease. The CAT showed that Mark has an artery in the way of where they want to do the tracheotomy. They will not be able to do the trach in the unit, but will have to take him to surgery to do it properly. They are going to schedule it for Monday or Tuesday. He does open his eyes slightly and is swallowing some of the time, which are good signs. Tomorrow the Army liaison doctor from the Army base in Vicenza will be with us at the hospital. We will be able to get much more information from him, hopefully. We will pass on any information we get.We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, We are certainly giving thanks that Mark is progressing much better than anyone ever imagined to this point. Believe in miracles, as our sis-in-law Steff says!

Friday, November 23, 2007

Things remain about the same. The pneumonia and other "bugs" are under control with the antibiotics, but he is stable. They are trying to coordinate the surgery for the trach. It has to be done by an ENT surgeon and they do not want to move Mark to the operating suite in another building. They are trying to coordinate moving the equipment to the neurosurgery suite in the building he is in, It should be done some time next week and then they will wait a few days and decide when they will airlift him from Italy to Germany (most likely). We will just have to be patient a little longer. They have reduced the drug coma and now it is just a sit and wait situation.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Things today remain about the same. We did see some movement in his hands and shoulders today, which we hadn't seen before. We saw this as progress. Hopefully that's what it means. He still has a fever and although the pneumonia is responding they are taking cultures to determine what other bugs there are and will then be more specific in the antibiotic rather than broad spectrum. They keep telling us the contusions in the brain are slowly going away. They now have the ventilator set to just assist his breathing when he needs it. He is doing most of it on his own. The tracheotomy is still set for sometime early next week.We will keep you posted tomorrow. Thanks for the support.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Things remain about the same today, although they did isolate one of the bacteria causing the fever and are treating it specifically. They will not take him off the ventilator until they have the trach in and the fever is gone. It is too stressful for him to breathe on his own and try to fight the fever. That made sense to us. His bruises are healing all over and he does open his eyes when the doctor calls to him loudly. He opened them when he heard Rich's voice today, but we cannot be sure of anything at this point. We take it as a plus if no one else does. We will let you know what happens tomorrow.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Today we went to the hospital with the doctor liaison from the Air Force, Mark's 1st SGT, and his company commander. They were able to show us a much less congested way to go. Even though it’s about 5 miles longer, it took 15-20 minutes off the ride. We will try to remember it for tomorrow. While in route, we received a phone call from the Army liaison doctor at the post in Vicenza. In his consultation with the doctors at the hospital he was informed that they felt Mark does not need to have the tracheotomy. This was wonderful news. When we got to the hospital this was confirmed in our conference. He is breathing on his own for longer and longer periods of time. When he gets tired they put him back on the ventilator, but it has progressed to the point that they do not want to do the trach because of the complication of surgery. They are very pleased with his progress and although they cannot tell us a prognosis, the doctor today said they are very hopeful that Mark will do much better than anyone initially thought. Keep these little miracles coming!!!The only other added distraction is that he has developed C.diff, which most of you probably know is that hospital bacteria that occurs in most very sick patients. The doctor said they have that under control as well, but feels he has developed all the usual ICU immuno suppressed patient bacteria that there are and should be winding down on that phase as well. When we went in to see Mark, he was breathing on his own and the ventilator was not hooked up. This was wonderful. He did get sleepy (yes that can happen, even in a coma) and they were going to hook him back up in a little bit. The ventilator, when it is on, only helps him periodically, so as not to stress his body. It is no longer doing all the work. Again, small miracles.They want us to speak loudly to him in English and tell him stories. They try to speak to him in English as much as they know, but it's better coming from us. The doctor we had today is our favorite and he allowed Mark's friends in to visit as well. We went in twos and these young men were moved to tears. The company commander has just taken over, since one of the pilots who was killed was the previous commander, The new commander had become close friends with Mark and was his rock climbing partner. He had not had a chance to see Mark before today and was grateful to do so. His sergeant was with him the night of the crash and was so relieved to see the difference.One of the things we have learned in the last 2+ weeks is that the men and women in our military and their spouses are shining examples of amazing individuals. They are people of faith and loyalty. They have to be in order to endure a life like this. Unfortunately, the media dwells on the mistakes of our leaders and not the people doing the hard work and sacrifice.Well, now we will step down from the soapbox and say good night.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

