My Brig Bother

Yes, that is what I used to call my dear big brother Loren when we were growing up together in good ole Caliente. Back then I would never have admitted even liking him, and he was much the same to me. Picture this: you are attending a high school with a grand total of 150 students in four grades (on a good day, counting the polygamists out in the countryside who didn't actually attend). Loren is only one year older than me, so I thought everybody pretty much knew us both, but one day someone randomly realized that we shared the same last name and asked Loren if he was related to Karen Smith. Loren's reply? "No."

But of course I did love him and I was proud of him. And I still do, still am. And it's so hard for me to see him so sick. It brought back awful memories of another hospital many years ago soon after he was in a school bus accident and came too close to death's door.

Backing up, Loren and Rhonda currently live in a small town in southeastern Arizona, and most of you probably know that he is in a hospital near Phoenix. Apparently he got sick a couple of weeks ago and actually went to a doctor. He got some medicine and was feeling better. Then he suddenly started getting weaker. By this last Tuesday, he was so sick that he couldn't get out of bed, couldn't walk. Rhonda called an ambulance and he was taken to a fairly small hospital near their home. When they got there, they considered flying him directly to Phoenix, but then decided to try treating him there. By that afternoon, they changed their minds and put him and Rhonda on a small plane for Phoenix.

He was very seriously ill when he got there. He has a bad case of viral pneumonia and has tested positive for the flu; they don't know yet if it's H1N1 (Swine) Flu. Besides that, he had been deprived of oxygen sometime during his treatment and transport, and they feared that he had brain damage. He was put in a drug-induced coma so that they could put him on a ventilator and begin other treatments. He still is. The doctors say that his condition today is about the same as yesterday, but Rhonda feels that he is getting better. She should know, she has been at his side this whole time.

My dad and I decided to drive down to Phoenix to give our love and support, so we left this morning and I am writing this from Jill and Jared's house near Phoenix. I am so grateful that they are here. Dad and I got here this afternoon and went directly to the hospital. My dear brother is in the ICU, connected by many tubes and many machines. He appears to be completely knocked out, but sometimes when he is asked a question, he responds, which is so wonderful to see, gives us so much hope that he will eventually be okay. They only allow two people at a time to visit him, to even be in the area where you "suit up" to see him. You have to wash your hands and then put on a paper gown, gloves, and a mask. If you don't wear glasses, you have to wear a mask with a plastic shield covering your eyes. I hate to say that I wished for glasses today, and breathing behind that thing gave me claustrophobia even before it started fogging up. I was uncomfortably hot before very many minutes passed. But as I stood there, the nurse who was adjusting the various machines and tubes asked him if he was in any pain, and he shook his head quite definitively. Rhonda has asked him a few things, and he has responded by nodding or shaking his head to her, too. Dad says that he thinks Loren was aware that he was there when it was his turn to visit. I spoke to him and he didn't seem to respond, but he was probably trying to figure out what the heck I was doing in his bedroom. So we have high hopes that he will be okay.

I imagine we will be here for a few more days, depending on how he does and how soon Dad (and I) need to get back to work (Dad has an important Boy Scout meeting on Wednesday night, and I know that Loren would appreciate the importance of not letting your Scouts down). I will give an update whenever there's anything to report. I am told that we are planning a family and friends fast for this Sunday. Hey, it's Fast Sunday anyway, just toss your prayers our way for this one. We would appreciate it.

As for my future visits to his ICU, I'm wondering if anyone would object to me sporting a pair of sunglasses with one of those half-size face masks. And Jared (my son-in-law) has offered the use of his paintball mask. What a guy.

Please get well soon, brig bother. I'm not nearly done with you yet.

Your sittle lister.