12.31—On Visiting

And no fake ones either...

12.31 On The Eve of the New Year...

Watching Wendy Williams with Henry

I don’t watch much TV but Henry loves Wendy Williams so we watch it everyday at 11AM. I like sitting next to him and laughing along side while we watch the celebrity silliness.

This is New Year’s Eve and Henry wants me to stay with him tonight even though there’s no place to sleep. I realized that he doesn’t know what the place looks like or what the accommodations are like here. Even at Cedars he couldn’t understand why it took so long to get fresh water and ice; I made a video walking down the hall 25 yards to get the water and ice and showed it to him, then he understood. I’m going to do the same thing here so he has an idea of the space. Hopefully soon he will be able to move around the space himself in a wheelchair. He starts PT after tomorrow but the therapist is stopping by today to see him. His spirits are good most of the time. He needs to begin to move and work his body and is impatient to begin. This is a good sign and I am happy to see it so soon after the accident.

Day 60

Be fierce and thrive
—PH/H

12.30 Evening Status

Today was a long day...it’s early evening now and I am ready to wind down. Henry told me to come in late tomorrow but I told him I don’t think I can stay away passed 8 but he wants me there at 9...I’ll bring breakfast.

Henry told me that today was the best day because of the encouragement he got from the doctors and therapists. I am so happy and very relieved that his morale is improving.

Big thank you to Kenya and William in Amsterdam for the great videos. They make his day.

Tomorrow is the last day of 2019 and the beginning of a new year.

Be fierce and thrive...

—Philip

12.30 Update

Eating a lot of take out and diner food these days. I’m taking two multivitamins in the morning and another two in the evening to ward off anything that might make me sick. I’m sleeping at a Hotel nearby the Hospital and can be there by 7:30 every morning with a breakfast for him.

Today we met his doctor here at the Hospital who brought in specialists who will evaluate his well being at this time. He also met his Physical Therapist today who is going to work with both of us to exercise his legs. Both Henry and I are eager to begin and get moving. He’s morale is better today and he tells the doctors he is fine and wants to get out of the hospital. His speech pathologist will work on a program to get his voice strong again and I can work with him on that as well.

I can spend New Year’s Eve with him which is great since this will be an important milestone for us. A new year!!

Day 59

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H 

12.29 Evening

KindredHospital

These are everywhere employees congregate or walk past when coming to work. Of course everyone becomes blind to these kinds of statements when they see them everyday. But Corporations are obliged to put up to show that they are training employees. We did the same thing when I was at Disney. It’s mighty hard to be empathetic when you have 12 or 15 patients to attend and care for on a 12 hour shift. Many of the staff are LNs (Licensed Nurses) who get their certificate after a year of training. RNs have to go to school for three years and many at Cedars had Masters degrees and even Doctorate degrees. But this is not about the nurses and care givers at Kindred: this is about the terrible state of affairs in the American Health Care system because conservatives and liberals alike can’t grok that health care should come before bombs and the Military Complex. 

Henry is being cared for because he has friends and family who love him and won’t let him languish in a hospital bed. I am grateful for all the support and love I get from everyone; without you I would be lost! 

Thank you from my heart and soul.
Henry is fierce and thriving...

Day 59

—Philip (Henry’s husband)

12.29 At Kindred

This is a different environment than Cedars-Sinai where the level of service was superior to anything I could expect. Much fewer nurses here and very different skill sets. Of course it is the weekend and weekend staff everywhere is lower than the weekday staff. Henry is comfortable though getting used to a new environment has been a challenge. I’m still confident he will have a successful recovery here but we will have a better idea of the hospital’s capability this coming week.

I’m staying close by at a residential hotel in Culver City and it’s next door to a Dinah’s Chicken Restaurant...I brought him breakfast this morning from there and he ate it up. One bit of advice to anybody caring for someone in the hospital: bring stainless flatware so they can have a proper meal experience. I brought two spoons, a knife, and a fork. I hate plastic ware and Henry can at least feel like a human while eating. In American “health-care” we are dehumanizing people by using plastic and disposable food service because no one wants the cost of washing the dishes. I’m appalled by the really poor food service in hospitals in general.

He’s sleeping now. I’ll update this later today when I get a stronger WiFi signal (another pet peeve).

Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

12.28

 We arrived at Kindred in the early evening after a long wait. I hate arriving anywhere after dark because it makes everything seem bleak. He has not in the happiest mood and our friend Jean Kim and I went out and bought him some Bose head phones to cancel out the noise of the surroundings. Today he is in a Quad room, meaning three roommates but we are waiting for a bed to open up in the ward for him to move to a duplex or single.

This is the next step and he needs encouragement to keep his spirits up. We have music and your great videos keep him happy.

Day 57

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

12.26 A Milestone

The Energy Vortex Amsterdam

On Christmas Day a few close friends gathered here at Cedars in Henry's room to celebrate with him. we feasted on finger food and and ate the delicious Asian Pears and cheese our friend Jennifer sent for us; there were cookies and a few of us drank a bubbly beverage and toasted to his health. Henry loved the visits and he spent lots of time chatting and watching old sitcoms Christmas episodes with Leigh, Eva, Tim and Quinton. Later Pirco and Jean stopped by to visit and chat. An exhausting day.

Our great friend, Kenya, in Ibiza and Amsterdam has several energy alters for Henry. This one has something very special! Puccini Chocolates which are the best in the world, IMO. This is sure to give him strength. In fact yesterday we hit a major milestone: Henry was able to sit up and dangle his legs over the bed with the fine help of the Physical Therapy team. We both cried because it was so great to see him sitting up for the first time since November 1. The goal is to do this three times a week and continue with the flexing exercises he is already doing every day.

Very few of us can imagine the pain Henry experiences and emotional energy it takes for him to survive each day. I can only watch and help him through whatever he goes through: sometimes tears and sometimes we laugh together but day by day he is improving and while it will take a long time for him to recover I can see in his eyes the determination, the will, to survive.

Day 55

Be fierce and thrive

—Philip

12.24 Christmas Eve...

My lap is my studio

Writing has always been the way I ground myself. I've kept notebooks and journals since I was eleven years old and I still have many of these books. Writing gives me a rhythm to measure time. These days I write whenever Henry is sleeping or watching television here in the hospital. It's been the way I not only pass the time but the only way I have to make sense of what has happened to him and us. This is not just a record of events but of my emotional health as well during his recovery. Sometime in the future I'll look through this weblog and my digital notebook to discover our journey. I made hundreds of photographs as well so I can document our journey.

For the past week Henry has been able to sleep soundly through the night. He's managing the pain but it is still a major factor in his day. He does about two hours a day of physical therapy on his right leg. The nurses change the dressing on the wounds twice a day at which time we have to move him around and it causes him a lot of pain. For the most part the nurses are kind and gentle and I'm there to make sure he's comfortable.

Today is Christmas Eve and I'm grateful for his life, the best present I could ask for from anybody. He's received beautiful flowers and a wonderful box of fruit as well as other presents of love from friends and colleagues.

Both Henry and I are focused on the present and what it takes to get to the next minute but we look forward to spending time with all our friends wherever we may be in the future.

Day 53

All the best,

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

12.23—Afternoon

Today the chef leadership from the Beverly Hills Hotel made a surprise visit to Henry's room and brought lots of food and treats for us and the floor staff here on the 7th floor. We shared some of these treats with the ICU nurses as well as the nurses on the 6th floor. I am so grateful for their display of affection for Henry. Thank you to all his beloved co-workers. Henry loves his job and the Hotel Beverly Hills where he has worked for 25 years. Thank you from us to you all. There was a huge amount of fried chicken and veggies as well as biscuits and of course treats! I know the nursing staff and clinical partners enjoyed the food as did we! 

The book and the bear are signed by his friends/coworkers at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Be fierce and thrive...!
—Philip

12.23 Morning

0500 Cedars-Sinai

I woke at 5AM this morning and it was pouring rain...I got a strong allongé and walked a little in the court yard under a roof. We slept pretty well last night. Henry is sleeping through the night. Later this morning he ate a large breakfast of omelet and potatoes and a Boost drink. I went to the little coffee shop and had another café allongé and an omelet. The resident who is on the plastic surgery team changed the dressing on the skin graft and it looked amazingly good. I could not tell there was a wound there. The good thing is Henry heals fast.

So today we hope for some physical therapy. I'll give an update later today.

Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

12.22 Mid-Day Update

Henry had another good night of sleep. Since coming off the Ketamine his sleep has been undisrupted and peaceful. The pain in his leg continues to be a challenge but it's managed with strong painkillers.

