Sharon's health (Stan's Facebook updates)

[Steve Hubbell]

5 minutes ago
Thank you for this color pencil and water color drawing, Chad Frye! It really brightened up Sharon's hospital room. I wish you could have seen her smile when I first opened the envelope and showed it to her. I took it off the wall and brought it home before she was sent to convalescence care yesterday.

[Steve Hubbell]

4 hours ago
Sharon's first day in convalescent care was a good one. She does have one complaint--they don't have The Food Channel.



Ralph's supermarket has whole chicken on sale for .99/pound. I made Hainanese chicken and rice. It does take time to make, but it is delicious. Instead of the traditional chili sauce, I made a ginger/green onion sauce.

June 15 at 10:52pm
Whoa, I made the chicken rice tonight as well. Last time I made it is when you made it, Mr.Sakai. Eerie.
More importantly, glad to hear Mrs.Sakai is doing better!

June 16 at 10:18am
That is a remarkable coincidence, DC Chen. Thank you for sharing your recipe with me. Unlike Sharon, I'm not a big fan of chili sauce, but the ginger/green onion sauce complimented the chicken well. I had it with spinach with sesame oil, and some Korean seasoned nori over the rice. Son Matthew really loved the rice. I made three cups, and it's all gone. I still have a lot of broth, so will make it again tonight.

[Jubei]

My thoughts and prayers go out to you both and for Sharon's recovery.

[Steve Hubbell]

OK, this one is not about Sharon, but it is still health related.....

11 hours ago
Please remember my friend and editor at Fantagraphics Kim Thompson. He was diagnosed with lung cancer back in March, and is now in home hospice care. Kim was the one who invited me to participate in his new funny animal anthology series, Critters. This was back in 1985 or '86. Before then, I was just in the small press anthology, Albedo. Kim became my editor when Usagi received his own series, and had continued to edit all of my Fantagraphic trade collections. He is one of the most intelligent men I have ever met, and had a unique sense of humor. I loved his answers to letters in the Usagi letters columns.

3 hours ago
KIm's wife, Lynn, has been updating his story on a caring bridge blog. You may have to register to access it.

Read Kim's CaringBridge journal entry
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/KimSeattle

Best wishes to Kim and his family......

[Steve Hubbell]

6 hours ago
Sharon had lost a huge amount of weight, so the doctor increased the flow of her feeding tube. It might have been a bit too much because she threw up this morning. They stopped the feeding, but will continue it this afternoon at a much lower rate, gradually increasing it until it reaches a point just a little more than what she had been used to.

She will be under observation all day, getting her numbers taken every hour. All her vitals are in the good range, so that is very promising. Her heart rate is slightly elevated, but nowhere near the danger zone. Blood pressure is well within the normal range, as is her blood sugar.

3 hours ago
Sharon's blood pressure went down to 90/50, and was sent back to the hospital for observation. She did not go to emergency as in the prior instances.

16 minutes ago
We are in emergency awaiting a room. All her numbers are good, but they will re-re-admit her into the hospital. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, everyone!

16 minutes ago
While we are waiting for the room they've taken her x-ray, put her on a hydration drip, antibiotics, a breathing treatment, been taking her vitals,and turned her over a couple of times to control bed sores.

And thoughts and prayers for Sharon and Stan......

[Maka]

Dear Stan, these updates are like a constant emotional and physical roller coaster ride. Thank you for being so open with them and letting us into your lives. It is obvious to me that you love Sharon so much. Your love has been a light throughout this difficult journey. I admire your commitment to her, your honesty, and your willingness to share with us and to ask for prayers and positive thoughts. As you know, we pray for Sharon and you every day. I wish there was more we could do. Love, maka

[Steve Hubbell]

4 hours ago
I got home at 4 in the morning after staying with Sharon in Emergency. I slept for 2 hours then took the metro to the hospital. Matthew needed the car today.

Sharon will be staying in Emergency another night. All her numbers are good, but they want observe her. One x-ray showed a bit of fluid in her right lung. They were prepping her for an MRI when I left.



I was tired, so got home earlier than usual. Leftovers for dinner--Hainanese chicken with ginger/green onion sauce over Hainanese rice, and veggies I picked up at the Korean market.

[plasticplayhouse]

sad to hear about your friend kim. i loved the cartooned caption of him "reviewing" (actually throwing it into trash) your latest UY comic in that How to Draw Comics mini comic you did. i will say a prayer for him also.

