The Matt That Knows Too Little

A new hobby my buddy John R. planted in my head

I have been doing a lot of odd things to keep myself busy while Jill is medicated or sleeping in the hospital. I know I am only one block from the Nike store on the Magnificent Mile, I can see Lake Michigan from the hospital window so there is lots to do all around me. But, I am here to help take care of Cha Cha and I take that responsibility very seriously so the furthest I have gone while she has been here, other than home most nights to keep normalcy for Fabio, is down to the second floor to get lunch or occasionally dinner or breakfast. The point that I have been leading up to was that I have been spending lots of time on the computer and reading. Writing this blog has helped keep me occupied and I thank you for reading it to give me the drive to write about Jill's progress once or twice or thrice a day. In a large way you are helping Jill by helping me stay focused. Facebook has been a huge source of entertainment and comfort. All the love that you have sent Jill and I that way, among other ways, has helped to keep both of our spirits higher. I will ask her, "Who is that (person liking a post about her)?" And she will say something like, "She is from work, you remember her, you met her at the Christmas party..." And she will ask me, "do I know him?" And I might say, "I went to high school with him" or "we were in Drum and Bugle Corps together." People will also post crazy quizzes and facts and things that normally I might ignore that help keep me out of trouble. My friend Emily V.D. (who I used to work with) posted a thing about what our elf names would be at the North Pole and Jill and I cracked-up to find out her name would be Pudding Sugar-Socks and I had tears pouring down my face from laughter when I read that my elf name is Pixie Pickle-Pants. My friend John R. (drum and bugle corps and friend since I have been about 10-years-old) posted a photo for me that, if I can get away with it without getting busted by hospital staff,  I am going to try. I will take a photo when I am done. I am going to be like Andy Dufresne (yes, that is the way to spell his name - you don't have to look) from Shawshank when I am hiding it in the closet whenever I hear the screws coming or I leave the room. Thank you for your help and joy and distraction you have been. We really do appreciate every one of you.

While I was driving in this morning I was dictating notes to my phone (who says I don't have friends?). I said (and it wrote) " I am in a horseshit mood. I usually do not swear much because I was always told that 'swearing was a lazy mind trying to express itself forcefully' but sometimes things are horseshit and sometimes I am just a cantankerous moody son of a bitch... Maybe it's because tomorrow is Pearl Harbor Day? I should probably just find a bar bear the hospital and splash down some kamikazes."

The drive back and forth is tiresome sometimes but I know I have a couple different worlds to juggle right now. Many, many people have offered to help with home or here but I NEED to do them both. I will let you know if I need help - I promise. Last night it only took me about 85 minutes to get from the hospital to home. The traffic was moving well and I just kept-up with the flow of traffic. That was probably a bad idea because at one time I looked down and I was going 106 miles per hour (theoretically, because that would be reckless driving and I would not do that - I have immunity via poetic license). People are under the impression that the new Fiats are slow - they are VERY wrong. The speedometer goes up to 140; I had always thought that was just for show but now I am not so sure. I may have to head out to the Salt Flats in all of my spare time. Mostly I really like the drive in and out. A couple of mornings ago another Fiat (a white one with stripes) got on the tollway and moved in right behind me. When she entered the tollway I was next to her and she looked over and we waved at each other and smiled. It is funny how Fiat people are like motorcycle people. They always do the hand wave thing  and we always do the wave and smile thing. I think we hurt some big vehicle egos when we both blew by some people at 85 MPH.

The other day it was all the way up to 37 degrees and when I passed over Wacker Drive I put the top down and drove the rest of the way to the hospital with the top down. I love looking up at the tall buildings when I am sitting at the stop lights. I also was in SPORT mode which allows me to shift on my own and wind the engine-out a little bit. Cha Cha hates when I drive that way because she thinks it is going to ruin the engine. Then why does J.Lo do it in the commercials? It was meant to do that plus you are using more fuel that way and supporting all of the poor oil companies. Today when I drove in it was 40 degrees but just as I was coming up to Wacker I saw a lot of traffic ahead so I decided to take Wacker Drive again this time. Therefore, I left the top up because they are no tall buildings down there. The whole way from Congress to Columbus there were only three other cars down there. Can anyone ever drive on Wacker Drive and not think of The Blues Brothers? I know I cannot. I pretty much think about Jake and Elwood off-and-on while I am anywhere in the city (as well as Batman, of course).