First of all, we actually were able to find our way to the hospital via the new route. We left early to leave room for an “adventure”, but made it without a hitch. Things are about the same today. When we got to the hospital the doctor told us that he was doing well without the ventilator, and they were giving him some oxygen to make it a little easier to breathe. They had given him some sedation for the night, since it tires him out and they like him to sleep in the evening. He was moving his legs and feet a bit in a twitching motion, but he would not open his eyes for us today. They told us that was because of the sedation. He had been opening them when they called his name earlier today.We feel very frustrated even though we know it will take a very long time to see a lot of results. As a parent you just want to "fix" things and make everything better. We even had this discussion with the family we have become friendly with who has a daughter in the unit. They agreed that they feel the same way. One of the sons speaks English as well as a nephew. As a matter of fact, the nephew looks so much like Mark it's eerie. Today he had a NY Yankee cap on and we showed them a photo of Mark. They agreed he could be part of the family. The mom is a redhead the same color as Pete is and Rich was which was a topic of discussion a couple of days ago. It's a shame that we had to meet under such circumstances, they are a very nice family you'd like to have as neighbors.Well, tomorrow we start the process of getting the apartment lease cancelled and the rest of the rigmarole that goes with moving his stuff back home. Mark's Army unit has assigned us a sergeant to help with the red tape. Wish us luck. He does speak Italian, so that will help with the phone company and things like that.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Today was very productive for all the Lalli's. We were, with the outstanding assistance of one of the other sergeants in Mark's unit, Jose Manzano, able to get the housing situation straightened out, the telephone turned off, the gas and electric terminated, and schedule the packers/movers for tomorrow. This guy is a dynamo. When the 1st SGT told us he could cut through red tape like butter, he wasn't kidding. The only hold out was shipping the truck back, but that will follow after we leave.As for the important Lalli, he is now off the respirator completely. They have even removed the intubation in his throat and lungs. He does have an oxygen mask, but that's just to make the transition smoother. He was slightly sedated again when we got to the hospital, but I had his left hand and moved it from across his waist closer to me. He moved it right back. I did it again, and again he moved it back. When Rich squeezed his right hand, he grasped back tightly. We take these as good signs and hopefully, they are. He also moved his head more, but was not good about opening his eyes. The doctor told us that he was sedated slightly and it would be harder to get him to do that. They have also removed all his stitches. He had a huge gash on his knee (which is why they initially thought it was broken) and then there were stitches where all his tubes had been. Everything is healing nicely.The liaison doctor told us they want to keep him under observation for a few more days now that they have him free and clear of the vent and then the steps will be taken to send him home. We are hoping it will be early next week, but nothing definite has been decided. They have to get the hospital plane either here to Aviano or brought into Venice and that determination hasn't been made yet.Of course, there are still so many unknowns, but we are encouraged by his stamina and strength and keep hoping for the best, as we know you all are. Your prayers are working and they are greatly appreciated.