At Sea - October 5

The weather was cloudy and overcast and it even rained a bit. But since we had no port or sightseeing it did not interfere with any plans. My father had a reflexology massage, I watched the fencing lesson and the four of us played cards in one of the lounges to pass the time.

Tami and I spent some time in the Internet Center checking emails and I worked on this blog. That is when I got the email from Ken to "call home no matter what."
It was seven am Arizona time, five pm my time - a ten hour difference. I tried using the ship's phone several times and got no answer (at five dollars a minute). In desperation I tried my cell phone and found that it worked on the ship whenever we were not in port.
Robert had been in an accident and was in ICU. He had run into the road and was struck by two cars. He had a head injury with possible brain damage, a broken fifth vertebrae in his neck and lots of road rash. The doctors placed him in a comma and sewed and stapled up his head, and did a cat scan. Then they had to determine how to fix the broken neck. Jeff insisted that the injuries were not considered life threatening and that I was not to rush home. He said there was nothing I could do and Robert was unconscious. I had a very hard time sleeping and was desperate for information from home every day. Jeff spent everyday at the hopsital and updated me as often as he could.
As it turns out Robert spent seven days in ICU. They did surgery on the vertebrae and he has a neck brace to help it heal. He didn't actually "wake up" until yesterday (October 16). I got home on the fifteenth and spent all day the sixteenth at the hospital. Jeff says that this was the first day he was in fact alert enough to communicate for more than a few minutes and he ate a meal. The nurses were amazed at his progress. I believe that he will be okay, but it will take a while for a full recovery. Please keep him in your prayers for us.