When I arrived this morning, John had good color and bright eyes and was awake and ready to hang out. His first order of business? Called into a conference call for work.
This is a place for me to say how lucky we are to have such a cool place to work. Being remote is easy and acceptable and welcome. John had everything he needed to attend this meeting while sitting in a hospital bed full of tubes and afterward, he felt glad that he could participate. At the same time, I am able to answer emails and keep my desk in order while being with him at the hospital.
After his call, the Doc stopped by to do the surgery run-down with John and see how he was feeling. He denied John's request for a martini, but they were able to compromise on some sorbet.
For John and me, this was a milestone. On our last stay, eating seemed to never come. To see how we stacked up, I read through the last blog and he got food on Day 7. and we're on Day 2. this is good.
After that, we were ready to get mobile. We did his first walk and then came back for a bath. By bath, I mean sponge bath and by sponge bath, I mean hospital washcloth, hospital basin, and hospital soap. If you have a sexy incarnation of a sponge bath floating around in your brain, I can assure you that this is not it. That said, I am glad that last time we were here, we had a nurse that offered me the task and this time I could volunteer without hesitation. I also knew to bring our own lotion, toothpaste, mouthwash and deodorant so we didn't have to use the hospital versions. Then, he settled into his bed and we watched a little CSI and played phone Scrabble. Did I mention he's wearing these?
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| Tube Socks? |
We questioned on our last walk, if maybe they didn't spike it with a little Red Bull. You know, to give him wings....
As with last time, the staff at Providence is just fantastic. I don't know if it's calming or frightening how well I know my way around that hospital. I do know that since we are essentially having the "Lite" version of our last surgery, knowing what to expect is reassuring at every milestone we pass. I also know that John has the right outlook and perspective to leave this with pure success. He is going to be on medication forever, and while that isn't what his original plan included, he's not alone in that commitment and if we are lucky enough to have a drug that can keep his cancer at bay, we will work that into his life.
Thank you to all of our friends and family who have been so diligent in their posts and thoughts as we go through this. We appreciate you in our lives.
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