Al's first day back at work went well. I think he was happy to get out of this house finally! The girls ran and hugged him when he came home. It was as if they hadn't seen him in days. Rachel said we should celebrate his returning to work. Oh, we had to pull over to allow an ambulance to get by this morning. The girls wanted to know if that was our ambulance! That was interesting. Things are going well, but we are trying not to get too excited since there have been so many setbacks. Al decided to stay on the pain medicine for now. He may have 2 or 3 patches left, so he'll probably just finish those. He has been eating whatever I prepare for dinner, just very small portions. He does well with meat and veggies, but has a hard time getting down the carbs. He discovered yesterday that pickles taste good. His taste buds aren't 100% yet. He said apples just don't taste sweet. He was able to eat some pear and watermelon, but bananas and strawberries irritate his mouth. His energy level is really good, but he is still cold all of the time.