OK, OK - Our son Reed reports from Brooklyn that the blogosphere is worried about Sarah because "no word all day." Well, the truth is, I had to go to the dentist...and sometimes doing something with a flavor of "normal life" has real appeal. But, I wouldn't recommend any of this as a way to learn to love visits to the dentist. Also, once again, no news is good news - so, just chill.
Last night, Sarah slept through the entire night from 11:30 PM until maybe 6:45 AM. That is definitely the first time for her (and for whomever of us was staying in her room) in the nearly three weeks of this hospitalization. The night's sleep followed a very good day as I reported last night.
This morning Sarah awoke in good spirits, ate a full breakfast of her favorite cereal (Cheerios) and a banana, and was quickly on-line and sorting out all of the activity on her Facebook page. We need to own up to some management of her page in her "absence" so that well-wishers could post their support on her wall. But today was the day of reckoning on this, and I had to take the brunt of it early this morning. Sarah has several hundred "friends" on Facebook, and they (we) are all organized into groups that she has created. The groups relate to high school friends, work friends, family, publishing and writing friends, etc. Everyone has to fit into a group (or else!). Today, Sarah asked me again and again - "Who is ....?" If I could say, he's one of your cousins, then she was happy to assign him to the Family group. However, her basic rule today was that each friend needed to be someone she personally knew or a family member and needed to fit into one of her groups. Others, I regret to inform some of you, may... - I don't know the Facebook term for "disappeared" but you get my drift. Please, if this fate befalls you, don't take it personally. Sarah seems to have certain explicit standards. (Me, I am happy that anyone at all wants to friend me, and I still only have a handful of friends). Facebook can be a cruel world.
My trip to Concord and the dentist took up the heart of the day, so I missed most of the activities in Sarah's hospital room. She practiced climbing a few stairs with her physical therapist. This proved to be painful to her right leg unlike walking on flat terrain. The discharge planning nurse visited Seddon and began to map out the resources we would need for Sarah as an outpatient. Needless to say, this part of our health care system is no more coherent, efficient, or coordinated than any other part. Sarah will need a cardiac rehab program, a Coumadin clinic to regularly check her blood clotting status, a vendor for home IV antibiotic therapy equipment and supplies, prescriptions for Coumadin, various pain medications, and other drugs, regular follow-up visits with her heart surgeon, her cardiologist, her infectious disease specialist, and her primary care medical home - to name those that come to mind. We are expected to become quickly ready to coordinate these follow-up needs with our own potential work demands and the needs of other family members. I'm starting to think I might prefer to go to the dentist everyday.
Last night, Sarah slept through the entire night from 11:30 PM until maybe 6:45 AM. That is definitely the first time for her (and for whomever of us was staying in her room) in the nearly three weeks of this hospitalization. The night's sleep followed a very good day as I reported last night.
This morning Sarah awoke in good spirits, ate a full breakfast of her favorite cereal (Cheerios) and a banana, and was quickly on-line and sorting out all of the activity on her Facebook page. We need to own up to some management of her page in her "absence" so that well-wishers could post their support on her wall. But today was the day of reckoning on this, and I had to take the brunt of it early this morning. Sarah has several hundred "friends" on Facebook, and they (we) are all organized into groups that she has created. The groups relate to high school friends, work friends, family, publishing and writing friends, etc. Everyone has to fit into a group (or else!). Today, Sarah asked me again and again - "Who is ....?" If I could say, he's one of your cousins, then she was happy to assign him to the Family group. However, her basic rule today was that each friend needed to be someone she personally knew or a family member and needed to fit into one of her groups. Others, I regret to inform some of you, may... - I don't know the Facebook term for "disappeared" but you get my drift. Please, if this fate befalls you, don't take it personally. Sarah seems to have certain explicit standards. (Me, I am happy that anyone at all wants to friend me, and I still only have a handful of friends). Facebook can be a cruel world.
My trip to Concord and the dentist took up the heart of the day, so I missed most of the activities in Sarah's hospital room. She practiced climbing a few stairs with her physical therapist. This proved to be painful to her right leg unlike walking on flat terrain. The discharge planning nurse visited Seddon and began to map out the resources we would need for Sarah as an outpatient. Needless to say, this part of our health care system is no more coherent, efficient, or coordinated than any other part. Sarah will need a cardiac rehab program, a Coumadin clinic to regularly check her blood clotting status, a vendor for home IV antibiotic therapy equipment and supplies, prescriptions for Coumadin, various pain medications, and other drugs, regular follow-up visits with her heart surgeon, her cardiologist, her infectious disease specialist, and her primary care medical home - to name those that come to mind. We are expected to become quickly ready to coordinate these follow-up needs with our own potential work demands and the needs of other family members. I'm starting to think I might prefer to go to the dentist everyday.
Yes, there was a bit of a gap there. We're easily addicted, we internet/blogosphere folk.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU Reed, for cluing dad into posting an update. :o) It's especially nice to read all this good news. Regarding Facebook management, I've been unable to find these essays and writings mentioned here. But that's not being taken personally.
On to the next post ...