One of my friends wrote me a note about a long hospital stay and told me that someone unexpected would reach out at some point and offer inspiration. I wasn't even sure what that might mean for me as I don't feel that I need a rescue, at least at the moment. But I filed the note away and made sure to be on the look out. Well, what do you know...
The nurses on staff here change out shifts every 12 hours and there are enough of them that I had not seen the same nurse twice my entire stay. They definitely have a challenging job typically overseeing 4-5 rooms each, keeping up with vitals, medications, and patient needs. At their stations I see them working on their documentation, reviewing labs, and their own continuing education. Last night Cecilia was assigned to me. She's been in nursing and Oncology for many years and her knowledge and skill show immediately. After she finished the nursing task list that kicks off each shift, she lingered a little and struck up a conversation with me. It was the first time a staff member had gone beyond the medical care phase. She had entered the room earlier when Joanne and the kids were here so she met them all briefly. She began to ask me about my family and wanted to know about each child and their gifts. She has several of her own children and shared them with me. She then pointed out how some people get hung up on small short-term goals when dealing with cancer. They just want to make it to a single date like a graduation or wedding rather than say I'm going to beat this thing and live my entire life just the way I wanted. She emphasized family and how with children life starts to become more about them and less self centered around the parent. She sat for 20-25 minutes and it was really a beautiful conversation. It welled up some emotion for me thinking hard about my family and the release was good. Obviously there's still some psychology to deal with beyond the physical struggle. Afterwards it reminded me of the movie Patch Adams - if you treat the disease you win some, you lose some; but treat the patient and you win every time.
Saturday morning started out a little strange. I had to receive another hit of platelets, so I was taking them on while eating my breakfast. Joanne and the kids were coming in the morning, so I was very upbeat for the day. While I was eating I could feel my eyes getting puffy. I looked in the mirror and I looked like Rocky in round 10. Yikes. I read that platelet transfusions can cause allergic reactions in some cases. The nurse hit me with some more Benedryl through IV which knocked me out for a nap. The swelling persisted for most of the day so I just looked silly. My other brother-in-law (also named Brian) thought it sounded like a new super power. That made me laugh to think about how that could prove useful out there- Pufferfish Man! No long term damage here, and they said they switch me to a single donor mode for future platelets.
Joanne, Tyler, and Brenna came by this morning. Emily decided not to come. She was having fun with her cousin but she also admitted to Joanne it was hard for her to see me in the hospital. And, hanging in a hospital room isn't that exciting for a 10-year old.
In the afternoon, my college roommate Billy stopped by which was amazing. He just happened to be in town for a work conference in Orlando and was able to steal a few hours for me. We don't get to see one another too much and we definitely went through the full college experience together, it was great to catch up.
Joanne came back over by herself for the evening and we had a little date night with a great meal and just hanging out talking and cuddling. It was fantastic.
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