It's been dry • click to embiggenIf not entirely clear and vibrant, the forecast for Maggie is very good. She continues to improve and maybe, just maybe, she will be released later today. Several doctors still have to sign off on it but the probability is high.

There is still no diagnosis, only speculation that it was a viral infection of some kind. The neurologist continues to run tests looking for all kinds of exotic stuff but nothing shows up. My speculation is that it's the same viral thing that I had - including 3 days of bedridden high fever semi-delirium - that laid me low for the better part of 2 weeks in early August. It just hit Maggie harder or she had a much lower tolerance for it. But, no one knows anything for sure.

So, just like today's picture, things are getting brighter even though it's still quite hazy.

Laughing to keep from crying • click to embiggenThroughout the darkest ICU days, I insisted that the rule in the ICU be, 'put on a happy face'. For the most part, this was not as difficult as it first might seem.

It was helpful that the 'big ones' were rather quickly being ruled out, but the support of the wife's family - many of whom lived less than 10 miles away, right across the river from Philadelphia - was beyond measure. Two of the wife's sisters were at the hospital within a hour of Maggie's arrival. They provided a running account of Maggie's status - by cell phone - during our 6 1/2 drive to Philadelphia. During Maggie's days in the ICU, there was always at least one and at times up to four family members there for support.

On Sunday (day 2), we were able to get a number of things from Maggie's dorm room - in the picture, you can see her IPod Nano, teddy bear, favorite pillow and pictures of friends on the wall. In addition to the wife, there is a cousin and an aunt, each holding one of Maggie's hands. The banter was about good times with Mags. The mood was joyous.

It must be said that the staff in the ICU was helpful in maintaining the joyous-ness. There were friendly and very 'tolerant' when it came to the 'rules'. We were in constant violation of the max number of visitors, cell phones (although banned) were overlooked, cameras (although banned) were never confiscated, 'outside' food and beverages (although banned) were overlooked, personal possessions of the patient - see above - (although banned) were allowed, and no one even mentioned the bottle of Makers Mark (hand-crafted Kentucky bourbon whiskey) on the floor in the brown paper bag.

So, although it was a very tense, stressful and trying time, we managed to keep in joyous in the ICU.

Dashing through the night • click to embiggenMaggie's resting and recuperating nicely in her hospital room. No tubes. No antibiotics. No sedation. Weak as hell, but she's eating like a horse. And, no, despite ongoing tests, the answer is - we still don't know.

Me, after a dash through the night (to avoid any daylight/commuter traffic on the Jersey Turnpike/Parkway), I'm back home tending to some business. Maggie's surrounded by extended family and we've purchased train tickets for her boyfriend and best friend so they can be there as well. They are on the train as I write. Things are looking good.

Yesterday, Aaron wrote - "Not being able to get down there and share some good vibes for her in person, I am overwhelmed by these photos in a way I don't like .... (I have) conflicting emotions on whether I should have looked at these or not ..." - interesting emotions/reaction coming from the guy who is giving the world his emotion/reaction-inducing Cinemascapes.

I knew when I was making these pictures that they would pack a wallop, especially for those who know and are close to Maggie - many of whom are not able to be by her side. In part, that was my intent - to make it 'real'. If one has not experienced anything like this personally, then it all tends to be rather 'abstract'. As I wrote yesterday, the wife and I, the extended family and friends knew all of the words involved with this event. Now, those words have added meaning and a sense of 'real-ness' attached to them.

Yesterday's pictures are why I get a little bent out of shape when photography discussions about truth and the real in pictures wander a little too much into the 'abstract'.

OK, I took pictures in the ICU • click to embiggenThe phone call was made at 1 PM on Saturday from about 380 miles away and we began our real-world education about words and phrases that we already thought we knew.

Words and phrases like: ER, unresponsive, agitated and combative, very sick girl, meningitis, toxic shock, pregnancy complications, West Nile, Coxsackie, influenza, we don't know, ICU (no pictures, please), breathing tube, cultures, blood work, MRI, CAT scan, spleen, antibiotics, intravenous, we don't know, tumor, stroke, clot, x-ray, EKG, EEG, spinal fluid, we don't know, sedation, near coma state, infectious disease, pulmonary, neurologist, cardiologist, heart rate, pulse rate, lung fluid, respirator, suction, compression, we don't know, restraints, we don't know, we just don't know.

A very stressful and tense 72 hrs later, Maggie is lucid, out of the ICU and apparently out of danger. The strange thing is, they still don't know. Not a clue. Maybe a virulent viral infection. Maybe.