Jill isn't feeling very well today. She has been having lots of pain and nausea. She still has not pooped but she is peeing fairly regularly and we just went for a walk around the east-side of 12th floor. EAST SIEEEEDE! We even ventured out into the area that connects the east with the west where the elevators are The Forbidden Zone. We are such Mavericks. Cha Cha also is not eating hardly anything. Based on all of that and the criteria for her to be able to bee free she is not ready to go home. I know it is only Saturday and the surgeon said it would probably be Monday and he would not be concerned if she were still here Tuesday. So, now worries yet.

There is a hiccup with my paperwork and with me getting paid for being here. The problem is that I asked a doctor here a week or two ago (too lazy to check my notes for the exact date right now but it doesn't MATTer for this anyway) to fax some information to the Human Resources Department at my work. I succinctly wrote-up all of the stuff they needed, gave it to the doctor and he told me that it would be no problem. No problem? I got an email from my boss (very nice - just looking-out for me) that she hadn't heard from H.R. that my FMLA had been extended. I tracked-down the doctor today (that was not that easy in a hospital this big). He called me right back and said that he had sent it as promised and said he would fax it again today. I still would like that copy for my files/records. So, I emailed my boss and the lady at H.R. and just hope that it works-out. Me getting paid is important but there are LOTS of things more important. I will do what I can to make this right with H.R. but, as Jill and I were humming right before she went into surgery, Que Sera Sera. I think that link is a better video than the one I posted on surgery day. Did you know that that song was introduced to the world in film The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, Doris Day)?

There is a Crohn's Disease commercial on television here in Cha Cha's room while we watch The Firm - weird. I have always loved this film - Grisham is fantastic.

I am going to stop now. It is 1416 and I have nor eaten anything today and, as they say, I need to keep-up my strength; I don't want to get sick too. Thank you for stopping by on your weekend. I don't know how any of my days will go lately so I don;t know if I will blog again today or not until tomorrow. I do know lots of people want to keep updated on Cha Cha

Could Have Been Paralysis? Seriously?

It is 1351 on Friday (I think it is Friday) and Cha Cha is sleeping here in her hospital room. It has been a big day for her. Unfortunately, however, she has only done one of the four tasks she must accomplish before the dirty screws in here will grant her parole. She has not peed, she has not pooped and she sent pretty much all of her food back from both breakfast and lunch uneaten. They have been bringing her the same thing every meal. For breakfast she drank some of the hot tea and ate some of the three ounce frozen Italian Ice. She let me spoon feed her some of the chicken broth (maybe six spoonfuls) and she was done. I think she may have had two or three cubes of jello too. For lunch she had most of the frozen ice and that was all. So, eating is not a success in my opinion. She has not peed. She has not pooped. The only other thing she was fairly successful at was walking. We took a half a lap around the 12th floor here. We strolled very slowly down down the west wing (we didn't see President Obama) to the nurses' station, took a left, and came back down the east side of this wing. She had me holding her on one side and she held the IV tree with the other hand. The IV tree is kind of cumbersome, though on wheels, because it has two monitors on it now. One dispenses her nourishment and the other administers her pain medicine when she presses the little black button. It is limited to no more than one dose every 15 minutes so she cannot overdose. We still have a couple days before they will start to wonder what is wrong. The doctor today said that if she is not eating, walking, peeing and pooping by Tuesday he will begin to become concerned.

When I was in the family operation waiting room I was just sitting there minding my own business passing the time by: reading the sports page, texting Cha Cha updates, messing on Facebook, looking at the scoreboard that said where everybody was in their operations (like a board at an off-track betting facility - "COME ON #23") watching CNN, I began watching a movie on HBOGo until my phone battery was beginning to get low... As soon as I looked-up a MIDDLE-aged (I would guess a few years older than me) African American man named Derek came over and started talking to me. I am not sure what it is about me but I attract people who need comfort or counseling - I always have. Maybe it is my resemblance to Winnie The Pooh? Derek's elderly mother was having an operation for diabetes- she had almost died twice. When he was talking with me it seemed like his mama was gonna die but, I am not saying it is me being good juju or anything, he got a call and she was fine. I must have a kind face and I am always usually willing to talk with strangers (my parents are probably ashamed that I talk to strangers all the time). I like helping people and I am nosy.

The film I began watching on HBOGo was Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee from 2007. I remember going to the Black Hills as a kid and we went to Wounded Knee. It made a huge impact on me. We went on a lot of vacations like that when I was a young lad. Anyway, a line in the film ("an old Indian proverb") that really stuck me was, "It is easy to be brave from a distance." It really struck home with all of this hospital stuff this past month or so. I think Cha Cha has been very brave through this whole thing and she is up close - not "from a distance." Yes, she did not choose to be in her position but, she does choose to be brave. I guess, in a way, I have chosen that too. Some people in her position may have taken a coward's way out but she has fought this thing for almost as long as I have known her; I suppose we are going to lick this enemy together.

