And the Medical Blog Goes On

Why is the ambulance inside? Damn Fisher Price hospital staff

It is 0501 and Cha Cha and I are both awake. She is in a little pain discomfort but she has not had any morphine since 2255 and she is going to try, for now at least, to go without it. We still do not have word if they have room for her at the inn (surgery) or she will have to wait until tomorrow (Saturday). I was extremely tired last night so I stayed here at the hospital. Cha Cha told me to go get a hotel (there is even a Doubletree about two blocks from here where we stayed with the kids one summer when we came down for a weekend) but I didn't want to because if I am gonna stay down here I gotta be with my baby. So, I slept on this couchy thing that was really uncomfortable. Picture a prison cot (still better than her previous hospital - KCH was nice though but that was close to home where I could be back in five minutes). I would rather have a backache and be sleepy than sit through that traffic again. Jill's former boss lives near here and she offered me a room for as many nights as I wanted/needed but I have a problem feeling like I am an imposition. I know that is silly and, when we do similar things for people, I do not feel like they're imposing so I am not sure where that comes from in me. I know it even makes people feel good that they could help but I would rather risk falling asleep at the wheel or having a backache for a week than impose on someone - I have problems.

I was just in the bathroom and I saw myself in the mirror. I don't have any disillusion that I am a good-looking guy but I look worse than usual. I have bags under my red eyes and I just look tired.

Last night and tonight are my normal weekend nights off. Then, tomorrow night, I may or may not go to work depending on whether she is out of here Saturday or Sunday. I may take Saturday night off even if she gets out on Saturday because most places don't discharge you early but maybe Northwestern is different. They actually had Jill in surgery yesterday before I even got here. Most hospitals we have been to don't do anything until afternoon. Many people said this hospital is not like any other hospital and now we know what they are talking about. If I need to go the the ER I may even tough-it-out and get driven here. I could deal with the pain for a little longer to get better quicker. Since she is doing better and not in pain I really hope that they keep her here until Sunday. I could use one day to get caught-up on my rest for one night.

T.J., Luca, Hondo, Deacon and Street

Another thing we like about this hospital is that they have Starz and Encore on the television. Really, entertainment to keep the patients' minds off of their pain? What a novel approach. We just got done watching S.W.A.T.. It is a fun movie (kind of like comfort food for we MIDDLES). At the end the truck driver looked like Hondo (not the new Samuel L. Jackson but the old Steve Forrest from the television series). I had to IMDB is and yes, it was Steve Forrest. I did some more digging and discovered that S.W.A.T. was only on from 1975-1976. That was a huge surprise to me. We played S.W.A.T. as kids all the time and it was on for only one season. Now I have to check how long Emergency! and Adam-12 were on, Emergency! from 1972-1979 and Adam-12 from 1968-1975.

Cha Cha is sleeping again which makes me happy. Not that I do not like her company but she has fought so hard for a couple of weeks (actually off-and-on for 30 or so years) and she will still need her strength to get well. Her guts probably look like that stuff you pull out of a pumpkin before you carve it. We sure had an emotional reunion when she got back from surgery yesterday. It was like one of those movie romance movie ones. Now she is sleeping and I am just watching her sleep - it is such a relief that she is relatively pain-free. I just checked my work emails and I see that my FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) has been approved for "continuous" coverage until 11/30/14. So, I guess I am off until the end of the month so I can help Cha Cha when she gets home. She will definitely need the help. She is still very weak and won't be able to do much.

A fistula - not THE fistula

Two different doctors just came in (one about what is going on and one about what went on in the operating room yesterday). It was confirmed that there was a fistula that was caused by the liver biopsy a couple of weeks ago. They still have to remove the stent and they are waiting to see how today goes with their current schedule and she may be able to be fit in today or tomorrow or she may be sent home and have to have the stent removed somewhere else or here later (maybe next week). I told the doctor that if we have to have it done later it would definitely be done here. The doctor also said that the fistula that caused all of this problem was undoubtedly caused by the liver biopsy fiasco (I paraphrased with the fiasco part). So, right now, she is back on nothing by mouth - not even ice chips - until they know if they will be working on her again today.

It looks like I will be blogging from here at least for another day. Thank you everyone for all of your love and support. Even just your reading the blog has helped me because, knowing that so many people are reading it because of their love of Jill and I, has given me something to do to occupy my time and not fret so much. So, I will let you know what we know when we know it. In the meantime - be well! TTTLater Today...MITM (out). TA! The main doctor just walked-in (later tater)