Patricia Mary had a little lamb...

Hi everyone:

After dropping Devin and Colin at the airport yesterday (they are now safely back in Canada), Patty and I headed downtown for two special, deeply discounted evenings to bring in the New Year. Our first night, at the Hard Rock Hotel, was fantastic; we were given a very nice, large room at a fraction of its regular cost. Our contact at the hotel, Onya, worked very hard to make sure we were taken care of.

Last night, we had dinner at Brazzaz, a Brazilian steakhouse we had enjoyed on a previous trip into the city. We ate small portions of several varieties of beef, chicken, shrimp, pork and, as mentioned, lamb. Neither of us are fans of lamb, but we gave it a shot, anyway. The dinner was great, although the atmosphere was a bit more chaotic than I had remembered.

In my humble opinion, Patty looked smoking hot. It seems that there's no amount of sickness that can keep her from looking radiant. Having said this, Patty's limitations can become suddenly and dramatically apparent. Last night, Patty was energetic for much of the evening, and then rapidly declined to the point of utter fatigue. She fell asleep while I tuned into the documentary Jesus Camp. She does seem strong this morning, though, so I guess sleep was the needed tonic.

Today, we may catch a movie (I've been dying to see Pan's Labyrinth, which is playing only in three cinemas in the Chicago area), and will then move our road show to the Westin River North. Their front desk manager, William, has contacted us with an offer of personal support for anything Patty needs; he has even visited the blog. Tonight, Patty will be the guest of The Tragically Hip, a band that has been huge in Canada for years, at the House of Blues New Year's Bash. They have given us aftershow passes, which should enable us to meet the band; of course, our activities will be determined largely by our patient's stamina.

I wish so much Patty did not have to experience the sudden declines in her energy, but just love those stretches in which she is so full of life and strength. We'll hope the New Year brings us more of the latter.

Love,
Brian