It has never made the blog until now because I was trying to keep you updated on the current things and continue the timeline in a sequential manner for the most part. One of the doctors told us a couple of days ago that if (we) would have waited much longer to come here (Northwestern) they may not have been able to do this operation and it could have led to paralysis. I cannot remember the exact date that we went to Proven Mercy Center in Aurora and we spent about five hours there without them treating Cha Cha and us having to just walk-out but that is precisely why they need to see people right away. This could have led to Cha Cha being totally non-functional physically. Just thinking about this infuriates me. I just tried to check and see the exact date that we went there but I do not see where they billed us for the $100 co-pay they swiped my card for. Maybe they were getting rid of the paper trail? I will find out when we went there - I know we talked about it on Dirty Laundry Podcast or I wrote about it in the blog. I will have lots of time on my hands playing nursemaid to Cha Cha and I will do this timeline and you will be exposed you irresponsible people (I had written something worse there but thought better of it). Bottom line is - even the bad things like Rush Copley piercing the artery near her liver and causing internal bleeding and Provena Mercy making her suffer in their various waiting rooms which made us leave without seeing someone and eventually going to Kishwaukee Community Hospital who sent her by ambulance here to Northwestern are done for a reason. That is the silver lining!

How about some paralysis? Just wait here!

Man, we haven't recorded a new podcast for over a month. Hopefully, soon we will be back with lots more life experiences to talk about.

Okay, I went off on several tangents so I will quit and be happy to be sitting here with a Cha Cha who is alive and getting well. Thank you, as always and I mean that, for stopping by. I appreciate you immensely (you allow me to stay semi-sane in this crazy mixed-up world).

This just in - Cha Cha peed 10 ccs. YEAH CHA CHA!!!

Eat Poop Pee

Which floor or room do you imagine we are supposed to be in?

As we were getting ready to go down to Pre Op yesterday we were told that we would be moving to room 1202 after the surgery. So, I got a cart and put all of the stuff that I had packed earlier yesterday (before the surgery) and headed down to the 12th floor with all of our belongings. I felt like Tom Joad from The Grapes of Wrath with all of our belongings loaded on our truck (the cart) headed to a new life. So I made the trek out West (the 12th floor) while Cha Cha was still in Post Op and went to room 1202. The room was a mess. The bed was torn apart, there were crumbs from someone's dinner all over so I went to the nurse's station and a nurse came down to the room with me. She said the housekeeping people must have been in the process of cleaning the room and left. I pretty much had come to the same conclusion in my preliminary investigation. She took my cell phone number and said that she would call me when the room was ready. So, I headed back to the corner penthouse - room of 1306 and parked the cart there. We were citizens of two countries but exiled from both. I went down to the mallfeteria and got some dinner because I was lightheaded, my vision was becoming blurred and everything was spinning. I went back to 1306 and exercised squatter's rights and ate while watching the Cowboys - Bears game. Then, after writing last night's blog while watching the game, I went back down to the 12th floor. There was no change in room 1202; it was exactly as it was a couple of hours earlier with crumbs on the tray/table and no sheets or blankets on the bed... Cha Cha did still have her bed from room 1306 with her though. So, I went back up to 1306 and finished watching the game while fighting to keep my eyes open and waiting for Cha Cha. I really was hoping that the whole "possession is 9/10ths of the law thing" would take precedent because that corner room was great he wrote the next morning from room 1202.

It is 0646 the morning after the operation. The medical team was in here about thirty minutes ago and they seem pleased about Jill's progress. They were a somber serious bunch; maybe they have been up all night. Cha Cha is sleeping very soundly and, save for the interruptions throughout the night to check on her, it was a good night. The doctors said that the section of her intestines that the targeted and removed was definitely bad and needed to removed. We had no doubt that would be the case as we knew all about that section in 1983ish. We are so excited that medical technology has come far enough that they felt it was safe and prudent to finally get this predator out of Cha Cha's body. We don;t know what will come from this operation but we are excited to find out. This entire experience, though it is still far from over with her recovery, has brought two best friends even closer than they already were. The next couple of months will probably be very trying with the recovery but we are both extremely hopeful and excited. We do not know when, but the stent will still need to be removed in the future too, Right now the question will be when she can come home. They mentioned getting her up walking today. I wonder if she gets to take that little black button the releases her drugs into her system home with us; we should all have one of those devises.

