Hey everyone. There's been lots of inquiries into Courtneys' health, so here's an attempt to respond. The truth is, I don't know. Those of you that know Courtney well are aware that she is not one to dramatize her difficulties, pain, or trouble. She has a deeply ingrained desire to never be a burden on others and to be as independent and self reliant as possible. Because of this, she often hides how she is really feeling. She is very talented at putting on a good face and making others comfortable. As a result, it's very difficult to know when she's having difficulty until it's too late. She'll be going along, seeming very well, and then suddenly crash. Recently, those crashes have come less frequently, but with great severity.

Some causes for those crashes are unavoidable components of her healing. Some are results of stresses that can be avoided. We're learning that her energy is very limited. She also gets stressed very easily. Stress is especially debilitating as it's difficult to see and leaves her utterly exhausted. To help avoid stress we again request that people not ask her to coordinate her own care or ask her to really evaluate how she's doing. If she has the energy to speak about these things, she will instigate that conversation. Also, if you come over here and she tries to play the part of the attentive hostess, please make her stop. She hardly has the energy to take care of herself, much less our children and guests as well.

To shift tone a little, when Courtney's feeling good, she's more and more like herself. The good days are getting better and better, which is very encouraging. Conversely, the bad days sometimes seem worse by comparison. She still only leaves the house for doctor appointments, although she has been down to the kids school once and last night managed to get out to a park and over to her parents house for dinner before crashing. We're trying to handle more of our own care. We'll most likely be hiring someone to come help for a few hours each afternoon from when the kids get home from school until I get home from work.

We will be having another MRI on March 20th, and are looking forward to getting a better idea of what is next for us. Thank you all for your continued care and prayers.