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Let me say that it was the best day so far. Although he is still feverish and has pneumonia and C-diff, he is responding to the antibiotics. They have removed him completely from the ventilator and there is even no need for oxygen at this point. He is breathing fine on his own. Tonight when we visited he did respond to us by opening his eyes. When we tried to ask him to say things, there were some sounds he tried to make. We hope we are not reading what we want into these movements, but they pleased us tremendously. We feel he is in there and is trying to let us know. We pray that we are right. He even gave a big yawn and dozed off. It sounds strange, but you can actually tell when he falls asleep.The other good news is that they are making the arrangements to send him home next week some time. They have to complete the course of antibiotics for the C-diff bacteria in the gut to be safe, so we are talking about next Wednesday or Thursday we think. It appears that they will be sending him straight to Walter Reed from Treviso (at least that's what they are trying to do) via a Gulfstream jet. He will be the only patient on board with the pilot, co-pilot, doctor, nurse and anesthetist. Hopefully, this will all fall into place, but the Air Force and the Army are cooperating unbelievably so we are sure it will happen. We will follow on a commercial flight, most likely to Cleveland. We will regroup and drive to DC after that. His former commander from Ft. Hood is now a commander for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed and has requested Mark be in his unit. We know Chris will take wonderful care of Mark until we get there.When I told you yesterday that our SSgt. Manzano was a whirlwind I wasn't kidding. The movers arrived at Mark's apartment today and by noon the place was packed up and everything put into crates for sea shipment to Virginia (for now). Tomorrow we finish up all the paperwork. He even helped with the packing and carrying. Then he took us to meet his wife and have lunch. He, like so many others we have met, is a dear.While we were at Mark's apartment, we finally got to meet his landlord. Mark and Renzo became quite friendly over the last six months. Renzo is an Asst. Fire Chief for the province of Treviso and was on hand the day of the accident. He was just out of the jurisdiction but had been in phone contact because they thought they would need him as a translator. He is Italian but had been brought up in England. He naturally knew Mark's job and immediately started to try and reach him. Unfortunately, Mark's cell phone stopped working after the crash and we had no idea how to retrieve messages on his home phone. Finally, when neighbors saw the truck, he thought Mark was safe. Then he heard neighbors had seen us, and continued his quest to find out about Mark. Privacy issues in Italy are even tougher than in the US it seems and even a fire chief couldn't get the information. He was absolutely devastated when his worst fears were confirmed yesterday. He could hardly tell us the story.We think our son is pretty special, but it seems that many, many more people think so too. For all of you who have emailed us, put notes on Facebook, offered help, lodging in DC, have lit candles and are constantly keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, thanks is just not nearly enough. Please know how much we appreciate all of it for Mark, Pete, Deb, and us. It means more than you will ever know.