Paul GiaMATTi as Abraham Zapruder

There is a film on Starz right now called Parkland. I am writing that here so I remember the name of the movie. It looks really good but I have joined it in progress. I just checked Starz' (or would that be Starz's?) website and it isn't on again until January 5th; I hope we are not still here then. Who knows, blog forbid, we may be back here then (maybe for the stent removal though I believe that will be outpatient surgery). I will check Redbox first. The film is about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I have always been fascinated by that day and John Kennedy in general. Maybe it is common to have an affinity for the person who was the leader of your country when you were born? The film stars several great actors: Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti, Ron Livingston...Hey, Parkland was the name of the hospital wasn't it? Curiouser and curiouser.

I feel better this morning with some sleep. It wasn't great sleep because I was sleeping on a sort of half couch thing and it was as cold as Helser in here plus people kept coming in off-and-on all night long to check on Cha Cha but I think I could have slept on the Titanic last night. Last night I felt like I was going to pass-out. I was light-headed and felt really weird (yes, I know that I AM really weird). Things were spinning and blurred in and out. I think the adrenalin of all of the events over the last month or so was keeping me going and when the fight or flee defense mechanism was deactivated my body started to send out warning signs of its own. I did not feel like I was going to have one of my episodes where I jump into the head of a celebrity again though.

We are filming the sequel  - Eat, Poop, Pee

Th surgeon just came in and said if Cha Cha can "eat, pee and poop" she can go home. Currently she has a catheter installed and she has a luscious breakfast consisting of: chicken broth. hot tea,  yellow and orange jello cubes and apple juice on the tray in front of her and she fell back asleep.  The doctor also said she will probably be in here for the weekend and perhaps though Monday but her body will tell us when that time is here. He also said that they removed about twelve inches from her intestines and everything went very well. Twelve inches sounds like a lot to me but he said that is not all that uncommon. We will need to come back to see him probably next week and he is not concerned about the stent and said they could be removed in a week or two as long as it isn't causing any problems. He seemed very optimistic and hopeful but, how many doctors have you had that are negative? Oh yeah, she also will need to be walking before she can walk out of here even though they will wheel her to the car. So, overall, the situation looks optimistic but we have had that thought before (there I go with my expecting the worst and hoping I am wrong).

I am going to wrap-up and help Cha Cha eat. When I say help I do not mean I will eat any of her food because that would be counterproductive if we got all the way home and she started eating and came back here again in another ambulance. Cheaters never prosper. That used to true but there are lots of billionaires who have cheated their way to wealth in my opinion. I imagine I will blog later with the pooping. peeing and eating statuses. Though she is better than she has been this has been, and will be. a roller coaster ride. I predict we will get out of here on Tuesday - I hope I am wrong and we are gone Sunday. Thanks a lot for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers it has meant a lot to both Cha Cha and I. Have a great Saturday Thursday Friday and I will blog you later because she cannot stay awake and I need to stay busy. It's like her body has been through some kind of traumatic ordeal or something. TTTT (or later today)...MITM (out) TA!

This Has Been One of the Craziest Hospital Days Yet!

I think this is as close as they ever came to showing  Cha Cha Vera

I wrote this yesterday because I promised and did not want to forget... In yesterday's blog I wrote how my friends Barb and Rock (hey Barb, you made the blog two days in a row) call me Norm. As you probably guessed it was in reference to the character Norm Peterson on Cheers but that was secondary. I worked with Rock and whenever we would have work gatherings Cha Cha would not be able to (probably because she was having Crohn's Disease attacks which eventually led to her being in the hospital here for surgery today) or didn't want to come so he started calling her Vera. In the show Cheers, as most of you MIDDLEaged people like me will recall, Vera would never be seen on the show. So, since nobody would ever see Cha Cha, he started calling her Vera and, by association and marriage, that made me Norm. Okay, now on with today's news.

While Jill was lying in bed waiting for the doctors to come get her for her surgery she said she was just singing Ques Sera, Sera Sera in her head. So we both started sing it. This past sentence was written at about 1330.

It is now 1928 - I apologize for the delay in the blog.

They came and got her in the room at about 1400. They took us downstairs to the fifth floor into the Pre Op area and prepared her for the operation. After awhile the whisked her away and sent me to the Family Surgery Waiting Room. When I got there there were about 40 people and the crowd kept getting whittled down and down and people got done with their operations. I finally got a phone call at the desk that her surgery began at 1547; it was scheduled for 1300 originally but,of course, they cannot rush what they do. I eventually got another call that the operation went well and they were closing her up. Then at 1908 I was taken to a small room and was told that the doctor would be in to talk with me as soon as he could. The entire time I was in the room with all of the people doctors would come and sit next to them and tell them right there how the surgeries went and what was going on. So, as you know if my nature if you have been keeping up with the blogs, I feared the worst. Why would they tell EVERYBODY else their news in that huge waiting room with all the people sitting right next to them and I was taken to this 7' X 12' enclosed room? I even heard another lady getting her news outside of the office while I was waiting for the doctor. Eventually, the doctor came in and said everything went well and they made an incision in her midsection and took care of the problem and closed her back up. He said she would be given a little button that she could press when she gets out or Post Op to release pain medication for herself when she gets out of Post Op. He asked if I had any more questions. I felt like I should have had many but I could not think of any. I was still in shock that the news was not good and I was so elated to hear this that I guess I just couldn't think of any. Cha Cha will be here for at least two or three days so I am sure we will have many questions for the doctors.

