steps back: about a month ago hils and maria were getting n up and his sternum "popped". we don't know if cracked or what (as it has done before), but he had to stay in bed for 3 weeks without getting up once. it was reeeaaaally depressing. then when he could finally get up he couldn't walk because his muscles were so weak that his tendons were tearing again (as they have done before... ever since mexico if you recall those days). however, his back is slowly healing so we could at least get him in the wheelchair to get in the bathroom for a spongey.
step forward: now he is actually using his walker while we wheel the O2 (photos in next post).
another step: despite the sternum and foot set backs, we may attribute some progress to the fact that n has been graciously given the gift of getting umbilical stem cell treatments. thanks to some very kind and amazingly generous donations, n has had 2 treatments. results are hard to tell with his issues being so layered, but possible benefits may be: 1. better white & red cell and platelet counts this month 2. gaining a couple of pounds. maria and i were giving him a high speed sponge bath this week before i dashed off to work and she pointed to his shoulder blades and said, "mas carne!/more meat!" she is so cute and she and n have such a special bond.
reality check: it's hard to get hopes up with what we've been through, but all i know is that i'm extremely thankful that we get to try these treatments. n has been wanting to do so for a long time. thank you, Lord, for the sweet people who have provided this chance. we'll keep you all posted. 
another eventful semi-disaster: pungent smell eminating from our bathroom for months. at first i tried to ignore it-- my usual first strategy for dealing with problems, but it didn't go away. then we had the "mold guy" come out and charge us a buttload of $$$ to tell us we had stachybotris (nefarious black mold) incubating in our dry wall in between the garage and bathroom (we had a couple of leaks in the summer). we are still getting it remediated (having a built-in cupboard and a good portion of the bathroom and garage walls etc. ripped apart so you could see clear through our bedroom to the garage and then cleaned up and repaired for another buttload of $$$). yikes.
meanwhile, it has been musical rooms around here with sleeping arrangements, but n is camping out in his mom's room, and while all the mess was going on i slept on the couch with paco for a little over a week (see above) while flora graciously woke me up after snoring all night with mom and dad who gets up at 3 am to work in his office/bedroom where hils remained sleeping, but now hils and i are back in my room where i actually sleep in my closet with my hito and hils is in our bed which is pretty much n's bed but really also mine (but used to be hil's) and n is still in his mom's room and waiting to move back anyday now until the last of the repairs are cleaned up which are being done by our neighbor dave who is a builder/architect/occasional movie extra who is in and out every morning patching up the dry wall while hils and i are still spaced out and looking embarrassed in our pjs and i forgot to mention that our other neighbor perry is the mold remediator (not the "mold guy"-- that's dan) and he also comes by to check in and he said that he has more work in NM because of all the crapola construction and plumbling which causes muchos problemas in this otherwise arid state. no big surprise given the work ethic here. they actually debated (and spent tax $ i'm sure) to change the state motto to "carpe manana" if that tells you anything. it's been sort of tiring as you can imagine. i can't WAIT until tubbery is back in our room because i really appreciate the space we share and hearing his sweet voice chime in with friendly and funny comments while we're all in the kitchen which is next to our bedroom.
did you get all that, kids?
another really crappy thing that happened is... nevermind!
just take note that if you dress like above don't expect to have a groovy time on a horseback ride for your birthday. i can't really mention details, but me and the person who had this really bad idea are really sorry and are so thankful to God for taking care of it and ensuring that no one was injured. 
ya es todo por ahora, amigos.
here's my lad putting up his feet and doing his daily heparin dose. what a trooper, wouldn't you say? thank you, Lord, for your mercy.