Kindred Hospital on Slauson

I looked at a transitional hospital today that will get him ready for a long term rehabilitation facility. This transitional hospital is in South LA and is recommended by Cedars because of the good orthopedic care as well as the rehabilitation program. It's part of the Kindred hospital group and this one is a full hospital with ICU and clean operating rooms. I toured the plant today and I liked the vibe there: it is clean and the patients seem to be well cared for. I showed up unannounced with our friends, Pirco and Jean, and met with a nurse who took us around the building and showed us the rooms and labs. The place is very clean. I rubbed my finger along the door jams and the pictures hanging on the walls and found no dirt or dust. Too, there was no sour institutional aroma that one often finds in nursing homes. The vibes were good...

There are 80 beds and a large staff of nurses equal to what is at Cedars (5:1). I think once the insurance company has approved we will move there for the net 20 to 30 days before the transition to the residential long term rehab perhaps back in Beverly Hills. Henry is eager to begin...I also found a place to stay close by the new hospital since I won't be able to sleep in the same room as him. My plan is to be with him everyday at 7:30AM until he goes to bed at night and be his booster while in rehab.

Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

12.21 Day 50

I sat under this canopy last evening after sunset to relax with a medicinal drink and thought back on the last 50 nights here at Cedars-Sinai. I'm so grateful to the doctors and nurses and Clinical Partners who all supported Henry and me during our long stay, first in ICU and then here in the general hospital. Henry is alive because of the hard work the trauma team did on him when he came into the Emergency Room on November 1. It took 7 hours for them to stop the bleeding and clear his lungs of blood and fluid. The injuries were catastrophic and the first four days were very tenuous for him. I sat up with him and promised him I would be there when he woke up...But he would not be alive if it were not also for his strong will to live. When I asked him if the amputation bothered him he replied -No. I'm alive!- and that's all he needed to say.

Now 50 days into this he's ready to begin the process of healing and the rehabilitation of his body and mind. I know he is fierce and he has the will to thrive.

Day 50
Be fierce and thrive...
—Philip 

12.20 Friday Afternoon

Henry in Paris

As I mentioned in a post yesterday, Henry is now on the 7th floor of Cedars-Sinai where the Orthopedic team is located. We are getting ready to transfer to Kindred Acute Rehab Hospital in Los Angeles sometime on or before next Friday. This will be the rehab facility he will stay at for about four weeks before moving to a long term rehab facility to learn to walk and move about. This is great progress and we are both keen for this to start.

His attitude is very positive and he really basks in the love and support everyone gives him. Even people from Cedars stop in to see his smile and encourage him to thrive—as you know his smile has the power to heal other people and warm their souls. My husband is a truly remarkable man.

Today is day 49
Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

12.19 Close of Day

We go to bed early around here, mostly because Henry is awakened at 4:30AM each morning for a sponge bath and at 5AM for dressing changes. Since I sleep next to him I'm awake too, so I help with the tasks. This is the new view from our window. I like the many triangles in the view as well as the great trapezoid that makes the frame. While it's chaotic it somehow makes me peaceful when I look at it. Beauty is everywhere...

Today is day 48 here at Cedars-Sinai. Henry is still asleep and I doubt he will wake up again until tomorrow morning since he's not really slept in two days. I'm turning in to read "A Bookstore in Berlin" which I love so far. If you haven't heard of it look it up: it's about how one fierce woman made her way out of Nazi occupied France in 1942 and thrived. It's a memoire; a melancholy reminder to us all how it can happen again.

Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

12.19 A Moving Day...

Waiting...

This morning I learned that the doctor taking care of his leg wanted to insert a filter into a vein in his stomach to catch any blood clots from his right leg. He's off blood thinners for now and this is to reduce that risk. It took very little time to perform the procedure so this is me waiting in the 7th floor waiting lobby for him to be moved to his room. I also learned that the Orthopedic team wants him on the 7th floor where much of the ortho physical therapy is located. Not a problem! It's a nice room with lots more space and a bed for me instead of the recliner I've been in for 48 days. 

While I waited next to him we were in the X-Ray room with this fantastic looking machine. This camera is state of the art X-Ray and is nearly brand new. I love the organic look—almost like a space monster. It cost several million dollars...pretty cool. Cedars-Sinai has lots of new equipment mostly gifts from donors and corporate sponsors. I can't imagine what a place like this costs to run on an annual basis.

View from a bridge...

