hi dA,

this'll be quick b/c i have grades to finish. many of you know that easter is my brother's favorite holiday, ya? well, brody's going to be able to take my brother home from the hospital on thursday this week! they're going to have nurses come in & he still has a long way to go, but pip is thrilled that he'll be 'home' for easter.

the lord works in mysterious ways, nyet?

My brother is on the slow road to recovery, but his spirits are high. He still has difficulty with his short-term memory, but all of his past memories have returned. He is still partially paralyzed, but his hand and face are said to be improving. He is also still in the hospital and is enjoying audio books and being read to from the classics. Brody, his fiancee, began reading him The Stranger in French, and I have never heard my brother more excited. Albert Camus has always been one of his favorite authors.

O, my brother is engaged. I never thought I'd see the day, either. Brody proposed and he accepted. The ring is white gold (it's a family thing) and has an Celtic pattern engraved on the one side in yellow gold (so says my dad). There is rumored to be an inscription inside the band, but I have not seen it to pry and my father could not make it out. He thought it was either in French or Irish (big difference), but my father has only mastered English. Ha. He's also too polite to ask. I'm not, but Pip wouldn't tell me what it said or even acknowledge that it was true. Tricksy, isn't he?

He has been writing...or dictating, I guess is the better term. That part of his brain is alive and well, tho it's the other part we are still concerned about. I thought you dA people would be interested in the writing thing. He's not sharing it, though, with anyone but Brody. Brody's been his writing sounding board since my brother went to Ireland a few years back, but I'm so curious...ha.

It will be several months yet before he can come home, though we are hoping for less time than that. Brody is there, and my father has been there when he can spare it. I was supposed to fly over, but my husband was recently laid off; trips over the pond are a bit out of our budget right now.

And that's that. I'll update again when I have something more progressive to say. Thank you all again for all your good wishes and prayers.

my brother is alive.

he did wake up, though he does not stay awake for very long periods of time. there is still a great fear that another seizure or stroke will kill him or put him into a coma again, and he is definitely not out of danger for experiencing another of those. also, he has some severe short-term memory loss and (what we hope is) temporary paralysis. he will have to relearn how to speak, walk, and use his hands, but none of that can really happen until he's stable...which hasn't happened yet. he will be in the hospital for quite some time yet, and then will be in a rehabilitation facility for a long while after that, but he's getting good care from some friends of his, and i look forward to him coming home to the U.S. as soon as he can. he seems in good spirits when he's awake, which i think is important...for all of us.

thank you again for your kind words and warm prayers. i appreciate your distance and discretion, and i am grateful for your continued respect during these difficult times. pip has mentioned that he doesn't want anyone to worry for him. there are bigger and better things to worry about, he says, and it's not his time yet. of that, at least, he seems adamant. more than anything, i take that as a good sign and so should you.

if any of you know good 'books on tape' or good books that would lend themselves well to being read aloud, i know brody and my brother would appreciate the suggestions. he cannot read yet, but he can listen...and you know how bill loves his books.

i am much calmer now...more time to let things sink in, i guess...

my family appreciates the nice things so many of you sent despite a recent request to respect our distance. we understand that this came from a good place...i sometimes forget how much my brother is liked here.

on 22 january my brother suffered a seizure that resulted in him falling, or so we think... the fall caused bleeding in the brain (the doctors are guessing) which, in turn (they think), caused a stroke. he has not regained consciousness yet, and it is possible he never will. i wish i could tell you what will/could happen if he does, but we won't know that unless he does...

the only hope is that they removed him from machines they told us were keeping him alive, as per his DNR and other legal wishes. they told us minutes to hours, and my dad never left his side. that was over four days ago. he hasn't stopped breathing yet.

i would ask that you continue to respect our distance...or at least my distance. i can't talk about it, or him, or anything else related to it right now, and i don't want to talk about it. i already think about it near constantly, so give us a break, ya? a friend of mine was in a situation not too long ago & asked people not to comment or email, and i did anyway because i thought it was the right thing to do...show people you care, right? but i get it now that it wasn't the right thing at that moment because really...until you're in the spot or feeling the feelings...

anyway, that's that. i can't talk about it, sorry, but prayers are always appreciated...

how many of you read this, but i need to say this. my brother, `GeneratingHype, suffered a stroke this week. this is a difficult time for my family right now and while you guys might live on da and think that everything revolves around this fucking site, could you keep your conspiracy theories and stupid notes over fucking symbols to your goddamn selves? i'm pretty sure, if he recovers, he's not going to care what sort of drama da cooked up this week. i check his da account regularly in case anything does need to get to him since he stopped watching it when he moved & i was so not happy to see omg waaah waaah symbols r u gonna be gd again waaaah wats goin on omg the INTERNET IS SO IMPORTANT!!!

christ, go outside.

and no, i have no other details to give nor details i want to give, thanks for your concern but this is a private matter so there's no need to bomb his page or mine or anywhere with omg get better soon!!, and no he isn't doing well, and ya...this is harsh but you guys need a fuckin reality check & i don't have the patience to deal with insignificant bullshit from internet-obsessed people.

thanks.