My new wedding ring and my new Nikes

Before she headed to the OR Cha Cha (Case #23) took the rings off of her hand and gave them to me. That was kind of sad for me. The ring I gave her when we renewed our vows fit my pinkie pretty well so, with my black leather jacket and my gold and diamond pinkie ring I sat in the waiting room. Nobody messed with me because they knew I was "connected" (to Cha Cha). Nobody messes with Cha Cha's bitch.

So many things have happened today but I am mentally and physically and emotionally exhausted; I am really glad that I am sleeping in this hospital room next to Cha Cha all night long. I am also glad she has those meds because I am going to snore like a freight train. Speaking of meds I had better take my blood pressure medicine - I am two hours behind (I usually take them at 0600 and 1800 but it is almost 2000 now). BRB.

Before we went down to Pre Op they said that when we came back from surgery we were going to be moved to the 12th floor. When we were here a couple of weeks ago we were on 15 and then we came here this week and we were in 1309 but they moved us to 1306 which is a huge corner room with three huge windows with lots of light. So, knowing we were moving to the 12th floor I packed-up all of our stuff so they could move it easily. We have LOTS of stuff - I brought more today knowing Cha Cha was going to be here for another three or four days. So, I had no idea where her new "home" was so I came back up to the 13th floor and went to the nurses' station. They said they didn't know anything about us moving and our stuff was still in the room. I told them that if they could let us stay there that would be great because Jill loved the extra light and the view of the corner room. So, I am here in 1309 and I think I may just unpack everything and, if we have to move, I will make them wait. Within two or three hours I may be asleep already.

Cha Cha enjoying her room 1306 view

Okay, again sorry this is so late. I have lots more to write but I may get something to eat and start unpacking all of our stuff. I am really glad that I decided to sleep here tonight. I cannot leave Cha Cha tonight no MATTer what floor of this huge place we wind-up on.

I wrote a lot of notes and I will blog some of that in the morning. My phone charger was packed in the stuff here in 1306 so I didn't post much during the operation because my phone got down to 9% charge and I needed that 9% in case of an emergency (you know how I always prepare for the worst).

FYI, I did not proofread this blog so it may be even worse than the other times when I sorta proofread it.

Thanks a lot for being here for this journey of our. Thank you, also, for all of the great uplifting and supportive message today before Cha Cha's surgery; your love and encouraging comments made a big difference in her day. I appreciate you more than you will ever know. TTTT (morning probably)...MITM (out somewhere in this big city) TA!

PB (Post Blog) a very crazy thing just happened but I will write about that in the morning because I am exhausted and everything is spinning (I may need food) - unbelievable. Double TA! I love to leave a cliffhanger 

Finally the Game Plan for Cha Cha's Surgery Tomorrow

Cha Cha enjoying liquid lunch with a view

It is already 1239. I went home last night because the checks still need to be written to pay the bills, the laundry still needs to be done (most stuff I bring home from here at the hospital from both Cha Cha and I) and, mostly, Fabio is a lot like me in that he always prepares for the worst. Even driving in here off-and-on for the past month I have been prepared for the worst. I am always like that with driving though. I am hyper aware of my surroundings and I have dozens of scenarios going on in my mind all the time. "What would I do if that guy started to come into my lane?" "Which direction would I try to go if I blew a tire?"... I could go on for 700 paragraphs on what I am prepared for. Maybe that is why I am on blood pressure medicine? 

Why is it so difficult to say "Helser?" Cha Cha has a medical student here interviewing her. I think they learn from patients here - what a novel approach (listening to and learning from patients). Both the student and the lady drawing her blood right now while Cha Cha tells her life story called her "Ms. Hesler." My mom has always gotten very upset when people say Hesler; you would not believe how often it happens. It doesn't ever bother me. The only time I will correct someone is if it makes a difference, which is not very often.