Here is a view from one of the bridges going between the South and North towers of the hospital. It's a lovely day here in Los Angeles.

With this move to the seventh floor we are getting ready to move into a transitional rehab facility for four to six weeks to prepare for a more intense rehabilitation program that will last several months more. Both Henry and I are excited to begin the next stage of this journey. 

Please keep us in your thoughts...

Be fierce and thrive!

—Philip

12.19 Another Day...

0600 in the cafeteria at Cedars-Sinai 

My fellow watchers and I were lined up at the door of the commissary again this morning waiting for coffee and breakfast. Starbucks opens at 0500 but I prefer the brewed institutional coffee here. I've been coming to this outlet everyday since 1 Novembre. Some mornings I'm the only one here at opening but this morning there was a crush of people.

I was up all night with my husband whose Ketamine dreams kept him awake. Twice he tried to get out of bed and nearly fell. I had to call for help just to pull him back onto the bed and reassure him that he was alright. Much of the night he thought he was either moving his car, so as not to get a ticket, or "doing" the laundry. Last night he baked cakes and cookies in his sleep. It distresses me that he is having these disruptions to his sleep and life in general. During the day we talk and watch television together or I work on paying his bills or answering emails and texts with him so he was no time for his mind to wander into the drug induced delirium but of course at night when the lights are off there is no stimulus for his brain. Today there is an order to wean him from the Ketamine which is used as a powerful pain-killer; I hope this will lessen the disruptions for him.

We've been informed that it's nearly time for him to move to a transition rehab facility to prepare him for acute rehab down the road. The transition in whichever facility we go to will take four to six weeks at which time hopefully he will be ready for acute rehab to learn to walk with a prosthetic leg. I continue to be moved everyday by his will to live and I can't imagine the struggle he is going through now and will have to bare in the near future. 

Every day I am grateful for the love and support from our friends and family. Henry is a very special man who loves his friends deeply and he is aware of all the love he is getting in return. Once more I would love for you to send him videos of encouragement. 

Day 48

Be fierce and thrive...!

—Ph/H

12.17 Morning

My bag packed and AOC at 6AM

I stay with Henry for five days at a time. I sleep in a chair next to his bed and watch over him through the day and night. I help the nurses change his dressings and I move his legs ever so gently. He goes to sleep early and I read a book for a time and have a little zip of brandy. We wake at 4:30 in the morning for his dressing change. I am his advocate here in the hospital and I don't mind a bit; I promised him a long time ago before all this that I would always be by his side regardless of the circumstances.

This is the bag I've traveled all over the world with; it carries four changes of clothes and my dopp kit. If I add a pair of pants to this grip I can live out of it indefinitely. There is no variation to what I wear which minimizes my dressing: a pair of dark grey trousers; four identical black pull-overs; four changes of underwear; and five pairs of socks (I believe one should always carry an extra pair of socks). My dopp kit has a flask of Hennessy V.S.O.P. or XO and other essentials. When I'm not here every fifth night, our nephew Quinton stays with him: I hate to leave him alone but he loves Quinton and we trust him.

This is day 46...

Henry will go into surgery today at 3PM for a skin graft on his right leg. He continues five hours a day of CPM physical therapy and it's not pleasant but necessary for his future mobility. Hopefully in the next week or so Henry will begin intense physical therapy on another floor of the hospital and will begin the journey to recovery. Please keep sending him your love and videos of encouragement.

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

12.16 Morning—10:30

Yesterday Eva brought him his favorite liver and onions with mashed potatoes and he ate most of it. When the food is good and made with love he has a good appetite. This morning we shared an omelet and mixed berries.

His pain is more manageable today—he slept through the night—and he is on the PT machine this morning for five hours bending his knee to 75º.

Everyday there is improvement. Two of his antibiotics have finished and he is on one final one that will continue to the end of December. He has one of the best infectious disease doctors in Los Angeles attending to his infections and we both like him a lot.

Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

12.15 Late Afternoon—16:15

His friend brought him Sunday dinner of liver and onions with mashed potatoes—his favorite thing to each at Musso and Frank's Grill on Hollywood Blvd. He ate most of it before getting full. He loves Eva's cooking.

Be fierce and thrive, Henry!

—Ph/H

12.15 Morning Status—06:45

We slept well last night with few interruptions. Henry’s pain levels are dropping but still higher than what most of us could handle on a daily basis. 