[Steve Hubbell]

35 minutes ago
Blueberries are on sale at Sprouts--99cents for a 6 ounce basket, so, of course, I made muffins. The last time, you might remember, I put too much berries in it. This time I put in even more. Judging by the second photo, I think I need to cut down on the berries. They sure are good, though.


I had it with milk from my Stan Lee glass, because Stan once said, "With great blueberries come great muffins." Or something like that.

22 minutes ago
I did add a few more berries after I poured the batter in. There were some empty spots that just cried out for blueberries.

[Steve Hubbell]

22 hours ago
Sharon had a really good day today. She was in good humor and very responsive. We spent awhile playing hangman on my iPad. We chose the "animal" category, and some of the words were so obscure that more than once we just had one letter left blank, but neither of us could figure out what it was.

We are awaiting the results of one more test. If it comes back negative for infection in Sharon's lung, she will be released from Emergency either to Telemetry or, more likely, back to the convalescent facility.

21 hours ago
The results of the test won't be in until tomorrow, so, rather than spend another night in Emergency, Sharon will be given a bed in Telemetry where she was before going to the convalescent center. If the test results are negative for infection, it's back to convalescence.

[Steve Hubbell]

12 hours ago
It was a busy day for me--hiking in the morning, marketing, dentist appointment, then going over to see Sharon at the hospital. Her test came back negative for infection in her lung, so she was discharged, and sent back to convalescent care. It was a full day, and I just returned.

I am really saddened to read about the loss of my friend and editor Kim Thompson through cancer. We were expecti...ng it, but still I'm surprised at how quickly it all came about. He died at home with no pain. I've told earlier how Kim was an early supporter of mine--before I even had supporters. He invited me to join Critters, a new funny animal anthology that he was editing for Fantagraphics back in the 1980's. He also edited my Usagi Yojimbo comics as well as my first 7 collections. He was a terrific editor. He set the bar high, and expected you to reach it. He also gave his creators a lot of freedom. Right from the start, I had complete creative control over my story and art. Even today, my editors do not see any of my stories until I send it to them completely finished. I did not realize back then how unusual this is in this industry. But then, Kim was a unique individual. One of the most intelligent and witty men I have ever met. He was a friend.

Kim Thompson, RIP (Fantagraphics Blog)

11 hours ago
My condolences to Fantagraphics, and especially to his wife Lynn who has been updating his CaringBridge blog since his cancer was detected.

[Steve Hubbell]

12 hours ago
I need garlic, so stopped off at the market on the way home from my morning hike. They were out of garlic, and all they had was Elephant Garlic. I asked the grocer if they tastes the same as regular garlic, and he said it does, but "elephanty". He must have known that pitch would get to me. I'll try it tonight with some sautéed zucchini.

12 hours ago
I also bought it because I was curious as to what an elephant tastes like.

12 hours ago
I have a recipe for elephant soup. You can also add a whole rabbit. The rabbit is optional, because most people don't like hare in their soup.

10 hours ago
Yes, that is a regular garlic next to the elephant.

[Steve Hubbell]

3 hours ago
It was a good day for Sharon's first full day after returning to convalescent care. All her numbers were good, including her blood sugar. It was 120, which is normal, and that's without insulin. Many more days like this, and I'll have nothing to blog about except what I had for dinner--Which was char siu pork with Hainanese chicken rice, and zucchini with elephant garlic. I was surprised with the elephant garlic. I expected a lot of cloves like regular garlic, but this was divided into 4 big cloves. I used just one. It was a lot more work mincing it up (I prefer it minced, rather than pressed). The taste was okay, but I don't think I will buy it again unless I want to bake it to make garlic butter.

2 hours ago
This is one big clove of garlic.

[plasticplayhouse]

that's monserous! now if i can only find a cherry that big...


great news about your wife!!! lets pray for many more + days

[Steve Hubbell]

5 hours ago
Sharon had a pretty good day. She walked across the physical therapy room, with the aid of a walker. She is not yet able to swallow, so is doing some tongue exercises. She has been fed through a g-tube directly into her stomach. She was really happy that I brought her a sudoku game book. The convalescent facility does not have the Food Channel, and there is only so much golf and baseball she can watch.

A concern is that she is not absorbing her liquid diet fast enough. This prevents her from really gaining the weight she needs. Also, she may be on the brink on a new infection, but they have already ordered antibiotics for it.

I had a nice hike this morning. Here are a couple of things I saw.

5 hours ago
This is the Fern Wall. It was covered with green ferns just a couple months ago. Now it's all dried up. Summer is right around the corner.