It is now 1429. There has been a lot going on. I set Cha Cha up so she could see out both her northern and eastern windows. Oh, I failed to mention that... before I went home lat nine so, around 2100ish, the nurse came in and asked Cha Cha if she would want to switch rooms to a corner room. She started the sales pitch of how the room was bigger and had more windows (Cha Cha loves the light and the views) but then she said they have a man who isn't doing very well and the corner room is further away from the nurses station and they would like to keep closer tabs on him. As soon as Jill heard that she said, "oh, definitely." She was not totally sold by the "bigger room and the windows" but as soon as she heard that this man, who she does not know and will probably never meet, needed more care she immediately said, "oh absolutely!" People keep sending me messages about how lucky Jill is to have me here for her and that sort of thing but, I am the lucky one. However, you who have told me that are very perceptive and intelligent - just kidding. I think that most people who are faced with this sort of thing just step-up and do what needs to be done. I do, however, appreciate the kind words. When we moved from 1309 to 1306 I was hoping they would send up the bell captain to move the stuff for us but it turned-out that was me. They were nice enough to get me a cart to roll the stuff down here with though it would only have taken two trips.

Just as I wrote that last paragraph some dude named Dan came in. He left his card but his entire name doesn't really MATTer plus he may not be prepared to handle the popularity being mentioned in Matt In The Middle would thrust on  him. I will mention that his title is Patient Experience Manager. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Another sign that they really do care here. You can see why Cha Cha has already decided to change her primary physician to one of the doctors that she has met here. It won't' be long before we are renting our house to college students and living here in downtown Chicago.

It is really cool at night (will take a pic)

It's odd how two hours have passed since I started writing today's blog. I hope people aren't thinking the worst because I had not posted this yet. You know I would be thinking the worst because that's what I do.

So, Cha Cha is back on a liquid diet and I set her up facing out the corner windows with a view of Lake Michigan (east) to her right and the John Hancock Building view in front (north) of her about three blocks. She was happy to watch the traffic and people while enjoying a delicious lunch of: chicken broth, red Jello cubes, ginger ale, cranberry juice, a frozen lemonade Italian Ice and hot tea. So, not having ate myself, I went down to the same place I have eaten every day that we have been here, GRK Greek Kitchen. I didn't get a punch card last week because I didn't realize we would be coming back this week. So, I got one and told them the story and they punched for all the times I ate there. The manager and I have gotten to be acquainted. Whenever I walk in they yell, "Norm!" That was for my friends Barb and Rock who have called me Norm for the past 20 years or so. Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows you name or a name that isn't offensive. And now that Cha Cha's doctor will be here I think I will be able to get the 11 punches I need to get a "free Greek meal by the end of 2015. Or. depending on how things go, by the end of the week. I also stopped at the Walgreen's down in the Mall of America downstairs and got some nose spray for me - I know I am getting sick. Anyway, as I veer off in a totally different direction... when I got back Cha Cha was in the bed. She is feeling nauseous again and they gave her something and she is sleeping so I can blog. She was just doing great two hours ago.

I am too lazy and tired to scroll-up so, in case I didn't mention the other things that delayed my arrival today - I stopped and bought Cha Cha a new fizzy robe. She had requested a pink one but they didn't have pink so I called an audible and went with turquoise (pretty much the exact opposite of pink). I hope you don't have an old black and white monitor because those pink and turquoise boxes are just shades of gray to you. I also stopped and got her some more socks as she wanted. She requested a toothbrush and toothpaste so I got those - the free ones are not for more that one day it seems. I forgot what else but I did her shopping and delivery.

With the weather being niceish I drove the Fiat in today. That car is so much fun to drive. I wish the temperature was warmer so I could have lowered the top. The convertible open in the city is really cool for seeing the buildings and such. I brought it in so I could get a good parking place because they have spaces with signs that read "small cars only." Apparently, some people think that Nissan Armadas and Hummers are considered small cars so they park in those spots and take up two of those small car spaces. I know logistically  it would be a nightmare but they should tow those a-holes out of there. First, I suppose, they would have to be more specific on what a "small car" is. I did, however, manage to get a good spot on the sixth deck now that I am a little more seasoned on how to look for spots in that garage.

Tomorrow's surgery game plan

I have lots of note but maybe I will write again tonight when Cha Cha is sleeping again. She is still out now but if this is too long people will stop coming by and that would be a shame. So, I will probably blog again tonight. I will end with what is going to happen medical-wise for her here tomorrow...

