11/19 - Dad's Update

Hi,
Diane and I want to Thank everyone who is continuing to pray for Courtney and our Family.

A quick reminder that there will be a Mass at Providence College tonight at 9:00 PM. We selected this time so that the URI/RIC/Brown/PC/JWU, etc students could be able to attend and share their prayers in a community of support

I am not really sure where to begin this post nor where to end. Diane and I have spent the last days/nights sort of camped out in the waiting room here on the 5th floor of the hospital or in Courtney's room. We have been cat napping in two chairs pushed together in a make shift bed. Yesterday the RIH staff was able to place us in a room at the Ronald McDonald house on the edge of the hospital campus. We are grateful to have this accommodations made available to us.

This morning I drove down to Green Hill to do some washing and get a change of clothes. On my way back to Providence there was something that I felt compelled to do and that was to retrieve Courtney's case of music Cd's from her car. Sounds like something easy to do. It wasn't There was also something within me that needed to be where Courtney was when she was last healthy and whole. It sounds a bit morbid to think that way but as a Dad you sometimes need to make order out of the chaos.

My first reaction at the sight of the car was as though someone had magically taken a sword to my legs and cut them out from under me. The damage to the car is so complete I could not believe that my daughter actually lived through that heap of carnage in front of me. God is clearly looking over her.

The owner of Certified Towing ,Richard Zuercher later drove the 20 miles (one way)or so to the hospital to deliver the CD case. A random act of kindness by a stranger, one Dad to another, brought together by the bond of fatherhood.

It is a little before 1 AM EST and Courtney is resting. She is running a fever and the staff has sent out the cultures to the lab. Infections and pneumonia are a real concern for Us right now. The nurses and Dr's are keeping a close eye on Courtney. You can see that even in her state of unconsciousness that she is developing a rapport with the caregivers. They continue to treat her with compassion, love, and dignity, the hallmarks of a great hospital.

Please continue to pray for Courtney. her sisters Katy and Claudia, my wife Diane and the staff at RIH


Craig