You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


Joe told us that his daughter Lisa's mother-in-law passed away on April 8. She had been ill for some time so the death was not unexpected but still very difficult. We were sorry to hear about it and extend our condolences to Lisa and Jack.

I'm home again. My 24-hour hospital stay turned into 48 hours because of a funny chest pain I experienced. Dr. Dooley, being the model conservative physician, called in a cardiologist who looked at me, asked questions, did an EKG and blood tests, and concluded my heart was fine. Probably it was gas. Believe me, it was not a gas to spend one more day in the hospital. It was boring. However, now it is over. I have had another immuno-globulin infusion similar to the one I had in November in Chicago and am hoping this last one is as effective as that first one. It took about a month for the improvements from that first IGIV to manifest, so I will just try to be patient.

Rose returned Brayden to his dad on Wednesday. Reluctantly. Scott chuckled and said he thought she might have moved and left no forwarding address. Shirley, Rose, and I were all tempted to kidnap this precious child. Alas, he is home now, and we are bereft. One of the highlights of this visit was that Shirley took Brayden grocery shopping. He is a model child, never asks for things, sits in the cart quietly, and has shy attacks when people make over him which they do a lot.

We had Jalen only for a few days and Brayden for 11 days. Both boys enjoyed visiting Den whom they call "Pa Pa." Brayden quickly caught onto the geography and would know when we were nearing the facility where Den stays that we were 'going to see Pa Pa.'

I've been remiss in not reporting on the wonderful party that Chris and Shelly took me to on Saturday, April 2. This was a coming home party for Derrington who had been in Afghanistan. I had a great time and really enjoyed seeing all the young folk that my boys grew up with. I was the oldest one there, but nobody seemed to take note of that fact. After the party, I went home with Chris and Shelly where we awaited the arrival of Scott and sons for their visit.

On that Sunday, April 3, Scott, Chris, and Shelly went to Columbia for their fantasy baseball draft. The boys and I went to Sabrina's. Margaret and Norm came for dinner, then the boys and I went home with them. We had a marvelous time with Sabrina and family. Her Big Boys are a great influence on Brayden and Jalen, especially Jalen because of his age.

I'm having some long-needed repairs done to the lake house--new roof, chimney repair, new flooring, updated HVAC, etc. We've already reported on the enlarged deck. We have a big lake visit planned for the last weekend of this month. Den is so looking forward to going there and doing some fishing. I'm looking forward to seeing all the work DONE. Once Den is on the liver transplant list, which may be as soon as May 3, his visits to the lake will end until after the surgery. He cannot venture that far from the hospital because he has to be available should a donated liver become available. We will know more on May 3 when we see his gastroenterologist the next time.

With the fast pace of events these days, we are missing some birthdays--Stephanie's, Shelly's, Pete's, Alex's, Brett's, and Mary Pauline's. [We did not miss Margaret Anne's.] Probably we've missed others. Just know, Dear Readers, that we have a pile of cards that we haven't got around to sending.

The hour is late. I got terrible rest for two nights in the hospital, so it's time to turn in.