Home address is:

Robert Shirk
6329 Lake Trail Drive
Fayetteville, NC  28304
USA

Hospital address is:

Robert Shirk c/o
University of North Carolina Hospitals
101 Manning Drive\
Rm 6117(1) 6th Floor Neurosciences
Chapel Hill, NC  27514

I don't recommend sending cards to his room at the hospital, but he
will enjoy any he gets. I called the interns seagulls earlier and both
Rob and the rehab threapist laughed.  She has been working with Rob on
teeth brushing and flossing today.  Yesterday they got him to walk,
with assistance, about ten feet.  This is a big improvement.

I really owe Rob big time.  He has been growing his hair out for
"Locks for Love" which uses human hair (10" or longer) for making wigs
for children who have lost their hair for one medical reason or
another.  I donate about every two years or so, and he wanted to give
too.  Welllllll........, I hacked what I could of his hair off because
he has been living with electrodes from the EEG machine stuck to his
head, and there was no way that he could have his hair brushed.  The
hospital staff couldn't do the honors, though they did donate a pair
of scissors to the cause.  I did the best I could without hurting him,
but I butchered all that lovely chocolate mousse colored hair and now
he is sitting there with clumps of it on his head and he looks awful.
There were a couple of sections that I had to remove like a bad clump
of matted cat fur.  You know, gently cut, peel back what you can
safely, then clip some more then peel it back and so forth until it
was cleaned up.  It was all I could do not to cry while I was doing
the deed.  But now you can not only see the electrodes, but his head
isn't going to hurt from those matts pulling on him.  I had a hard
time cutting around the electrodes without cutting wires.  I made it
though and I'm proud of it.

We've been buying and bringing him little toys.  Today's offering was
a wind-up egg with feet that sorts walks with a little hop at times.
I named it Eggbert.  Mandy is making him a scrapbook of the cards he's
getting so that the cats won't attack those wonderful smelling cards
like they did with the ones he got from the first cancer surgery.

I'm finding out who our family and friends are (again)  I have been
leaving messages for one of Rob's co-workers that we thought was also
a friend.  Well, he is not answering his phone messages or his
daughter who was supposed to give him a message and so forth.
However, one of his best friends, who is stationed in Germany, is
trying to get an earlier school date in Washington DC so that she can
be with us.  Lori is wonderful and one of the best friends Rob has
ever had.

I want to thank Sam (you're a lifesaver) and Ramona, as well as Annie,
and Jean H. and Wilson and Henri RB for all the cards and support
they've sent.  The pictures of Wilson and Henri are priceless and are
popular with every one up here.  I haven't been home since early
Wednesday morning, so I don't have an up to the minute tally of all
the people I need to thank for cards as well as all you people I want
to thank for your prayers, thoughts, and emotional support which has
gotten us through this roller coaster ride (I want to get off, thank
you) Mandy is putting all of the stuff we get for Rob in a scrap book
so that he can see them without having to go digging through them.
Thank you all.  Yesterday, one of the gaming kids was at the house to
collect mail and act as personal valet for the owners and the d-
thing.  Mike is on his way back home right now and will take over
again until Saturday when he'll come back up here and collect Mandy,
Jim and I for the weekend.  Hopefully, we'll soon have more of an idea
when he'll be released to go back to Fayetteville next week.

Love to you all,

Pam S.