Tuesday with Dwayne

When I called Dwayne this morning to find out if there was anything he would like for me to bring from the rig he only asked for one thing:

Miss Kitty

Unfortunately, I could not bring her (she probably would not have enjoyed coming, but she would have liked to see "her Dwayne"!) so I brought a picture instead. Her pictures don't capture how sweet she is... you'll just have to trust us on that.


We enjoyed another walk around the first floor:

There are cute statues of children in the gardens on each side of the hallway that reminded us of Na Aina Kai on Kauai (http://naainakai.org/)

Statue in garden on other side of the hallway

 We also read up on the history of the medical center...

The Hershey Trust was funded by Milton S Hershey for the home and school he started for orphan boys. http://www.mhskids.org/about/school-history/  The trust is *very* well endowed https://capitalresearch.org/2003/03/the-milton-hershey-school-the-richest-orphans-in-america/. In 1963, the trust donated to start the Penn State Medical School in Hershey.

The $50 million phone call... 
Samuel Hinkle, chairman of the Hershey Trust calls Penn State President Eric Walker to a meeting. Years later, Dr Walker recounted the meeting:
Sam: "Eric, we think that Penn State needs a medical school."
Eric: "Sam! You've heard me say that Pennsylvania doesn't need a medical school. We can't afford a medical school."
Sam: "I didn't say Pennsylvania. I said Penn State."
Eric: "Sam, we can't afford it. It costs a lot of money."
Sam: "How much?"
Eric: "Look Sam, you and I are country boys. We can't imagine how much - millions!"
Sam: "How many?"
Eric: "Fifty."
Sam: "I think we can get it."

A lot of heart assist and artificial heart device research here:

On June 4, 1985, Dave the calf receives his artificial heart and lives for 353 days - nearly one year.... http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/lionheart/home/timeline

But the most exciting news for today --- gas overnight!!! That has led to....

He graduated from limited water to clear liquids by mouth!!! HURRAH!!!

Wowee - He ate it all!!!!

Hopefully more complex "liquids" (ice cream, puddings) and then solid food will be coming. There are rumblings that he may be able to be discharged as early as tomorrow, Wednesday!!!

Again, thank you to all who are praying for us - we really know that we are surrounded by your love and God's arms. We continue to appreciate prayers - that his bowels will get back into their groove, that we will be protected from any sicknesses that may be around us, and that he will continue to heal in the days, weeks (and probably months) ahead.