:-(

6am and I still haven't been able to get to sleep.

Also, I discovered maybe an hour ago when I decided to get a snack, that the seal on my fridge door doesn't shut any more. I've no idea why, or for how long this has been going on.

Which also means that many of the foodstuffs inside have gone soft/bad.

I've wedged it shut by putting the bucket to mop the floor in front of it, but :-(

Latest update from Greg

Hey everyone:

Paul's surgery on Thursday went very well. I am sorry not to have been able to do any updates since the surgery, but due to a miscommunication between myself, the nurses, and the surgeons, no one told me anything. It wasn't until I was arriving at the hospital yesterday and ran into one of the surgeons in the parking garage that I was finally told what had gone on in the surgical theater. The forty five minute operation which ended up lasting six hours went very well. The specialists were highly complimentary of the residents at Charity who did the initial surgery; they were able to clean out a lot of the crap behind his eye, and they were able to reattach the retina. There was a lot of damage done to the retina, but they were able to reconstruct the eye and are cautiously optimistic. Paul still has no vision in the eye, but now when they shine the light into his eye he not only can distinguish between light and dark but now he can see colors--reds, blues, and yellows. Also, when they shone the light into his eye before he saw a pinpoint of light; now it's much larger. I am very hopeful; Paul has remarkable recuperative powers. He was told thirteen years ago he would need surgery on his knee, which would limit its mobility; he chose to have physical therapy instead, and never needed the surgery.

The pneumonia is completely under control now; the antibiotics he's been given have kicked ass and taken names, as it were. His doctor wants to keep him in the hospital over the weekend and release him on Monday, to make sure everything is cool. Yesterday afternoon he was again himself--teasing me and joking and laughing, and he had several visitors--Steve Ecton, Pat Brady, and Melanie McKay--and that definitely lifted his spirits.

The irony is that despite the fact he's being released on Monday, he still cant come home--there is some construction work being done on our apartment on Monday, beginning at seven in the morning. So, Sunday night I am taking the cat and spending the night at our guardian angel Lisa's; and Monday when Paul gets discharged we'll be bringing him over to Lisa's until we can get back into our apartment. I've been promised it will all be finished on Monday...., and if anyone here in New Orleans knows of any job openings, please let me know. Lisa has been looking for work since she moved back here unsuccessfully. She is very capable, very efficient and a hard worker. She has four years experience working for a health insurance company, and before that about ten years of restaurant experience as a waitress and as a manager. She'd prefer not to get back into restaurants, but at this point she really needs to find something. Please let me know....as all of us locals know, that connection thing really helps.

Also on Monday, Anne Rice is going to be interviewed on our local ABC station by news anchor Angela Hill about this incident and hate crimes against gays in New Orleans. Mrs. Rice has also generously put up $5000 for a reward for information about the attackers. Paul and I are very moved by this, to say the least.

Apparently, Jean Redmann and several others have put together a fund to be administered by the NO/AIDS Task Force to take donations to help pay our medical expenses, and there's going to be a fundraising event at the Pub on June 21st. If you want any more information about this, contact Jean at JRedWriter@aol.com.

I am slowly starting to get back to work; I still haven't been able to write anything, but I've been reading manuscripts and working my way through the stack of submissions on my desk. I know people have been concerned, so I can tell you I've been able to sleep the last two nights. I still don't go to bed until after three, but I've averaged about seven hours both nights and am feeling very rested....and as a result of this sleep, my own spirit is back up and I feel much better about everything. In fact, I'll probably even shave today! I got a good look at myself in the mirror this morning, and was absolutely appalled at how unkempt and slovenly I looked (more so than usual) so....I think it's a good sign that my vanity is resurfacing.

Love to all of you.

Greg