“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also

a matter of opportunity." ~ Hippocrates

Many thanks to everyone who was able to send birthday greetings to Dan! He had a variety of birthday cards—colorful, musical, funny—as well as some email and voice mail greetings. And he was delighted when we persuaded his brother in California to sing “happy birthday” through the speaker phone. We had a quiet celebration with family and PCAs, and Daniel seemed to enjoy the day.

The biopsy of two of the sores on Daniel’s hands went smoothly, although it yielded little new information. It confirmed the diagnosis of erythema multiforme, but it did not help identify the trigger(s). The sores on Daniel’s hands and feet have persisted, but his mouth has been free of sores for more than a month, and for the first time since last November. The mouth sores always seem to cause the most discomfort, so Dan’s mood has improved significantly since the sores healed. Daniel was diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency, and has been on supplements for the past six weeks. He is also continuing to take a large dose of an antibiotic once a week.

Daniel’s progress with eating has also improved significantly with the absence of mouth sores. He now has two eating sessions a day—breakfast, and an afternoon snack. He eats soft foods like yogurt and pudding, and a variety of solid foods (in mesh bags to prevent choking). He seems to like almost everything we have offered, including pizza, wings, pasta, eggplant, roast chicken, ratatouille, fried rice, lo mein, grilled cheese, apples, pears, grapes, melon, cereal, cookies, brownies, cake, pie. We haven’t had much success with a straw yet, but he is relearning how to drink from a cup, and has enjoyed fruit juices, chocolate milk, and egg nog.

We are approaching the Thanksgiving holiday with “cautious optimism.” Thanksgiving was Dan’s favorite holiday, and his injury occurred five days before Thanksgiving 2004. Every year we have hoped that he would be able to share the meal with us, but his health and/or eating has not allowed him to participate in the “feast” for the past four years. Given his wonderful eating of late, we are very optimistic that Daniel will enjoy the Thanksgiving meal with us. Sadly, his brother will not be here to share this milestone. David plans to be exploring the San Francisco area over the Thanksgiving break from his studies at HSU.

We are planning to send some future updates on Daniel’s recovery by mail, since some folks do not have easy access to the internet. If you would like to receive any mail updates, please send your mailing address to us via the guestbook, phone, or Daniel’s email address (preferred). His email address is danlanggunn@gmail.com.

At this time of thanks giving, we are reminded of how much your support and friendship have meant to Daniel and our family in the past four years. Next Wednesday will be the fourth anniversary of Daniel’s injury; he has come a very long way from those early days in the ICU. He still has a very long way to go in his struggle to recover his health and independence, and he will need all the support and friendship he can find. Every card, every guestbook entry, every visit helps, and means so much to Daniel and our family. Thank you.