Friday, November 30, 2007

We went to the hospital today with the Army liaison doctor from the post in Vicenza. He has been coming up once a week to see Mark. When we met with the Italian doctor at the hospital, she felt that Mark was doing very well for all that has happened. She feels that with very intensive therapy, he could come out of the coma and function. She has suggested an iPod or something of that type to play music and for us to record messages that they can start playing for him throughout the day. We are going to get one in the morning and a couple of his friends have offered to help us set it up. His commander wants the guys to record some messages as well to download. The Italian doctors feel this is the first step in the therapy and have seen results.The liaison doctor is not as optimistic. He has told us that he feels Mark will need to be in a long term care facility. We always feel rather down when he is around, and are praying as hard as we can that Mark proves him wrong. As a matter of fact, Mark would not do any of the responses we had seen when Dr. Slack was around, and as soon as he left, he opened his eyes, moved his hands, and made noises. We are afraid that this doctor thinks we are nuts. I just like to think Mark doesn't care for him very much and is being his usual obstinate self. Praise God, let's hope that's the case.On a lighter note, we are just about finished with the paperwork to get him transitioned to Walter Reed. I have never seen so many forms in my life. (I guess I should be happy we aren't dealing with the hospital insurance.) All I can say is that without our buddy SSgt. Manzano, we would be lost. He's been great. According to him, whenever the unit needs to work through the red tape they send the cute, chubby Puerto Rican guy with the smile on his face! The clerks in all the departments just love him. We have had to go to every department from supply to dental, to the rec center, to the PX, to the housing dept, to home fuels, to transport and even the base library to get signatures on this massive checklist. And that's just a few. It is absolutely amazing! Everyone has gone out of their way for us, however, and we have not had to wait on one line yet thanks to our pal Jose. And all these departments are scattered all around this huge airbase and surroundings. It's a lot of work for these old brains.We will keep you posted as usual.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Sorry this may be late for some of you, but I guess the internet connection here was down and out yesterday just like the Army team (wipe those smiles off Grabowskis').We spent the day industriously trying to load an MP3 player with music and our voices for Mark, only to discover, it would only play back the music and not the voices, at least on the same loop, It was this little contraption that was impossible to use, so we went with Plan B, that we old people call a CD. Unfortunately, we could put our voices on the computer, but it would not burn to the CD. Anyway, we wound up with three CDs of music and the nurse said that was great. They can operate the CD. Mark has this great iPod thingy thing (tech term) but the battery is dead and we can't find the right cord. It is probably on its way to Virginia.When we got to the hospital, Mark had his eyes completely open and appeared "awake". Shortly after a big yawn, he dozed off as usual. We were disappointed, but one of the nurses who speaks English told us that all the patients seem to do that when the parents come. She thinks they feel secure and so they sleep even if they have been awake during the day. The other nurses all came around and they were telling us through her, that they think he is cute and that they want to hear his voice. When I told them it was "basso" they laughed since they didn't imagine that. He has lost a lot of his muscle bulk in the last three weeks, but he has been through a lot. He was nice and cool so the fever appears to be subsiding.We will drop a line later today about today's visit. We thank you again for all your support.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Well folks, today was about the same as yesterday, but he didn't fall asleep on us until the visit was about over. We brought him music and hooked it up. Hopefully, I picked songs that were favorites. When we turned it on, he did move his eyes to the ear with the headphone in it. Again, I took that as a positive sign.We were accompanied by Ed Smith, the dad of the other member of Mark's unit who was injured. He wanted to meet Mark. He wanted to be able to picture Mark as he prays for him. His son has been discharged from the hospital, and they are going to Germany tomorrow for him to be evaluated before they send him home to Colorado for convalescence. He is a pilot and there is some question as to whether he will be able to fly again. He has been questioned at length about the accident and what had occurred. He has had some memory loss and things are starting to come back slowly.Nothing has been said about what they think was the cause, but we were told that one of the airmen told the investigators had it not been for Mark's preflight safety instructions no one would have survived. We had a note from one of them who told us the same thing. It is a small thing, but one which we are very proud of. And to think I used to tease him about being the "stewardess".

Monday, December 3, 2007

When we went to the hospital we found out that they had not done the MRI today, but it will be done tomorrow. We are hoping for a good report. He no longer has a fever and the infections are just about cleared up. He did squeeze our hands today, and we brought his best buddy, Josh, with us today. We swear he responded to Josh's voice which made all of us feel good. Hopefully, the MRI will give us some insight into the damage done.One sad thing occurred today. The Italian family that we have become friendly with whose daughter is in the unit, received very bad news. Their consultation with the doctor was quite long and they looked devastated when they came out. The mom looked at me and I just went and hugged her as she cried. The daughter, Sylvia, has no brain function. She had an aneurysm the day before Mark so has been in the unit the same amount of time. She had surgery as well, and had been doing better, but it was so heartbreaking for her mom, dad and husband today. Even though the mom and I do not speak the same language, we managed to understand each other. Please say a prayer for the Ingava family, I think they are going to need them.I just realized in my last note that I forgot to tell you that it looks like they will be sending the jet to pick up Mark on Friday. He will then be flown to the hospital at Lanstuhl Germany for the night and then on to Andrews AFB on Saturday in a larger plane. From there he will be taken to Walter Reed. We will leave here on Saturday and return to Cleveland for a few days and then drive to Washington once we get new orders.We did email his old commander at Walter Reed and he is going to keep checking the manifests for Mark. He told us they get three planes in a week from Germany. We will keep you posted on any news or changes regarding his return.We will update everyone tomorrow as usual.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

