Thanks to everyone who has emailed and commented. I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to each of you. I've remained out of the hospital, thankfully, but my suitcase still sits there packed, just in case. I'm superstitious about unpacking it just yet. I saw my doctor yesterday and so far my "needlepoint sampler" of stitches remains intact. I'm still unbelievably exhausted and sore.
My dear husband must have been feeling sympathetic because he fell from a ladder while picking apples last Thursday, and yesterday had eye surgery, so together we are quite the woeful pair. He clutches his back and moans, and I hold a heat pad to my abdomen and whimper, and all night we toss and turn, grumbling at each other to stop jiggling the bed because it hurts.
Assuming I'm DONE with the hospital, here are some photos taken while I was there.
Little K brought me a monkey from her collection to cheer me up.
The nurses wanted me up and walking as soon as possible, to prevent blood clots in my legs. I felt about 85 years old, being so unsteady on my feet.
When I was in bed, I was hooked up to these leg cuffs which periodically inflated from the bottom up, to keep the blood circulating in my legs. They felt great, but of course woke me up every few minutes. The girls thought they were the greatest invention ever!
A, who wants to be a doctor someday, was rapt when the nurse's aide came into take my vitals.
My mom spent many long days in this chair watching over me when I was too doped up to make decisions for myself, or to remember that the nurse told me not to get up to use the toilet by myself, but to call for assistance so I wouldn't fall. One morning I heard a scream and a terrible crash, when the patient next door fell on top of a nurse assisting him to the toilet. The nurse was injured, and there was a flurry of activity out in the hall with all the hospital liability officials assessing the situation. Since I'm such a big person, and was so dizzy, I hoped and prayed I wouldn't cause a similar scene.
Speaking of the toilet, this awesome bathroom was just 3 steps from my bed. It had sliding frosted glass doors, and was a combination toilet/shower stall. Of course I LOVED the grab bars. And when housekeeping came to clean it, all they had to do was spray the whole thing down. I want this bathroom in my house!
This was the view from the first room I was in, room 522. This part of the hospital is just 2 years old, and it was so comfortable and well designed. In fact, exactly 2 years ago we attended the open house, and I wondered if I might someday find myself a patient in one of these rooms.
Speaking of comfortable, the beds were just amazing. Made by Stryker, they were adjustable in so many ways, had special mattresses that reduced pressure sores (memory foam, maybe?), and the mattress was even long enough for me. I wanted to take the bed home with me!
Every room had an info board for the patient, which was handy to keep track of the revolving nurses. Almost all of my nurses were foreign born, so there were some interesting names up on the board, and I was grateful that I didn't have to commit them to memory. How do you like my "goal" for the day? That was when I was in the second time with the bowel obstruction.
This is the view from room 513, where I spent my second stay. All those buildings across the freeway -- none of the ones in the foreground were there five years ago, nor was that overpass, which is nearly completed.
Gazing out the window one morning, I witnessed this crash on the highway. The driver crawled out, still talking on his cellphone. I hope he learned his lesson about talking on the phone and driving at the same time. Luckily it appeared no one was injured, and he didn't kill anyone else in the process.
If anything makes you want to leave the hospital faster, it's the food.
I think there's a definite improvement over past practices, but much of the food still either came from a can, or was overcooked.
I did appreciate having hot herbal tea with each meal, and this chocolate cake was actually quite tasty. The salads were good, too.
When I first got home from the hospital I had so many meds that I had to make myself a spreadsheet to keep track of them all. The nurses were impressed when I was re-admitted to the hospital, because they could see just what I'd taken, and when. Little K took this picture, and behind me you can see the old crib, overflowing with clean laundry waiting to be sorted, ironed, and put away. I did actually get some of it put away, but it's full again. My husband does the laundry, and dumps it there for me to sort. He can't tell the girls' clothes apart, since they're so close in size, plus he's not into ironing. Neither am I, these days, so the pile grows. I don't care.
Well, there's my hospital stay in review. While I was out of it, I missed the last 90 degree day of the year, some glorious sunny weather, and a few rain storms. Even though I'm off all medications now (my choice), I'm still so tired and tender that I can't imagine when I'll drive again, or go to the grocery store, or walk the kids to school. Thankfully friends, family, and neighbors have been such a blessing, bringing meals, ferrying the kids around, and taking care of our little family. I'm so grateful for the wonderful community in which we live.