He has a good appetite and last evening we shared a steak dinner with crab cakes and a fillet mignon with iced tea and apple juice. He ate half but we both left the potatoes. 

Today Eva will bring him a Sunday supper which he’s looking forward to. We might move up a floor next week to be close to PT and of course a little apprehensive at the amount of work involved butt he is more than eager to get his life back. 

Be fierce and thrive...

—Philip

12.14 Afternoon—14:00

This is day 43.

View from the chair where I sleep—02:00

Henry's recovery is going well. He's working on physical therapy on his right leg four to five hours a day. It's painful but necessary to keep his right leg mobile. 

He has a good appetite and we shared a pizza last night and a salad. Tonight we are going to share a steak and some appetizers. He's talking better now though it still tires him out but the vocal cords are working and coming back to life.

Tomorrow is another day...

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

PS: I sleep in the room with him nearly every night and spend all day with him every day. It's a joy to be near him and we often laugh and smile at each other. 

12.13 Late Afternoon

Another quiet day. He spent five hours on the PT machine for his right leg and had a meeting with several doctors. We also met with one of the insurance companies. They are assisting us in the filing of our claim and accessing funds.

Henry's Orthopedic doctors think he may be able to move on to more rigorous PT soon which will mean a move eventually to another floor. So far, however, his need for care is very urgent and there are more nurses available on our current floor.

We continue to...be fierce and thrive

—Ph/H

12.12 Afternoon Update—16:45

Pretty quiet today. He's on some heavy pain killers that sort of knock him out but he did five hours of physical therapy on his right leg. Today the NP will take his catheter out and begin to prepare him to sit up in the next few weeks.

He remains in good spirits!

Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

12.12 Update—10:00

Henry had a good night and slept through most of it. This morning he had a good appetite and ate most of his breakfast. 

Today is his sister's birthday and he called and sang "Happy Birthday" to her...

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

12.11

It's been forty days...4 0  d a y s...

I am grateful that Henry is alive and he's alert. He's in good spirits and knows he's loved by so many people. He will survive this horrible accident and will thrive and be happy and dance again. My lovely husband and friend of thirty years will sing and laugh again and this will all be a distant memory...

Be fierce and thrive...!

—Ph/H

12.11 Morning—08:35

After a lot of pain the pain killers set in and he slept fitfully through the night. This morning Henry had a good appetite and ate eggs, pancakes, and cereal. No more surgeries this week but he may go back for the skin graft sometime next week.

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

12.10 Morning Update—08:45

Henry will have some plastic surgery today to repack his deep wound on the left side and a skin graft on the wound on his right side. These are pretty quick operations to take place this afternoon sometime after 13:00. 

He slept OK last night but the powerful drug Methadone caused him to be delirious a bit and he complained to me he didn't like it. But he was alert enough to know what happened.

Yesterday the young resident Doctor David Gotstein stopped in and was amazed at how good Henry looked. He took great care of Henry while in the ICU for 20 days. Henry was all smiles.

Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

12.09—Site Statistics

On 3 November I started reporting on Henry's status here to update his many friends all over the world on his condition after the accident on 1 November 2019. To date there have been 12,000 visitors of which 3,000 are unique and over 80,000 page views. Visitors are mostly from the USA but also The Netherlands, France, Spain, Mexico, Morocco, Romania, China, India, and Germany.

Most of the traffic comes from FaceBook and directly from Google. While I've tried to reach out to everyone in our contacts list, I fear there are many more of our friends who are not aware of his situation so I ask that you share the link to your FB account to spread the word to our many friends.

Many folks are praying, meditating, and chanting for Henry's speedy recovery. His spirit is strong but he has days when the pain from his injuries is too much to endure but he draws his strength from your thoughts and good wishes (he loves the videos you send and I hope you will send many more)!

Over the coming months I will continue to post here everyday while he recovers. Henry and I look forward to being able to visit with you all soon. 
Meanwhile:

Be fierce and thrive...!

—Ph/H (Philip)

12.09 Morning update—06:45

Very rough over night. Even though the doctors enhanced his pain medication he was in terrific pain in every part of his system. It was difficult not to be able to help him so I sat with him through the night. Today there will be more doctors and a quick meeting with the plastic surgeons. 

Updates as needed. 

Be fierce and thrive...

—Philip

12.08—18:55

Henry had a good appetite today and ate Eva’s pork roast with mashed potatoes and red cabbage and then a bowl of ice cream. I’m so glad he ate everything! 

