Well, first of all, Todd is out of Medium Care with its 24-hour monitoring. While in my experience Todd was onto his fifth day of silence, there is a nurse who claims Todd said “good morning” to her. I haven’t spoken to her myself and Todd was sleepy and mostly silent while we hung out, but that is the word on the street. He is doing a new thing with his vocal chords a kind of purring while I am petting him. This is a new dimension to his sound and communication emerging, always good. It seems like a more active and consistent use of his vocal chords, perhaps a nice warm up for something especially good to come. He suffered no lumbar puncture today and there were no news as of yet in terms of today’s CAT scan and blood tests. I was rather tired and on the fourth day of the bloody shoe saga!

What shoe saga you say? Well here you go.
It all started with Jaime who was running around Harlemmerstraat to find the perfect Todd shoes (we sent his boots home a while ago) as requested by the physiotherapist. Day 1: Jaime came back with the greatest black “leather” sporty shoe for Todd, right up his alley, we all loved it. I say it because there was only one damn shoe in the box, Todd definitely needs two! All styley and politically correct. Day 2: Julie and Jaime pick up the other shoe and when we get to the hospital they tell us he needs ankle support as well! Ok the search continues. Day 3: The girls are literally on the plane, and I am committed to resolving this issue. I find a great shoe and the very committed salesperson talks me into buying a shoe 2 sizes too small. She is convinced that for some reason the size is mismarked….. needless to say I was super frustrated when the shoe doesn’t go over his heel. (At this point the nurse, Stacy, is amused with my distress and long drawn out project of buying a fucking pair of shoes!) Day 4: Today I take on a new shopping district with all its shops. Also, ran into a friend on the street today (which means I am no longer a tourist, YIKES), and I am very pleased sharing the perfect Todd shoes. A pair of black leather converse (with Star of course!) with grey laces and rubber and a different color brown toe. I go to the hospital and again not quite working. These ones may be a bit big but definitely stylish, but apparently not enough support at the heel. Tomorrow, I am committed!!!………and I will have Selby here by my side, she comes in around 11. I am so close but not quite there. For crying out loud it is just a pair of shoes. With this pair of shoes carries a lot of weight. These shoes will keep his foot at a 90˚ position to keep his foot conditioned for walking in the future, right now his toes are over extended. So while we are taking care of his needs, I have to make sure not to do something that he would hate. Like putting him in a white pair of shoes, he must maintain his dignity! (Wink. ) It is funny how these little gestures can become such a major crazy project! All in a days work. Let’s hope I can maneuver through this little task without placing the entire success of Todd’s physical recovery on these damn shoes….. I have been in many shoes stores…..I thought that would be a nice silver lining, you know think of my own needs/ desires. Hee hee. I had no temptations, humm. I don’t want to say I am failing, because here we have no failure….. only try again later!!!!! And so try again I must.

Today Albertjan, and a guest, brought a headset for Todd. Nice cushy and soft. This will have advantages to his recovery in providing a singular focus. It can be over stimulating to hear people constantly speaking in Dutch, incessant beeping of the alarms such as IV, the hacking of your neighbors etc. A break from these sounds can be a good thing. Todd has visitors on Sat and Sunday, so he is a busy guy. Someday, into the I don’t know when future, we will be home and with you all. Until then Zander (who loves commas) and Yuksel prepare to leave Berlin for Amsterdam this coming week, followed by Susee and hopefully Barney! And Mary is going to Have Christmas in Amsterdam with Alex…. And the other bright shining lights that find themselves here. Still I hope to be home by then, but it is without a doubt out of my hands.

With Love from Amsterdam.
T&A

P.S. because I know what comes next…… they don’t want to outfit his foot with braces at this moment because of how his body has been tensing up. The are concerned that his feet would be injured as he pushed against the brace frames. So this is a passive approach to see if that is enough for him, in the one step at a time that is the AMC way….. and a good way it is. No one gets too ahead of themselves.

Downside is we have no guide book or schedule with which to plan ahead!