The Lost Week

I work with a management staff of four during the day. One of the four is on maternity leave. One has an unchangeable vacation next week. That left me and my boss for six days. I’ve been saying for months that we are one streetcar accident away from disaster.

I got run over by the streetcar this week.

Specifically, after a couple of days of feeling increasingly crappy, I ended up at the clinic, and then the emergency room, and then in surgery, all in the space of Wednesday afternoon. Because my incision was large and my surgery was late in the day, I got to spend two nights at the hospital. They sprung me yesterday afternoon.

And I will be off work for at least two weeks, completely encompassing my teammate’s vacation. Sorry, boss. I didn’t plan it this way, really.

Terry was off work and spent a lot of time with me, bored out of his mind, but I appreciated it. I got flowers and calls and visit from him and the KnitWits and my co-workers. (Our minister stopped by just as one of my friends was on the phone saying “WTF happened?” That was an interesting parry.) The KnitWits are already planning who can entertain me, and when, during my recuperation. I’m blessed to have good people in my life.

This morning, I woke up thinking that food sounded like a good idea. I hadn’t had any appetite before the surgery, and sure didn’t have any for most of the hospital food. (Not to be critical of the hospital cafeteria. I could tell they prepared their menus with care. Nothing tasted good to me, except the iced tea, the fruit cup and the orange, and even then I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. But really, I am curious to know how they made link sausage pasty.) I knew exactly what I wanted, so Terry drove me to McDonalds for a Sausage and Egg Biscuit. I ate the whole thing. Man, was it tasty.

Before leaving the subject of hospital stays, I would just like to say that hospital RNs are the greatest people in the world. To do what they do, day in and day out, remain professional and caring, and still treat you like you are the most important person in the world, is an amazing thing. I salute them.