They did not do the MRI today like we had hoped. It will be done tomorrow. One of the doctors complained that, unfortunately, they have a lot of equipment but much less manpower. The sedatives have left his system and his course of antibiotics is just about done. His fever is gone. His eyes are open and they look much clearer and focused. The doctors have told us that he is not completely out of the coma, however. They feel that once he is out of the ICU and back in the US/Germany where they are speaking English he will respond better. The MRI will give them a picture of how much damage there is and where it is. They did say that his posture of his hands and arms pulled up into the middle of the chest is a response to some problems with the cerebral cortex, which takes a lot of time to heal. The doctor said this can be overcome with physical therapy as well as the other intensive therapy that he will need. They explained that his brain right now is like a computer that has gone askew and has to be reprogrammed. How much can be done is still up in the air. He made us promise that we will come back to Italy with Mark to see them all. They have grown very attached to him.When we went to the hospital today, we were met by Mark's landlord, Renzo, who I mentioned in another email. It was very important for him to see Mark. We were also joined by our translator Roberto, who has been working nights, but wanted to be with us and pray with Mark before he left for the US. They both were able to go in and talk to Mark. We were all convinced that Mark knew Renzo's voice, especially when he told him he wanted him to come back and have another lasagna dinner with him and his family.On another good note, the family we became friendly with had a burst of good news today. Their daughter opened her eyes again and there has been some very unexpected improvement. They are moving her tomorrow from the ICU to a rehab center for intensive therapy. Her mom, Lydia, was so happy. She came over to me at Mark's bedside and began giving me the good news in Italian. I don't know how I understood her, but I did. When I asked Renzo if what I heard was correct, he said yes. He told her I understood her and she said to him, "Of course, we speak the tongue of mothers!" When I explained Mark was going home on Friday, she was delighted. We hugged and kissed each other and actually brought tears to Renzo's eyes. Later we were able to say arrivederci to her husband, through Renzo. He said he was so happy to have met us and only wished that we had gotten to know each other under different circumstances. He said he would always remember the parents of the young American soldier. It really was bittersweet. I wish we could have communicated even more, but sometimes sitting with another mom going through the same thing, holding hands is enough.It is hard to believe that on Saturday it will be a month since the accident. We really can't comprehend that time has gone by so quickly and yet, it still seems like forever. We couldn't have done it without the support of all of you back home and the amazing new friends we made here. We have a long road ahead and with God's love and guidance we hope to make it through for Mark. That's all for tonight. We will write again tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

We received very good news today. Dr. Slack called us as we arrived at the hospital parking lot. He had just been there to see Mark and check on the tests. He informed us that the MRI was extremely good and that he felt there was a very good chance Mark would come out of the coma completely and there would be more progress than he ever anticipated. Way to go Mark --- you're going make him eat his words! Needless to say we were delighted, even though we know it will take a very long time and we have to be patient. Actually, Dr. Slack was very pleased as well. Keep those prayers coming--they are working!Arrangements are being made now to fly Mark by helicopter (yeah, yeah, I know) from the Treviso hospital to Pordenone Hospital which is the large city just south of Aviano. The military uses Pordenone Hospital for its patients. Then, probably on Friday (possibly Saturday) the plane will arrive here at the base to take him to Landstuhl Germany and the Army hospital there. He will remain there and be placed on the hospital plane to Andrews AFB and ultimately Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They take patients on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. The military has to fly here to the base (they did try to get wavers) and cannot go to Treviso, They do not want to take Mark by ambulance for an hour, so they will airlift him to Pordenone.At this point we are not sure when he will leave Germany for Washington. We are hoping for Sunday, but won't know until he gets to Landstuhl. Germany could have applied for wavers for one of us to join him, but that would have made the whole process much more complicated and would have dragged out the time involved. We have opted to return to Cleveland on Saturday as planned. He is stable and will be in good hands traveling with a medical team. There is not much we could have done even if we were there with him. We did not want to complicate the issue. Once he has an arrival date in Washington, the Army will issue orders for us to join him.The hospital doctors told us his infections are cleared up, and he is healing very well. They have been wonderful as have the nurses, and all the other staff. We are very fortunate that he was in the hands of such good caring people with such excellent knowledge of the situation. They saved his life. They made us promise to bring him back to say "Ciao" when he's able. We promised we would.Hopefully, all will go as scheduled, but of course, this is the military and one thing we have learned is that the constant thing in the military is the inconsistency! Keep praying all goes as scheduled and that he is home next week.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

