My mom returned home from the hospital this morning. She’s now able to eat solid foods again, which is a pretty substantial upgrade from the ice chips she’s been limited to for most of the past week. She’s still pretty weak from the surgery, using a walker to get up and around, but every day I’ve seen her she’s appeared stronger, so I’m certain it’s just a matter of time before she’s able to get around again unassisted.

Thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts and prayers.

In the meantime, my brother Bret’s gone and herniated a disc in his lower back. He had an MRI on Friday, and it’s definitely screwed. They’ve got him on Percocet, a happy and fun bump up from the Vicodin and Flexeril he was on most of the week. He’ll meet with a surgeon tomorrow to discuss options, which should be all the news you need to know that he’s not in a good place right now.

Those of you who are long-time readers will recall that I did the same thing to my back some seven years ago. For me, time was a sufficient healer. Bret’s initial MRI would indicate that his problem is perhaps more serious and that surgery may be the only viable option. We’ll know more tomorrow.