My Mom returned to the hospital this week with congestive heart failure as a result of the pneumonia she continues to battle. While her condition is stable and she is expected to come home, her health continues a slow decline that is appropriate for her age and medical condition. It is still not clear what continues to cause the build up of fluid in her lungs and between her lungs and heart. While the not knowing the cause is frustrating, I spend my time concentrating on what is known -- she is lucid, funny, still headstrong, interested in the world (although death is close now than it was a month ago), and still looking forward to future. As always she continues to be a realist without any sense of bitterness or fatalism.

For Ella, hope is a verb.

I divide my time between work and the hospital. As of this writing, my Mom will remain in the hospital for the remainder of this week and possibly through the weekend. I did photograph her this time because I thought these maybe the last photos I take of her. I will post them later in the week after she has had a chance to see them first.