We can hardly believe it is four weeks since the accident, It seems like a lifetime and yesterday all at once. Mark went for another helicopter ride today from Treviso to the hospital in Pordenone. It is Oespedale di Santa Maria degli Angeli (St. Mary of the Angels) and what better a name than that for our angel.He is doing much better, although he was very sleepy. We got to visit with him twice today and that was good. We met with Dr. Maletz of the AF and we were delighted when she went through all the test results with us. She had all the reports from the hospital at Treviso. The infections have cleared up and the MRI showed one contusion of about 3 cm as the largest, with the others being very small. This is very significant news and makes the prognosis much better. (I must admit we like her much better than Dr. Slack as far as her approach. She is a retired pediatric oncologist which explains a lot about how she feels for her patients)There have been some changes in the transport to Germany. They are not going to send him tomorrow. Both Dr. Maletz and the doctors at Pordenone want him to stay the weekend so the transition is not too quick. They are going to move him sometime tomorrow from ICU to a step down unit where he will still get the ICU care, but since he no longer needs the ventilator or oxygen, is a little more liberal. We will be able to stay with him longer. They will get him from the hospital Monday in an ambulance from the base and take him to the plane which will land here. Mark is the last patient to leave. One went to Germany yesterday. He is currently on the schedule to leave Landstuhl on Tuesday, but that depends on what the doctors decide when he gets there. They may want him to remain for a few days and would return on the Friday flight to the US.We discussed staying through Monday with Dr. M and she assured us that we should go home and get "rejuvenated" so that we would be rested when he got to DC where the intensive therapy would begin. She knew I hated to do that, but I think she is correct so after some discussion, we have decided to keep our plan to fly home on Saturday. We have asked Mark's friends to take turns visiting over the weekend. They are happy to do it, Our translator Roberto's office is in this hospital and he came to see Mark tonight when he found out he was there. He, too, told us he would visit him and his wife would be joining him. We have made a true friend in this kind man. He finally admitted to us today, that Dr. Slack made him frustrated as well.We will send an update tomorrow and then when we get home.

Friday, December 07, 2007

We are on our last day here. Everything seems to be falling into place. We hate to leave Mark but guys from his unit will go and visit him tomorrow and Sunday. Then they will see him off on Monday. Hopefully, there will be no problems getting him on the plane to the US on Tuesday.We went to see him this afternoon and again he decided to nap on us. He had been somewhat awake when we got there and they had his "tunes" on for him. We were happy to see that they cared enough to do that. We were able to spend a half hour with him and will go back shortly for the evening hours which are a whole hour which is nice. They had not yet moved him to the step down unit, since that was full.We want to thank everyone for all the prayers and support. We will continue to keep you posted on a regular basis as we know them when we get back to Cleveland. We will leave here tomorrow at 8 a.m Italian time (2 a.m Cleveland) and arrive in Cleveland (hopefully with no hitches) at 9:30 p.m. Cleveland time (3 a.m Italian).

December 12, 2007

We heard from the Landstuhl hospital tonight and he is doing very well. He was fitted for his back brace today, and they said he seems comfortable in it. The liaison sergeant checks on him every couple of hours and he said he is getting a lot of attention from the nurses,His nurse for today and tomorrow (an Army captain) called us and let us know his condition was good. He has been responding by moving his head when they speak to him, he seems to be trying to answer when they ask questions, and they still have the TV on for him, which they have found helps tremendously. He asked lots of questions about Mark so that they will be able to talk to him about family and interests. He was telling me that soldiers usually do well in rehab because they are in good physical shape prior to the injuries. When I told him that Mark was a hiker and rock climber, he laughed and said "You mean he even did that on top of all that PT they force us to do every day?" He said that was what helps a fast recovery.They will call us again tomorrow evening with an update and I will pass it on. We have not had any info yet on when we will be going to Washington. He is scheduled for Friday's flight, but it has not yet been confirmed. I hope we will hear the final confirmation tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed

