LysmachiaMoon's blog: R's surgery went well

I find it hard to believe that the last time I posted was just a couple of days ago. The intervening time seems like years, not days. We left home at 4 p.m on Sunday to get my husband R to Harrisburg in time for a 5:30 a.m. report time for surgery on Monday. Worst weather of the WHOLE YEAR. Heavy sleet/ice/snow mix the whole way, slow traffic, two hours of utter hell on wheels. I am SO GLAD I went ahead and booked us a room at the Hilton in Downtown Harrisburg, only 2 blocks from the hospital. We pulled in exhausted, nervous wrecks, were met at the door by the valet who not only took the car to park, but escorted us under umbrella to the front door. Beautiful room, excellent room service, clean, comfy beds...we were too worried about the next day to really enjoy it, but it was so nice after the dreadful trip. I asked for the car to be brought around at 5 a.m. and it was waiting for us...not only warmed up but WASHED. Amazing. The best $24 I ever spent.

At the hospital, it was hurry up and wait. We reported at 5:35, then sat until nearly 8 a.m. before they took R up to the surgical suite. I was pointed to bleak waiting room where I spent the next FIVE HOURS. I remember when R had surgery 6 years ago at Hershey Medical Center, I was so impressed with the way the staff looked after me and other waiting family members....not so at Harrisburg Hospital. The waiting room was simply rows of uncomfortable chairs, no sofas, not even a coat rack. Not even a coffee machine or a vending machine. A small TV and a handful of old magazines. I was able to doze off for a bit propped against the wall...I staked out the corner chair. It felt like sleeping it off at a bus station. There were only a few other people waiting, all of us for hours....it seemed like days. In Hershey, there were recliners, free coffee, even aides coming around with blankets if you wanted to nap.

R came thru well, but was in a lot of pain and still is. Apparently this new "war on opioids" is having its best effect in the HOSPITAL. Now they're afraid to give post surgical patients pain medication. I can understand limiting meds to someone with a sprained ankle, but for someone who's just had his chest split open and his heart cut open, I do think a LITTLE extra pain medication might be in order. It was awful. They brought me in to see him while he was still intubated and he was trying to tell me "pain, pain," unable to speak because of the breathing tube... just terrible, he looked terrified. They finally got the tube out, but it took them nearly 20 minutes to decide to maybe try giving him another medication to help with the pain. There really is no excuse for this. Just wait until they send us one of those "Customer Satisfaction" surveys. I've got a few things I'd like to say.

But anyways, he's doing well. He was sitting up, eating, and talking today, still in considerable discomfort, but doing well. They took out some of the tubes and wires but he is still "plugged in" to so many monitors. We're hoping he may come home on Friday, but now there is a forecast for truly terrible weather coming so I don't know what to think. I drove home late Monday afternoon, then drove back up this afternoon (Tuesday). I had planned to go back on Thursday, but now R just called to tell me not to come because he heard the snow/ice will be very bad. We're going to have to "play this by ear" and see what the weather brings. I know R wants desperately to come home Friday, but ...

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Last week I planted a lot of different slow to germinate seeds...parsley, parsnips, celeriac. Yesterday I was amazed to see all these sprouting seedlings! Then I thought it seemed a bit odd...for such tiny seeds as celeriac, these big stout seedlings? And the same with parsley...? Wait a minute! They look identical! And so does the asparagus! That's when I realized all the germinated seeds were SUNFLOWERS. Apparently a mouse was using the bag of seed starting media as a stash for his sunflower seed horde! *LOL* When I used the remaining bag to start my seeds, I "planted" his sunflower snacks!

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