The Latest on Craig’s Heart

As I was wasted when we returned home last night, I thought I would wait until my head was on a bit straighter to write a better update than the reactive one in my personal journal. The news that we've just received from Bryon's mom over the phone is even more optimistic than yesterday's prognosis.

For those of you who don't have access to the other journal, here's what actually happened: Craig was having a stint put in (a fairly routine operation) when the instrument they were using to do it hit a calcium build-up in one of his arteries. It skidded off of that and cut his artery, and then he had a clot, a seizure, he stopped breathing, he was shocked, they put in another stint, he had another clot, yadda, yadda, yadda.

The doctors did the ultimate best they could and kept him from dying. He is in some pain now because of the life-saving CPR and electric shock. However, his heart is good to go. The docs aren't going to let him go home until he can breath normally (he's tender, so he's breathing shallowly), and he can take care of himself (no one is going home scared or worried, they assure him and his wife). He has some good muscle relaxing dope, and he's coming along.

Yesterday things were kind of tense, and today things are better with better news. Now, we can return you to your regular programming. That kind of excitement we don't need, except maybe in fiction if it makes sense with the plot and isn't overwrought.

It is, however, kind of cool that the story has a happy ending, in the face of what could have happened. I used to think it was just Bryon, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the Stump brothers in general are lucky.

It should give you an idea how draining it was when I tell you Bryon and I slept for 11 hours today. Yay.

Catherine

Mirrored from Writer Tamago.

Troll Progress

How cool is it that three scenes that I thought might be scratched turn out to be usable and full of action if I just reshuffle the cards in the deck?

The troll revision is now just shy of 20K words, and having the Widow disappear a child early in chapter five moves the Grant/David fall out right along.

I may start writing through on single plot threads for the next sessions and then shuffle them into chapters again. That seems to be a good strategy for this story.

Trolls are a little stubborn in telling me their story. Not like Binders, which are eager to tell their stories in flowery, melodramatic language. Silly, reticent trolls! Work with me!

Then again, a lot of the Norwegians we met at the Nordic Fest were kind of close-lipped too.

Catherine

Mirrored from Writer Tamago.