Tomorrow (I think I may have told some people that it was Friday but it is, in fact, scheduled for tomorrow - Thursday) they are going to cut Cha Cha open and remove the piece of intestines that has been causing us (mostly her) misery since our first date at Jill and Jim's (The Found Sock's sister and brother-in-law) house where she vomited most of the night and I sat and held her hair. See, she was already training me for today 30 years ago. She has often told people that she new that night that I was a keeper. We had always been told that if they removed that section the Crohn's Disease was damaging it was 100% that it would move somewhere else and eventually she would have no intestines. Now, however, either the technology has changed so they can stay on top of it (as the doctor explained) or we finally came to the place that we should have been sent to when we were 19-years old). Anyway tomorrow, late afternoon, they are going to remove that section and splice the healthy intestines together. Jill is super excited - seriously. In that photo there the dark black line on the lower left is the cut/removal area.

Okay, it is 1544 now. I just had a special request from my patient to shave and moisturize her legs so I did. Maybe I am part of a new hidden-camera reality show to see what all I will do. Whoever is our opponents are gonna lose because there is no limit. Like I said, maybe I will blog again tonight but certainly will at least once tomorrow. Thank you, as always, for your love of Cha Cha and your tremendous support. You really mean a lot to the both of us. TTT?...MITM (out) zzzzzz.

I Read the Blog Today, Oh Boy (A Day with the Wife)

I am sitting here in a penthouse with a beautiful view of Lake Michigan to the east and a gorgeous

view of Cha Cha to the west. Normally the view to the west would be the better of the two but Cha Cha is lying in bed at Northwestern Hospital again. Last night at roughly 1830ish she began getting violently ill at home. She asked me to get her something to vomit into. She didn't waste any time filling the receptacle I provided over and over again. She then asked me to call an ambulance so I immediately called 911 (for you in other countries, if you are unaware, that is the telephone number we call in U.S. and A. for emergencies when we need police, fire/rescue, ambulances...) immediately. Cha Cha hates being the center of attention and she hates riding in ambulances even more so I knew this was very serious. The ambulance arrived fairly quickly and whisked her away to the hospital. I see lots of ambulances and other emergency vehicles in my job and I almost always see a firetruck travelling with an ambulance. Fortunately this was one time that an ambulance came alone. The ambulance drew lots of attention. The two together would have lit-up the entire neighborhood. Especially since we live in a cul-de-sac. It may be a round-about, actually, because there is an island of grass and bushes and flowers in the MIDDLE. I think saying we live in a round-about sounds so much more classy so I may begin saying that.

So, her chariot whisked her off and she went back to Kishwaukee Community Hospital. I followed closely behind in the old Durango 95 with anything and everything I thought she might need including the expandable file folder that Cha Cha started to keep all of these visits straight. We saw a couple of the same ER doctors that we had seen whenever it says we saw them in previous blogs (I love that we have the blog as a time-line if we need to know exact dates, times...). She was at KCH until exactly 0300 this morning when a different ambulance brought her here to Northwestern. They said that they could probably have done what needed to be done there but they gave us the option. She had an obstruction in her gutty-whats and it was very obvious by the way they talked that they would prefer us come here to Chicago. I imagine they cannot refuse treatment but it was an easy decision for us even though it meant Cha Cha having to ride in another ambulance. The odd thing about the evening is that I had texted my Sergeant that I didn't think I should leave Jill alone last night and I was going to go in to speak with her. My spidey-senses must have been pretty in-tune last night because a little while after that was when she needed the ambulance. She just didn't seem right. The weird thing was I was preparing to go back to work as my FMLA had expired that morning at 0000. I am having the date extended because it is obvious that Jill is gonna need more help. It's weird how things happen sometimes.

Me and me chums in the old Durango 95 headed to hospital

So, we are waiting for the "team" of doctors to come back here soon. The "teams" literally are like the size of a hockey team (six) or sometimes a basketball team (five) and, on rare occasion, a baseball team (nine in the National League and ten in the American League), When they arrive we should get the game plan of what they are going to do. 

Cha Cha is on the 13th floor this time. I didn't know building had thirteenth floors. Thirteen has always been my favorite number - I am a true anti-triskaidekaphobiac. I also have this weird habit of, and I don't think I have ever told anybody this, adding the numbers together of multi-digit numbers. Cha Cha is in room 1309 and if you add those numbers together the total is 13! It's like we are Lily and Herman.

Cha Cha's phone just rang and I answered it. It is was her primary physician's office. I took Cha Cha for blood work yesterday at Dreyer Clinic for prep for her stent removal that is scheduled for here on Friday. The lady on the phone told me, since I am Cha Cha's youthful ward who happens to answer her phone and knows her date of birth, that she is anemic. That, along with lost of other stuff, would explain why she has been so tired. I wonder what else we can find with Cha Cha's biology in the coming weeks. Stay tuned right here - same Matt channel (the blog), same Matt time (which is whenever I feel like it).

