Yup, I came THIS close...

You can see that the left eye is completely closed. That's because the surgical work had been done behind that eye, and nerves, muscles and tendons controlling the eye and its eyelid were affected.

As you can also see, I hadn't had a chance to clean up my face for some time.

Notice the diagonal mark across the forehead? That's where the surgical team folded down the skin so they could access the skull, open it and work inside the brain.

Keep your eyes open for that mark (there are actually two of them) in other pix.

After removing the bandages, Nurse Jones did some dressing on the incision, removing wisps of cotton and such.

And I thought I was done with scanning procedures. No such luck.

Nurse Jones transported me to the catheterization lab, where they planned a post-operation angiogram to determine the status of the aneurysm.

See "definitions" on the left for more on what an angiogram is like.

Dr. Creagy (on the right, hope I spelled her name right) prepared me for the angiogram. She's just as sweet as she looks.

Erlinda probably wished she could have stayed with me for the angiogram, but they shooed her out before too long.

The angiogram team was led by Dr. Shah, on the right. They were pleasant, professional and careful.

After all, they never punctured a blood vessel, which could have been very dangerous, and they were very solicitous.

The only down-side to the angiogram was its length. I got in around 11:25 and this picture was taken at 12:55.

A closer look at the incision, taken just after the angiogram. You can see that it's beginning to heal, but there's quite a way to go.

By the way, remember that skin has several layers: epidermis, dermis and so on.

The surgical team back on Sunday had used sutures to re-unite the lower layers, then used staples to hold together the epidermis. Notice the diagonal skin-fold marks again.

Back in my room, Nurse Jones was able to stimulate a smile, even as she was fiddling with (oops, professionally adjusting) my tubes.

She was a very nice lady, by the way.

Well, along came Sabbath the 22nd, and in honor of the day, I arose, sat across from my bed, and initiated my tonsorial duties.

Yes, I shaved, for the first time since the original hemorrhage 10 days before. It felt great to have a clean face at last.

The left eye was still closed, and the hair was still pretty high, but hey, you can't have everything.

I was even able to sit up and eat! Great feeling, even though I'd kinda gotten used to valet service in my bed. Sorta missed that, but I suspect my caregivers were overjoyed that I could take care of myself.

In truth, I can't remember when I started being able to get out of bed to eat, but it was sometime around then.

At noon, my "dream team" came calling, all at more or less the same time, as though they had all planned it.

n Dr. Ken Richards had kindly offered us some wise advice, and had voluntarily and flawlessly made the initial arrangements with the University Hospital. n Dr. Hyacinth Harding-Golson skillfully controlled my anesthesia during surgery (a very delicate undertaking, by the way, when the surgery is on the brain). n Dr. Carl Bruce was the wizard neurosurgeon whose steady hands carved a path to the aneurysm, isolated it, and clipped it. n (Not shown, because we don't have a photo) Dr. Ivor Crandon, associate neurosurgeon for my adventure, with a very attentive and soothing bedside manner. n My brother Tony, whom you've already met, had given up a week of work at Oracle Corporation to spend some time with me (what a guy). n I owe a lot to these people. Thank you, guys.

The team was even bigger with Dr. Bruce's bevy of residents: Dr Laws, Dr Pencle (who did my initial evaluation when I arrived on the 14th), Dr. ??? (I can't remember her name!), Dr Donaldson, Dr. Morgan, and Dr. Bruce, who was always explaining something to them.

He's a good explainer, by the way.

Between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. Tony and Erlinda encouraged me to take my first walk outside the room, down to the end of the corridor.

I don't know if you've tried to walk after brain surgery, but it ain't easy. The short distance seemed like a mile to me--well maybe two miles.

Somehow I made it, but I had to sit down to recuperate before beginning the journey home. So Tony gave me a little comfort (did I mention he's a solicitous guy? Yes, I think I did.).

If you never get tired of seeing the incision, here it is again, as I sat beside Tony at the end of the corridor.

A big thank-you goes to Patrick Rutherford, the Administrator of the Andrews Memorial Hospital, who was kind enough to have Tony stay with him for the week.

Patrick also brought us fruit more than once that week, and it was goo-o-o-ood (you can say "yummy" if you prefer).

Sabbath's a great day for visitors.

Among them were Marjorie Williams and Audrey Alvaranga.

Dr. Neil Reid, Pastor of the Northern Caribbean University Church, and Pastor K.C. Henry, retired pastor and currently an Elder of the church, drove all the way from Mandeville, two hours away, to give me some encouragement.

We appreciated their visit immensely.

While they were there, Pastor Roy Gordon, originally from Port Antonio, and now serving in New York, dropped in as well.

We had been schoolmates back in the 60's.

Lascelle and Donna Davis and their daughters Lisa and Charlene spent a little time with us.

Don't the three ladies look like three sisters?

These were just a few of the many folks who were kind enough to encourage us with visits.

And later, after sundown, I felt well enough to actually break out my laptop and consult it.

What, you ask? You mean you actually took your computer to the hospital with you?

Sure. You didn't actually think I'd leave home without my right hand, did you?

Not a chance, buddy. My laptop is surgically connected to me. It was with me all the way, although I didn't have the energy to sit up with it for very long.