Some of you will remember a post I wrote last summer, when Ana was traveling the globe and I sat at home on our deck in central Massachusetts, eating good meals and watching the garden with Ana’s mom, Sylvia.

The post was about a story Sylvia told me one evening, about one of her early experiences as a nurse.

I say “Some of you will remember” because that one post got more comments from you than any single post I’d written since I posted our wedding pictures the previous summer!

In fact, here is Sylvia on that particularly auspicious day:

So, I wanted to give you all an update on Sylvia and how she’s doing this holiday season.

A few weeks before Christmas, she fell ill and went into the hospital. Surgery followed, which went swimmingly, and so did convalescence—for a few days. Then complications ensued, requiring a second surgery a short week after the first.

This second operation was tough, and the docs were glum about her prospects. We got quite a circle of friends sending her prayers, fond thoughts and good vibes. Amazingly, she blew away everyone’s projections and came through operation #2 with flying colors, albeit recovery has been excruciatingly slow. As I write, she is in the ICU, recovering her health and strength by inches, every increment a cause for celebration for her assembled family (that’s Ana, Kaia and me here at her home in Florida).

For a few days following the second operation, she had a breathing tube in her throat and couldn’t talk. One day, she seemed to be urgently trying to say something. It was impossible to make out what it was. Ana asked if she wanted a pad and pen to write with. She did. Ana fetched a pad, gave it to her, and she scrawled a short sentence. It wasn’t easy to make out, but when Ana deciphered the words, here is was it said:

Tell everyone, Thank you.

Keep those prayers, fond thoughts and good vibes coming. And, from Sylvia, Thank you.