Sorry for skipping a day-

  Carol is slowly getting better.  She has been on a medication for a long time that retards her healing ability, so this will take longer than most other folks.  Just the same, I notice little differences in the way she moves, how quickly she responds to questions, appreciation for my attempts at humor (that's a sad story folks), and every night she has just a little more energy at 9pm than the night before.  It is slow, but things are moving forward and she's in great spirits- especially considering what's she's been through.
   Today they've been doing some things to prepare her for a revision/down-sizing of her tracheotomy.  They haven't really explained this process but I gather that it's the first step toward eventually doing away with the trache.  Maybe I can explain this better tomorrow.
   Until then...