Altogether, this blog starts out as a memoir based on a true story of an ironic health scare with Yuri getting himself out of the medical system in time for his birthday. I promised I would get him home for his birthday and we made it happen.

It’s how I feel whenever someone enters Yuri’s room with an announcement that throws us for a loop. It happens on Friday when our preparation for Saturday’s discharge comes to a screeching halt.

Yuri and I are single-minded and will find a way to make it work. What we know is that you can’t change the nature of the world, but you can get small miracles from time to time.

After the first Round 1 of Yuri vs The Monster (aka the Crusher 2021), I put in all information about his First Encounter (Newton Hospital), Return to the ER (Bon Secours) Flight With the Valkyries to Valhalla, New York (Westchester Medical Center) Bill Evans Club Night (Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation).

Scrolling through Facebook posts of parades and BBQs, Yuri and I are once again feeling abandoned by the hospital system because of a traditional holiday weekend.

Day 19 in the ICU. Yuri is extubated, I’m met by the Pulmonary doctor who stops me before going into Yuri’s room. A wide grin spreads across his face, “Did you see him yet? He’s smiling...