Hello to all our friends and family. Today, I finally have a legitimate excuse for the long delay between posts.

As many of you already know, Ben, young, healthy, fit, Ben, had a stroke this past Friday. He is stable, lucid, and already on the road to recovery. It was definitely the biggest scare of our lives and we now find ourselves on an unexpected, unbelievable, and unpredictable new course but with all your love and support and many positive reassurances from his doctor, we are fully prepared to take this day by day for as long as it takes. Thankfully, his progress towards recovery is already under way, with big gains every day. Indeed, every time I speak with the doctor his prognosis becomes better and better.

We are still not sure what caused the stroke and we probably never will know more than the fact that an infinite number of things conspired that day to make the most unbelievable of things happen. The ultimate catalyst was likely the fact that he was out running in the late morning heat (he collapsed mid-run with sudden paralysis in his left leg and arm), pushing himself harder than he should have but why Friday and not the many other days he ran three times as far, with less water - we will never know. We do know that the rest of the blood vessels in his brain are healthy, his heart is strong, his blood pressure is normal, and that all signs suggest that he won't be making a habit of this.

We also know that he is thinking clearly, has no speech slurring, memory loss, or anything of the sort - his 'mind' appears to be fine. His symptoms are physical only. As a consequence of the stroke, he immediately lost all feeling and control on the left side of his body. Good news is though he can already move his left leg, lifting it up, wiggling his toes, bending his knee. He can also grip his left hand, point his index finger, and move his thumb. The doctor says that this type of progress from the leg up on to his head is normal and that the rate at which he is recovering is phenomenal. In fact, he was given the green light to begin physiotherapy today, two days ahead of schedule.

We don't know, however, what this will entail in terms of time. He could recover completely in two weeks or it could take much longer. This is the big question mark. Either way we are feeling confident about what's to come and at least for me, the very fact that he is healthy, stable, and seemingly no longer in harms way is all that really matters.

The reason we do not know what to expect in the coming weeks is this - the problem is being caused by a blood clot which may be simply putting pressure on the neurons controlling his left limbs or may have caused some damage. It is just too early to tell. As far as I understand, the clot will be reabsorbed by the body in a natural process of cleaning up and as it does we will be able to see how things go. Thus far, of course, it does seem like there is no damage since with just the help of a steroid to reduce any additional swelling in the brain and two days time, he has already recovered a good deal of functioning. So we are staying positive and hopeful.

We are still in the hospital and will likely be here for another couple of weeks which is not all bad. Ben now has a TV, air conditioning, couch, and comfortable bed. Even better his parents are on their way and if we decide to stay in Malaysia are adamant that we allow them to buy us air conditioning for our home. Seriously, though, we are looking forward to their arrival and have been very lucky to have friends here in Malaysia who truly care. Their heartfelt support and concern, along with all the prayers, positive thoughts, and hopeful wishes we have been receiving from from home have made all the difference. I know it sounds crazy but for the past three days, I have been relying heavily on everyone's love to get us through this. That is partly why I am writing this post now. I am not writing to make everyone sad, there is no need for a pity party. Actually, it is the exact opposite, I am greedy for more healing power. You may be half way around the world but trust me, somehow every good thought, ounce of love and concern makes its way to us and is felt in a big way. I especially think that laughs, smiles, and loving vibes are extremely effective.

And just to reassure you all that Ben is still Ben. I caught him yelling at the nurses yesterday for waking him up -it seems that he is not just grumpy in the morning but anytime he is forced to wake up. All he keeps asking for is cigarettes and whisky. He has decided it was definitely the whole working and exercising thing that did this to him and in response has a new definition of healthy living, lots of cigarettes, whisky, vacationing, and pizza. And, yesterday he told me excitedly that "Christopher Reeves ain't got shit on me, I will be serving left-handed by next week. Just give me some stem cell fetuses and I will eat their heads. Really, I will bite their heads off". This ridiculous tirade meant to make me laugh had me both rolling on the floor and a little concerned he had actually gone insane. But he was being funny only. Apparently, he was referencing a South Park episode in which Christopher Reeves and others were wildly feasting on fetuses for their stem cells. So even his memory is quite intact. More seriously though, I watched him during his first physiotherapy session today and his utter confidence and determination were still there allowing him to do things with his arms and legs which just this morning seemed impossible. I told him it was funny how one of the things that contributed to his ending up here was the very thing that was going to ensure a successful and speedy recovery.

So that is my excuse for not writing and probably the best stimulus for comments ever. We are good though and will be great with all of you rooting for us.

I will post updates as they come.

With all our love and thanks,
B&C