26 feb 02
i didn’t go to sleep last night. i took a cab to O’Hare at 5:00 a.m. and talked to the Russian cab driver. he told me his mother was murdered in a hospital in 1989 by Azerbajan (sp?) Muslims during perestroika. he works every day from 3:30 a.m. on. count your blessings.
the trip was uneventful. Mark and Gayle, my uncle and aunt, picked me up from the Sarasota airport, and we got lunch and then went to the hospital. i was expecting worse. my grandmother recognized me and smiled, and seemed to understand when she was being talked to and when jokes were told. i found the whole thing quite encouraging, really. i had been expecting worse.
i fell asleep in the lounge and woke up when my Dad came in. he flew in to Sarasota a few hours later than i did. later in the afternoon, my grandmother was much less responsive and just seemed tired.
i am still not sure how serious her illness is. she has a staph infection. they can be very, very dangerous, but the doctors say it hasn’t spread to her brain or spinal fluid. i am optimistic.
later on, i watched the Illinois-Indiana game with my dad. we won, which was a great relief, although the victory was pretty cheap. unbelievably, UI is now in a 4-way tie for first in the Big Ten. hey, ESPN: suck on that.
we’ll see.