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  • Richard Willis September 1, 2024 at 3:46pm
    Today by Kathleen David, Beneficiary
    Peter had a minor infection that was caught early and treated so I have to reset my infection clock. Over all he is doing as well as can be expected.

    I am currently at DragonCon by myself. Talking about various topics, judging people (No, really I am the judge for the Friday Night Workmanship contest), and seeing friends old and new.

    When I get home, I plan to find our lost laptop and get it and a headset to Peter so he can start writing again by dictation. He has stories to tell and right now they are all in his head.

    Caroline is discovering how much she has to do homework-wise for animation and it is quite a bit. Fortunately she has a leg up on the software.

    That's the update. I am thinking unless something happens, I am going to try to give you an update on the first of the month.

    All the best,
    Peter, Kathleen, and Caroline
  • Richard Willis October 15, 2024 at 5:01pm

    Today by Kathleen David, Beneficiary

    PETER UPDATE OCT 15 2024

    Here is the update on Peter

    He is in the hospital to deal with cellulitis at the surgical site. There was also a fungus in the wound. His right hand is swollen with edema as is his arm to the surgical site.

    There is also tissue break down at the end of his coccyx they are treating. This is not unusual considering the amount of time he is in bed.

    The bacteria from his infected heart catheter came back as MRSA and they are treating that with the big gun antibiotics.

    I saw him yesterday and we had a chat for about an hour and half before he fell asleep. He is aware of where he is and why. He is very tired which makes sense since he has YAI (yet another infection) He is still fighting the good fight and has a positive attitude towards living.

  • Richard Willis October 30, 2024 at 8:43pm

    Today by Kathleen David, Beneficiary

    Peter is much better. His arm looks normal again. He is in good spirits. He is impressed by the size of the Aquaman Compleat Peter David series. His daughters have visited him and he’s working on getting better.

  • Richard Willis November 15, 2024 at 5:53pm

    Today by Kathleen David, Beneficiary

    I love being able to tell you that nothing new has happened. We have our routines pretty much set right now.

    I have applied for an assistant editor job at Marvel that I have worked my whole life to have the skills to do.

    Caroline is animating things and learning what she does not know. She is enjoying herself at school.

    I am going to have to go to the Genius Bar to figure out what switched I flipped that shouldn't have been switched because I can't get the dictation feature to work consistently but I am still working on it.

    Nothing is going wrong and it has been lovely.

    Thank you again for your help.

    Kath

  • Richard Willis December 2, 2024 at 6:40pm

    Today by Kathleen David, Beneficiary

    Why I have been quiet 2024 edition

    On the 22nd of November 2024 we entered our third year of our new normal, which has been anything but.

    I have been thinking about the last two years a lot recently. How our lives have changed rather radically. I have been rattling around this house with ghosts of the past showing up once in a while in a photograph I find or artwork or something we picked up during our travels or some toy we got ourselves.

    There are puppets all around the place each telling their own stories and adventures. I want to make more. I have a commission I can finally start on as the previous one is shipped and the table clear. I have an idea for an art piece that involves puppets that I might get too sometime.

    Ideas for stories are rattling around in my brain, and I type them out on my computer or at least what I have figured out. I really need to outline more.

    Peter is at his new normal. No current infection or any other health crisis recently. He is enjoying the What If with the Disney Character. His favorite is “What if Donald Duck became Wolverine” which is one of the best in the series. I bring him comics, books, and magazines to keep him in touch with the outside world.

    Other than dialysis, he has not been out of that facility except for hospital visits, Doctor appointments, and dialysis. He hasn’t sat out in the sunlight for over two years.

    He says he is tired but is fighting the good fight. I agree.

    Caroline is learning animation and the speed of the work. She is learning a lot and is frustrated with one teacher but is finding ways of dealing with him so she can get the info she needs. She loves her apartment, and her roommates are good friends.

    Me? I am a ball of stress that occasionally loosens up but is always looking for the next shoe to drop. I am under the care of a therapist and physiatrist, who have helped me so much to not go in a bed direction. They did have to pound me over the head that self-care is not selfish but needed so I can help my family. If I totally burn out, that is not going to help anyone.

    I am adjusting to the new normal. Are there things I miss? Of course. I miss telling Peter something I found funny because he is sitting on the other couch. I miss going to movies. I miss being able to discuss all the topics we would discuss. We always find it fun to find a fact or a story the other didn’t know. Someone pointed out that I was a widow with a living husband. There has got to be a term for that besides caretaker.

    I miss going to conventions. I really do. I can’t afford to go to one and without Peter I am nothing to these conventions. The exceptions and thank goodness for them or I might go mad, are Farpoint, Shoreleave, and DragonCon with an occasional GalaxyCon tossed in for good measure. These are my tribe conventions.

    There are other things I miss but they are a long list that gets boring quick.

    We are here. We are surviving. We are getting ready for what this year brings us.

    I am grateful I can spend time with my husband.

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