Lots

I'm in a Capital Fringe Festival show: Captain Squishy's Yeehaw Jamboree. Written by a couple of friends of mine, Chris Davenport and Nick Greek. Imagine, if you will, the TV show HeeHaw reenacted by an insane asylum. That's not specifically what it is, but that's a good way to describe it. We open on the 10th.

Went to Ohio twice -- once for the opening performance of Tecumseh!, then a couple of weeks later for a reunion. Good times had by all at the reunion, and performers from many seasons previous came out of the woodwork. About the show itself -- it is still a great, great thing, and you, yes I mean you, should go see it.

Demetrius Thomas -- I talked to him on the phone recently, and, yah, he made it to the reunion. He has made a substantial, though not yet full recovery. Mentally, all's pretty well. One leg is giving him issues that's really screwing with his mobility. There's understandable frustration, but also a great appreciation for all the little things in life.

Jen's off to another 3-week stage combat workshop now. So it's me and Sadie at home again.

DEMETRIUS, P. 5!

Way cool:

Jen and I were talking on the phone today -- she's out of town for a few weeks -- and she said, "Guess who called me today."

"Who?"

"Demetrius."

!!!!!

He called her and left a voice message.

We'd both been wanting to call him, but nervous about it -- so we were going to talk with friends who were more "in the know" first.

But then Dee beat us to it.

Rock on.

(Image via)

Demetrius, P.4

(Image via)

New update. The latest news I have is via a voicemail message, so I can only be broad right now. Still, worthwhile info:

Dee is out of ICU, as of maybe 2 weeks ago. Good, of course.

And he is now conversing, quietly. That's excellent: that sort of communication, so I hear, is a "higher function." To put it poorly, when an injury happens to an organ, functions generally come back "online" lower to higher, lower being the more necessary functions, breathe, eat, etc., higher more like, "dude, where's my comic books?" Not that he's specifically called me and asked me that yet, but supposedly now we might be able to broach that subject.

More news, hopefully, soon.

Keep praying, knocking wood, etc. I won't be content 'til Dee and I take a jog to the local coffee shop, where we'll play chess and talk about women, music, and mouse-traps (long story).

Demetrius, P. 3

(Image via.)

I went out to Ohio June 4 - 8 to see Tecumseh!, visit a few folks I know, see Jen, and of course, to visit Dee. By the way, everyone at T! did a stellar job from what I saw. The understudies really stepped up to the plate. I had the chance to see a couple of run-throughs and the first couple of official performances, and what I saw was a good, solid show. Kudos to them. Go see it.

I saw Dee on Saturday the 7th. Before Jen and I went in, we talked to mutual friend Geddy, who had visited him a bit earlier. He told us that Dee has continued responding to nerve tests, and that he opened his eyes when Geddy talked to him, he responded a bit with his eyes when Geddy indicated another friend in the room. All good news.

When we went in, Dee pretty much slept. This was not unexpected -- his earlier responses with Geddy were probably about all he was up for at the time. Dee was still on a respirator, but it was just giving him a bit of an assist, it wasn't doing the breathing for him. In fact, while we were there, Dee took a couple of deep breaths and shifted his body a bit. These are excellent, I think -- he has full body movement, and his muscles want to move. I talked to him a bit, told him he needs a new barber, but mostly I just held his hand.

Some of Dee's family were at the hospital. When we left, we gave a hug to his mother, shook hands with his dad, said hello to a couple of aunts. They seem to be bearing through it okay, though I know recent improvements have helped on that account.

Since then I've only heard a touch more. Good stuff -- he has has communicated to a degree with his mom, doing 1-finger-for-yes-2-for-no stuff (I don't think he could actually talk right now because of the ventilator tube), and apparently gave a thumbs-up when his mom prayed and said amen. Occasionally his temperature will spike, and when that happens they sedate him so he'll rest.

And that's what I know. Good news, certainly. I'm impatient, I want more, faster. Turns out he left a couple of comic books in Jen's car. I read 'em, of course. I'm waiting for him to call me and say, "Hey, send me my comic books!"

Demetrius, P. 2

Latest news:

Brain swelling has gone down to more "acceptable" levels. Good.

He has responded to prick tests to his feet. That's very good.

Not conscious, thus far. But that's partly by doctor design, to keep his movements minimal for right now.

Demetrius

Hey, folks.

Demetrius Thomas is a good friend of mine, and has been a part of Tecumseh! for a number of years. The last couple of years, he has played the lead / title character, and was set to do so this year as well. In '06, Jen and I had three ceremonies; the first was on the Tecumseh! stage, and Dee was my best man that evening.

A few nights ago, Dee was in a major car accident. I'm getting my information 3rd or 4th hand, so I know very little for sure. I know he was flown to Columbus, and there was some head trauma. There was some swelling of the brain. Apparently he's been through some surgery, and the swelling seems to have gone down at least a bit. I was told he's in critical but stable condition.

But there's still a lot I don't know. I don't know the extent of the damage, and that has me worried.

I don't know if you pray or not. But Dee is one of the good guys, and I ask that you pray now. Thank you.