A Kaiser maintenance team seeks divine intervention to fix the air conditioning in my wife's hospital room. Many of her visitors are employees who have taken a moment out of their busy day to make sure she's doing well ... and then start asking about some hospital policy she might modify to their benefit because she's been interim director of administrative services for all of a week. In this case, she got her air and he might get access to keys given only to security personnel. Of course, she can't help but coach half the nurses and certified nursing assistants to improve their skills -- inserting lines, checking IDs, charting medication -- as they work on her.
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Prayer for Air
A Kaiser maintenance team seeks divine intervention to fix the air conditioning in my wife's hospital room. Many of her visitors are employees who have taken a moment out of their busy day to make sure she's doing well ... and then start asking about some hospital policy she might modify to their benefit because she's been interim director of administrative services for all of a week. In this case, she got her air and he might get access to keys given only to security personnel. Of course, she can't help but coach half the nurses and certified nursing assistants to improve their skills -- inserting lines, checking IDs, charting medication -- as they work on her.
Screwed
Two hours of surgery. Five pins. One screw. Lots of pain meds. Three months, at least, in a wheel chair. A more coherent post may come tomorrow. Time for bed now.
Kickin' It
I brought Jenny a few items to make her more comfortable in her hospital room. We jerry-rigged a sling for her leg to keep it more elevated than a few pillows would accomplish because it seemed to ease the pain. Some slack-key guitar music off my iPod seemed to lighten the mood, as did visits from a few dozen coworkers. Some KFC comfort food and a fully charged cell phone kept her occupied until just past 11 p.m. when I left. She wanted me home to walk the dog, take a shower and get some sleep. I walked the dog, but can't seem to get in the shower or in bed. I'm worried because she's worried, and there's nothing I can do but try to make her more comfortable right now. I brought her a PowerBook to watch some movies tomorrow before surgery, but I'm sure a steady stream of visitors will keep her busy enough.
And all last week I was complaining about having to get up early and walk the dog. I "get to" ... not "have to."
Lisfranc Dislocation Fracture
Aw hell. Jenny, walking barefoot to the garage, tripped down some stairs and landed in a heap. I came running to the screams. She writhed on the concrete, cursing that she had broken her foot and would need surgery. A podiatrist at her hospital diagnosed a Lisfranc fracture-dislocation. Surgery is scheduled for Sunday or Monday. Pins and screws go into her foot. Casts for two months. Perhaps another two months before she can put any weight on it. Physical therapy for who knows how long. And all this one week after she was named Kaiser's interim director of administrative services. I have to thank our neighbors for helping me get her in my car, the police for not seeing me speed to the emergency department, and the dozens of Santa Clara staff members treating and visiting her. Twelve milligrams of morphine and another milligram of Dilaudid only seemed to take away about half the pain. The generic x-ray image above doesn't quite do justice to the real images I saw. The podiatrist on call said that, if all goes well, she should be able to walk normally again -- though arthritis could easily set in. I'm heading back to the hospital tomorrow morning. Shit.
Hooray for Chores
A few days ago I stalked the house in a foul mood. I ranted about all the chores that weren't getting done. My wife, ever the one to remember a promise, noted I claimed my disposition would improve if I could just knock a few items off my to-do list while she was away. Well, I managed to do just that ... but I still wasn't happy. My wife, ever the realist, noted our to-do list would never be clean. We will always be more chores. And unless I took a moment to sit back and be happy about a job well done, I'd just focus on the negative with nothing to show for it. So today I take this moment to appreciate the remains of one of the world's ugliest ferns, now ripped from our front yard and waiting for disposal. This makes me happy. My wife, ever the pragmatist, will probably ask what's next on my list.
Obedience Class
There's a few more photos were this came from. I haven't been posting to Betterness for a while, but I hope to change that. You'll see why soon. For the record, this is Madison Rose Connolley taking charge.