Be fierce and thrive...

—Philip

12.07 End-of-Day—19:00

It was a good day and we are hoping for a better day tomorrow. Day by day...

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

12.06 End-of-Day—20:00

This was a trying day for Henry as the pain was very intense. The doctors operated on his bottom again debriding lots of debris from the very deep wound. It will heal but will remain painful for a time.

As always his spirit is strong and he is determined to recover fully. He smiles often and is alert when people speak to him. It's not time yet to visit but soon he will be ready to see folks.

As always,
Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

12.06 Status—09:00

The surgeons are ready to move Henry to the Pre-Op room. His surgery will take about an hour.

Be fierce and thrive...

—Ph/H

12.05 Update—19:00

Our nephew joined us today to help with Henry's recovery by motivation. He's going back into surgery tomorrow morning sometime after 10AM to clean out more debris in the infected wound. While he's not run a fever today he's in great pain and they hope to repack the deep wound.

We are going to sleep early tonight.

Be fierce and thrive...!
—Ph/H

12.04 Update—06:00

Surgery was over in an hour. He had a hole about 6cm deep and pretty wide. They cleaned out the dead tissue and packed it. There is a vacuum over the area now to drain it. 

He slept OK last night and he's being washed now. 

Be fierce and thrive

—Ph/H

12.03 Update—08:00

Surgery on the infected wound today at 13:30 PT. This should fix the fevers he has experienced for the passed week.

Be fierce and thrive...
—Ph/H

11.2—Evening Updae

The doctors will perform some surgery tomorrow morning to fix the infected area around his hip/thigh. He lost a lot of skin there and it's become infected.

Be fierce and thrive!
—Ph/H

12.2 Update—11:00

Henry is eating well and going through intense therapy his right leg which can cause a lot of pain. He needs to do 5 hours a day.

His spirits continue to be good. 

Be fierce and thrive!
—Ph/H 

Be Fierce and Thrive

Henry is fierce and he is thriving. He said to me today that he is happy and his spirits are good. It's evident in his appetite and willingness to participate in the physical therapy on his right leg. He's more talkative too even thought his voice is still weak—but getting stronger thanks to his vocal therapist, Paula.

It's been one month since the accident. He was in ICU for 21 days and in very critical condition for 18 of those days. Today he is thriving and will live and recover from this terrible accident. We are both grateful for you continued love and support.

He looks so handsome: today he got a shave and a good washing. 

Be fierce and thrive!
—Ph/H

Sitting Outside...

When I take a coffee or food break I like sit in the bamboo garden between the North Tower and the Saperstein ICU. It's lovely and quiet in the evening: when the wind blows the bamboo plants there is a comforting rattle that calms me and helps me reflect. It's a nice spot few visitors know about and instead they sit in the rather dingy lobby/waiting rooms of the hospital. Even though the furniture is comfortable I still find these rooms oppressive and not good for me to get my mind at peace.

I've found there are lots of places where people can sit and reflect. There is a lot of public art around the various squares and plazas too; I like to walk around these spaces: being in the moment; listening to the sounds of a city alive with people and machines; I like to look at the staff and visitors hurrying to an appointment or work or to see a loved one. In these moments I try not to remember the past or plan for the future only the present moment; then I am released from pain.

Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Hills has some extraordinary pieces. This Is a Henry Moore and while I’m not the best judge of sculpture I really love this one. It’s called Three-part Reclining Figure. Of course Moore is one of the most important of the Post-War artists working in large scale bronze pieces.

Or this piece by Jonathon Borofsky, Molecule Man. Both of these pieces are in a garden of succulents and beach grasses. There are also little water fountains that are lighted with LEDs that change colors as the water gentle burbles like springs. Yesterday I made a short video of the fountains and the gardens. There are bamboo plants and desert grasses throughout the sculpture garden making it a comforting and healing environment. Many of these pieces are important works and all celebrate humanity and the human condition.

I also like to sit here in this space while having a late afternoon coffee...It's a beautiful useable sculpture and I've not been able to find out who designed it. There are a few places like this one and I often find myself alone in these spaces.  

There is also an extensive painting collection here on each of the floors in the towers. I've seen paintings and prints by Picasso and Oldenburg and many others. I'll document some of these pieces in another post.

Be fierce and thrive!
—Ph/H