Following is a brief report on the current (late July 2003) health conditions of the only remaining Bell sisters, Ruth and Betty. Unfortunately they have encountered some new problems and I will begin with Aunt Betty:

Since my last report she unfortunately experienced sudden attacks of seizure that set back her five months of progress to square one. This occurred toward the end of May. Her right side was again pretty much paralyzed. The seizures were attributed to her initial stroke and they are evidently not uncommon after a stroke. She spent two weeks back in the hospital under heavy sedation to stop the attacks. She returned to the nursing home still affected by the medications and not quite the same person that had left. When her mind eventually was able to realize what had happened she understandably became very depressed. At times she refused to take the medications and we felt that she had decided she'd had enough and wanted to give up.

The antidepressant she had been on was unfortunately changed while she was in the hospital. At our urging she was put back on the one that had proven to be very successful. So far it appears to do the job and that old smile that she became known for finally returned. She is now back working hard at therapy and is making good progress. Her demeanor has been very good and we are all very relieved. The anti seizure medication has so far guarded against those sudden and frightening episodes and we hope that the right solution has been found.

Aunt Ruth has also had new health problems in addition to her constant need for dialysis. Back in November last year she sought help from her cardiologist for a continuous and annoying cough. Seeing very little improvement over a considerable length of time, he eventually sent her to a pulmonary doctor for advice. Tests revealed that she had pulmonary emphysema and lung cancer. The prognosis was that surgery was not possible, and because of her dialysis treatments, chemotherapy was also out of the question. This left radiation as the only possible remedy. She started a five-day-a-week program which was to last for six weeks. She was a very busy lady between her dialysis and the radiation care. She recently completed all of the sessions and six weeks from the last treatment the effectiveness will be evaluated by cat-scan testing.

Both of the sisters are in admirably good spirits despite what they have both gone through lately. But then again, this has always been an admirable trait of the Bell family.

On Saturday, June 21, the two sisters were reunited after quite a long time. Aunt Ruth, accompanied by daughter Geri, boarded a direct flight from O'Hare to La Crosse. That same afternoon we witnessed a very emotional meeting at Aunt Betty's nursing home. Although Aunt Betty is not able to express herself as well as she would like, they were still able to reestablish the close relationship that they have had through the years. It was obvious that this meeting was the kind of medication they both needed. Aunt Ruth and Geri returned home the following day.

Hope this brings you up-to-date.

Eric