mary ellen visits and reports back to family

Sister Mary Ellen flew in for visit and filed her daily report to the family via email the content tone, and impact upon me and on others in the family are worth noting.
The the underlying affection of an older sister for a younger brother are readily apparent and based on history and status of my "somewhat distant" relationship with MaryEllen (relative to that with the austin sisters with whom I actually or practically live) Mel's expression of this affection for her brother john are inspiring to me and other siblings on several levels. Subsequent emails between family show that Mel's reports struck a chord that resonated and continued to elicit thoughts in others that found their way into words. Mel's comments appeared to remind us all of what I was like before my stroke and the expression of her affection for those qualities in and about me had the not so subtle effect of reminding all of us of what was nearly lost and in turn provided motivation for and excitment about each step of my recovery. Recalling how tired, frustrated, and scared I was at the time i can't emphasize enough how significant a source of inspiration it was to me to read these and subsequent emails from siblings that reminded me of exactly what was at stake and that my recovery meant so much to so many.