December 13, 2007

We heard from the hospital twice today. The first time was from MSG Semco who is the liaison in Landstuhl. He said Mark had been fitted for his back brace and that when he went to see him he had two physical therapists with him. They had been using a special swab to clean his mouth and Mark bit down on it and would not release it. They were trying to sweet talk him into opening his mouth so they could finish. Sgt. Semco told them he was a trained soldier and they should treat him like one. He said he went up to him and in a stern voice said "Sgt. Lalli, these women need to finish their job, Open your mouth and release that swab so they can do it." After about a minute he looked at Sgt. Semco and opened his mouth. The sergeant told me that he wasn't a medic or anything but he was so happy he did something that worked! The second call was from Mark's nurse, Capt. ???. He told us that he asked Mark if his name was Mark and Mark answered YES! He asked him if he had a brother named Pete and Mark answered YES! He then asked him if he liked to hike and rock climb and Mark answered YES in a quieter voice. He then said Sgt. Lalli I can't hear you, what did you say and he answered YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WE ARE DOING THE HAPPY DANCE AT THIS HOUSE!!! Mark is on the manifest for the flight tomorrow, but will not arrive into Andrews AFB until late tomorrow night. There is still the slim chance of a bump but Sgt. Semco did not think that would really happen. We should hear about our plans once he is in the air. We will let you know what happens.Again thanks and everyone say another prayer of thanksgiving this time.

Friday, December 14, 2007

We got to Walter Reed about 8 pm, checked in and they took us to the hospital. Mark was being prepped. He had gotten there about 6 p.m. His nurse was getting him ready to go for scans and X-rays. I called his name and asked him to look at me. When he did I said "It's Mom. Dad and I are here. Can you say hi Mom?" and he did. We were so excited. The nurse said when she asks if he's in pain he tells her yes or no. She needed to put another IV in his arm for the tests and needed Rich's help, because he was tensing his arm. When she stuck the IV in his vein, he said "Ow, sh*t!" All three of us laughed. I told him it was all right and did it hurt and he looked at me and said yes. He's very skinny and is not moving his legs very much, but he is moving his hands and seems to be listening when you talk to him. He seems to understand. Hopefully, these are all good signs. We are hoping we will be able to talk to a doctor tomorrow.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

We just came back from spending the morning with Mark. He is doing well. The ortho docs were in to check on the scapule and pelvis. He did need pain meds after they were done, but all looks okay. Then the ENT docs were in to check the breaks in the face and behind the ears, etc. to determine if any affected the hearing and facial nerve. They think both are all right. It appears the facial nerve is inflammed but not severed as he has a slight paralysis on the left side, but we explained that it is far better than it was a week ago, so they feel it will heal nicely as the swelling and inflammation in the area goes away. He was talking to us. We asked him if he remembered Jessica and he said "of course". We showed him the photo and asked who that was and he said "Jess". We asked if he knew where it was taken and he said "Venice". We were thrilled. He says things that unfortunately are mumbled sometimes and when we ask him to repeat, he does repeat the exact same thing, but often we still don't understand. I also asked him about the password to his old computer which we couldn't open. He said he couldn't remember what it was. I gave him the clue, and he said "I still don't remember". I told him I hoped he didn't mind if I used his new computer and he said "It's nice."All of this is amazing to us. We have not yet spoken to the neurologists, but hope to soon. He is still in an ICU unit, although it is a step down unit. They will continue to evaluate him and he will then be moved to a neuro unit. Currently, we can come and go as we please which is nice. He has been assigned to his old commander which is also a plus. We don't know if the visiting hours will change, but we will let those of you nearby know when we know.