Tue 9/20 - still waiting on results

Monday morning here... I spoke with Daniella earlier (9am).
No results yet. The fan club came in to check on their patient. Facial swelling has gone down more, though his nose is still a bit swollen, and will continue to be so long as they keep scoping him and flushing his sinus with saline daily. No MRI results yet - they'll let them know as soon as the scan is read; that will tell how much, if any, infection had reached the bone. The tissues from the surgery that were sent to the lab should get back this evening - that should tell us what sort of fungal infection (what strain) Stefan was fighting. Right now, the anti-fungal meds they have Stefan on are broad-spectrum meds. Since they didn't know what fungus had infected him, they had to treat a bunch of suspected fungi.

Daniella said Stefan slept some last night. He's also eating, which is always a positive. Dr. Olga came in this morning and asked how he was doing. His answer? Typical Stefan... "I'm doing good. What else you got?" When Dr. Olga asked what he meant, he replied: "Well, I'm ready to fight whatever you throw at me." If that's not proof that he's got a positive attitude about this, well, my conversation with him yesterday was proof enough for me. I looked his square in the eyes (okay, his right good eye and his left slightly swollen eye) and asked him, "So, you've never been much of a negative person. Has that changed these past two weeks?" He looks back at me and tells me he's too old to change that way. He always was a positive person, and he always will be. He's never dwelled on the negative. He always looks for solutions to a situation, for the positive way out. And he continues to do so. He explained how there's no point in dwelling on the "why" and on what he could have done differently. He told me how he's rarely regretted any of his actions in life - regret is a negative emotion. And he simply could not survive in life if he had a negative attitude.

We spoke of the body-mind connection, and how keeping a positive attitude helps the body heal more quickly. He knows that, he agrees with that. So even on days when he's looked a bit down or resigned... he said he was just thinking about his options, about what more he could do. He's not down, by any means. Tired, yes. In pain, at times. Uncomfortable, definitely. But down? Negative? Depressed? No, no and no. And he doesn't plan on going down a negative path either. He has a tremendous source of positive energy within, and told me he's rarely had to seek out help in finding it. He knows the life and memories waiting to be made - the family and friends - that are waiting for him outside of the hospital. And I believe he draws more strength and support from that knowledge than we've realized. I've seen him, lying in bed, not wanting to talk, but quietly drawing strength from my just sitting there with him. I've watched him as he stares - seemingly into space... but if you follow his line of sight, he's looking at the pictures of his family - of his wife, his kids, and his grandkids - that we've posted on the wall at the foot of his bed. And I know he draws great strength from that - I can see it in his eyes when he draws his focus back to me - there's a renewed spirit in his eyes then.

So, would I say he's staying positive about this? Yes, I would. In fact, I would say that I know with 100% certainty that he has no plans to do anything but stay positive. He doesn't know any other way. And even if he wanted to think negatively, I don't think that would be possible. There are so many strikes against him, I think it would shake the balance of humanity if he did change! Think about it... 1-He's stubborn. 2-He's a proud man. 3-He's a Taurus. 4-He's a positive person. 5-He'd have the hounds of hell after him if he tried to cop a negative attitude! My point, he's got a positive attitude. He can't stand a negative attitude, never has, never will. And I can't see that changing. In for a penny, in for a pound. Stefan's never done things half-way. When he's finished with something (when being the operative word!), it's something that was done right. He'll work on something till he gets it "right" - and he doesn't dwell on anything negative. He just sits back and tries to work things through till he comes up with another solution. And so it will be with this fight... He will win. He will persevere until he does. And he'll do it all with a positive attitude.