good news at 3600 Wooddale #315

Harry got the a good report from the doctor today allowing him to wear the rubber bands that keep his jaw aligned only at night and the ok to go back to the smash and mash diet rather than liquids through a straw only. We learned the nerves in his face had been severed with all the breaks but he will make a full recovery and will be able to eat what ever he wants in six weeks or so. He will need extensive dental reconstruction once the jaw is healed but after what he has been through it will probably be a piece of cake.

I have been trying to say thank you to all our friends and family who has been so kind and shown so much compassion and love for us during this storm. There has always been someone who offered help, someone to listen to our story and all the love and concern has made a huge difference in our lives. (I have a new appreciation for the miracle of soup too!) I will never forget all the wonderful things people have said and done for us.

For my dear Mexican friends who read this blog, the picture is our building in Minnesota. We live on the top floor in the corner. And no, we do not have a balcony overlooking the mountains and the estuary, just Highway 7. We wake every morning to the noise of bulldozers and trucks, not birds, as the overpass is being constructed outside our windows. I keep you all in my heart and miss you very much. Our plan, with a little luck, is to return to Mexico in October to stay for a bit. Someone here in our building asked how long we were home for and Harry's response was, "until the wanderlust hits us again."

I have had a nasty exchange of emails with the American owner of the repair shop where Harry had his accident. It pretty much has boiled down to the owner blaming Harry for the accident because he was not wearing his sunglasses. He explained to me when Harry fell he was leading him down to the car so the guard dogs would not attack him. The fact that the glare of the sun made him miss seeing the open pit was not his problem, after all Harry left his sunglasses in the car. There is no civil liability in Mexican law so I asked him for $10,000 for the monetary losses we incurred because of this accident, the sudden shock and need to abandon the good life we had built in San Jose and the fear, pain and suffering Harry has gone through. I of course knew this was a futile effort, but my real rationale was to let him know that three people falling into such a pit was negligence on his part and he needs to make some changes in that yard. I told him the doctors all said the injuries Harry suffered could very well of killed him and the next person may not be so lucky. He does not see my point, but I felt it important that I made it anyway. The rather interesting part of all this is that he goes to mass everyday. Go figure!!! Of course lately, with all the raging debate going on in the Catholic Church maybe is does figure. Some people and some institutions will always find taking responsiblity difficult, even when doing so would make for less suffering in the world.