Well, it has been a while and much has taken place since the last blog. I (Mario) am writing this, and will be, on behalf of the rest of the family to keep you updated on us.


Many of you have experienced his decline in mobility until his retirement in November of 2009 and saw him go from walker to motorized wheelchair. Since retiring, he has not been able to be at church but this was because of some issues he was having with the motorized wheelchair that was to be compatible with the wonderful ADA certified minivan that the CMC congregation helped purchase for him. The process of getting the right wheelchair with all the right components was just one of the many hoops he has wrestled with during this time.

From retirement until the end of May, his decline was fairly slow. There were some moments that caused him to go to the hospital but there was nothing too unexpected. The end of May, however, found Marc in the Bremerton hospital due to a cough. After being there for 20 days, he was released to the Hospice Care Center where he stayed for five days before returning home. He still coughs and is congested, but we now have some tools to help deal with them that we didn’t have before the hospital stay.

Many people have asked, “How is Marc doing? Is he back home?” The answer is yes, but we hope you understand that this doesn’t mean that he is better, or back to where he was before the hospital stay. It means that with the help of caregivers, volunteers, and Hospice we feel we can currently manage to take care of him from home.

Currently, Marc has someone caring for him 24-7 to help him with his needs. He is able to get into his wheelchair for about an hour each day, and has really been enjoying the beautiful weather we are having.

We have been blessed with many volunteers and yet, there is always a need for more. Marc is not taking visitors at this point – while we know he loves people, he simply doesn’t have the energy to entertain or converse for very long right now. And what little energy he does have he desires to spend with family.

There have been some bright moments in the midst of the time passing and future blogs will offer some of those things. The goal in this one was to catch you up to speed so you wouldn’t feel so in the dark. I know that Marc has blessed so many, and many want to know how to help. Future blogs will also talk about this as well. In the meantime, pray for our family, in particular Marc and Carol as they go through this time of transition.