Well, we've had a long day. 

Blair had a little surgery this morning.  We were supposed to be at the hospital around 7:00-ish and the hospital is 90 minutes away, so, if you do the math.......well, let me just answer that for you and save you the trouble.....we had to leave way, way, way too early.  It's a good thing we got there when we did though, because they took her back immediately.......4 1/2 hours later.  Everything went well and now she's all doped up, sleeping soundly, and sentenced to a liquid Thanksgiving diet and limited talking for a few days.  Bless her.

Since that's all I've done today, I'll have to write about observations made at the hospital....a riveting subject for all of us, I'm sure, but it's all I've got today.   

1)  Hospitals run on their own time.  When you're there, you go by their watch.......and it runs slow.  Very, very slow.  Don't ever bother asking about how much longer it will be.  They don't know.   You're there until they say you can go, so you should just settle in.  I tried to help Blair pass the time and dispel any anxiety, so I appointed myself as her mood lightener, while we waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and
           waited.................................................and waited.....................................and waited........ 






  

2)  People lose all awareness of their surroundings when they're on their cell phones in a crowded room.  We heard all sorts of information being relayed in some seemingly oblivious, loud voices.  "Well, the doctor said the gallstones were huge, so she should feel a lot better.  She'll be sore for a few days, but he said she can do whatever she feels like doing", which really translates into "Tell everybody that Thanksgiving is back on now and to come on over Thursday, because she'll be up and cooking dinner for all 40 of us by then".  Then there was......."Aunt Betty, the doctor just came in and said that Bill's hernia was pretty bad, but they think they've got it patched up and he'll need to take it easy for a week or two", which translates into....Bill will be in the recliner until Valentine's Day, moaning every time he has to get up to get the remote.  I was praying there were no cases of a private nature in the room.  If there had been, we would've gotten all the details we wanted and so much more.       

3)  People have different ways of coping with stressful situations.....e.g. waiting for a loved one in a surgical waiting room.  Some laugh and joke.  Some talk loudly about their truck's suspension system.  Some play Sudoku.  Some pace while rattling their pocket change.  Some eat Cheez-Its and a large Coke.  And Davis.....he's a talker when he's nervous.  Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk.   I don't think he's talked that much since we got married....except when he had his nose surgery last spring and he talked like a parrot on speed.  Well, I get quiet when I'm stressed.  I just wanted there to be silence and so I was just about ready to either put him through the receptionist's plate glass window or ask the nurse if she had a pill cup full of "quiet medicine" that she could spare.    

4)  There, we all sat in a big room....each with our white bag titled "Patient's Belongings" stuffed with the shoes and clothes of those we love.  You know the ones with the "Name" and "Room No." blanks on the side.  Hospitals don't like clothing  They snatch them from you just as soon as you enter the doors.  "I'll take that and that.....oh, and that and don't think you're gonna get to keep that either."  I saw a couple of people, who could have really benefited from a little tighter pull on those shoestring bows on the backs of their gowns today.  The hospital is a miserable place for the modest.       

5)  It takes very special people to work in a hospital.  Having to maintain a comforting smile and a certain level of sympathy....all while dishing out a healthy dose of "there, there"......and not vomiting when other people vomit.....oh, and the relentless inclination to ask people if they're allergic to anything. all. day. long.  They're very admirable people, who can do that each and every day.  And those early morning hours they have to work!  It's just not for me on so many levels.......and all of you, my would-be patients, should be so grateful that I realized my shortcomings and chose a different path. 

6)  Then, they had this screen in this hospital's waiting area, where you found your loved one's case number and it gave constant updates on where they were in the whole process......holding area, surgery in progress, recovery, etc.  Everyone sat there, holding their little, green slips with their numbers on them......looking at the screen and charting the location and progression of their "number".  While it was a very efficient and informative system, it was a little too similar to tracking my Christmas packages from Amazon and Overstock.com.  I could check where my riding boots and my daughter were from right there in my chair.

7)  Doctors talk fast.  And they use big words that they didn't teach over in your buildings at college.  Mix fast talking and words that are zooming over your head faster than the Blue Angels and you're forced to stop them and ask questions.  I find it's best to repeat back to them what you thought you heard them say and let them correct you if your interpretation is off.  Sometimes, I just want to say, "Look, that all sounds legit, but I need you to talk to me like I'm 4."                  

I'll cut this off here to 1) not bore you to death and 2) get myself on into bed, because waking up at 4:30 a.m. Central Time translates to half past the edge of doom in the Night Owl Time Zone.  I've literally been a zombie, who's been staring straight ahead all day. 

For the next week, I'll be making a lot of milkshakes and iced coffees and smoothies for the patient......and watching a nauseating number of those Hallmark Christmas movies that she loves.......and dispensing drugs and kisses and..........spending time with my girl.   

Thankful for good results today.

Happy Tuesday!!