Please continue to keep Cha Cha in your mind and in your thought and in your prayers... That means more to you than anything else you could do - sincerely. Thanks for continuing to give me a reason to blog; I appreciate you too. I know I will blog again tomorrow and hopefully it will be with good news. Have a great rest of whatever day this is and whatever night tonight is. I am not even sure what month it is most of the time. That is not my main concern right now. TTTT...MITM (out) I think I may head down to that Greek place downstairs and get some food - now you know the real reason we came back to Northwestern. TA!

Another Week Begins But What Has Changed?

Do you see the likeness?

I am happy that Cha Cha is home though, for me, it is kind of like having a newborn in the house. I feel like I have to check on her every couple of hours. That is all me not her. I am thinking I was Florence Nightingale in one of my past lives. When we were in the ER, I think it was Saturday night, the ER doctor had lots of questions about who performed this operation and who performed that procedure and, since Cha Cha is so organized, we took the file folders with us. The doctor took the papers out into the control tower area of the ER. We finally got sent home and the next day, yesterday, we got a call that they still had something from our files. So, when I went out to do the shopping yesterday Cha Cha went with me to get out of the house a bit. We went to the hospital and she went in and got the disk of the photos/x-rays... of her guts. Maybe we should send them a bill for our time; I guarantee they would send us one.

Then we went to the grocery store (Hy-Vee) and she waited in the car while I shopped for dinner ingredients. Then she was in some kind of a beauty supply store for about 15 minutes while I waited in the get-away car. We went to another store for a few other things (Target). While I was in Target I dropped her at T.J. Maxx for about 15 minutes - well, actually it was before I went to Target that I dropped her there as it would have been difficult "while" I was there. I fueled-up the Durango 95 and she waited in the car. So, she was out of the car for maybe 30 minutes total. When we got home she was feeling very unwell again. She thinks it is because she is forgetting to eat. So, now she has her phone alarm set to remind her to eat. I hope that is all that it is. She is still very weak and probably continuing to produce blood to replace all of the blood that she had lost.

I just started the weekday morning rituals - Fabio got the first call of "get up" and I went downstairs and made his lunch. I checked on Cha Cha and she asked for water, her pain medicine and her nausea medicine (she takes both meds every four hours). She is having some pain this morning in her lower belly where her Crohn's Disease usually acts-up. The pain she had been having most recently (why we were in hospital for a month was in her upper-abdomen where the liver is located. I really hope this is just gas from the garlic and shrimp pasta I made for dinner. She hadn't eaten much over the last month other that IV juice so maybe it is that. We have to go to the doctor this morning but I think that is just for some quick tests. If she is still having pain I think it would be good to mention something to them there. I was planning  to run a few errands while we're that way too (while she waited in the car) but I may rethink that after yesterday's hiccups.

I hope she does well during the day today because, if she does not, I will be thinking about her all night long while I am at work tonight. I will be thinking her about her either way actually. Luckily, I work five minute from home should any problems arise. Try as I might I cannot help but be a worrier. That is why, with all the health issues Cha Cha is having right now, she will outlive me. Do you know why men usually die before their wives? Because they want to. I have always found that joke funny. LOL. I am watching Hyde Park on Hudson and Franklin Roosevelt/Bill Murray just said, "women worry" speaking of Eleanor Roosevelt and the Queen of England. Good company to be in I guess. I have always felt that I am about 56% estrogen so that makes sense. No MATTer - I am what I am and that's all that I am.

I am not sure but I bet this has high circulation

I just looked at the stats for the blog last month and I see that 4,301 people read the blog in November. I guess it is actually 4,301 blog views it is not 4,301 different people. I am not sure if that is a lot but I imagine I have to attribute those "views" to Cha Cha getting sick and me turning the blog into a medical journal. I recommend writing a blog to anyone. It doesn't cost anything other than time and, at least for me, it seems to be very therapeutic. Instead of keeping things bottled-up I have someplace to work my thoughts and problems and ideas and feelings out. That's like 144 people reading the blog per day - I am very pleased with that though I wish it hadn't taken Cha Cha to get sick for that to happen. I suppose when Kennedy was shot and the Hindenburg blew-up newspaper circulations grew then though didn't they?

Alright, it is 0811 now and I have to clean the kitchen again and start another load of laundry. I am not sure when we are headed to the doctor because it is just for blood tests and vitals and such I think so, it is whenever we get there. That is up to Cha Cha and how she is feeling. Thank you for stopping-in whenever you can. It means a lot to me and, as it turns-out now, it means a lot to Jill as she knows how many people care about her. We all need to know that people care. I still will have to go through all of my notes from my drives in to Northwestern don't I? TTTT...MITM (out)