Rob was doing really great most of last week. He was taken off the ventilator on Saturday, 1 August, and his breathing has remained good since that time. The plan was that he would move out of intensive care to a normal room on Thursday, 6 August.

Unfortunately, Rob got hit by a double whammy of two hospital acquired infections, Staphylococcus (Staph) and Streptococcus (Strep). They have really knocked all the energy out of him and he has been battling fevers and chills for a couple of days.

They put him on one of the heaviest antibiotics there is, Vancomycin, and we are waiting to see if that “vanquishes” these insidious bacteria’s. As of today he seems to be doing well with the fever, but he is extremely tired. The antibiotic is also very hard on him, but he seems to be resonding to it (no signs of MSRA).

I sometimes wish I could just bring him home to our not-so-tidy house because he would be better off here than getting hit by all the hospital germs. Sadly, I know that is not yet possible, but hope it will some day soon.

Rob’s father Ger had surgery on Thursday for an intestinal problem. I’m happy to report that all went well and he is recovering nicely. As you can imagine, this has been especially stressful for Rob’s mother Tonny and his sister Anne, on top of the situation with Rob, but they seem to be holding up well.

We are making a lot of progress on the “Rob’s Winkel Project” . Most of the heavy work is done and I am now busy sanding and painting so that Peter can get the floor and tiles in next week. This project has been a good diversion for me to do something for Rob and stop my mind from spinning too much.

Thanks again for everyone’s support and the good thoughts that you are sending Rob’s way.