By Jimmy
Wow, what an adventure! My success could not have happened without the support of all of you. Thank you! What the caregivers do is simply an amazing gift. I am a very fortunate man. The doctors, nurses, support staff make it all so easy for you to get better. This is truly a special place. When you thank them for their help, they are appreciative, but their gift back to the patient is invaluable. To them it is their job. They give back life for a living, what a job!
Debbie and Chera have done a wonderful job keeping everyone in the loop and capturing my adventure. So many memories and successes have been reflected on. I guess it is all apart of the journey we travel.
One special bond I created was with Lou Oliphant. He was my roommate when I came from CICU. He is a quiet man and we did not speak for some time until I got settled in my room. I wanted to say hello and open the divider drape to introduced myself. He was preparing for an angioplasty and had been waiting all day. It was late in the evening. He had already had quadruple bypass surgery four years prior. We exchanged some war stories and he rested until they came to get him for his procedure. As I learned, Lou was a kind, caring, compassionate, simple man. He really only needs friends to be happy. His phone must have rung 100 times a day while we were in the hospital room together. He was rich with friendship. Part of my recovery was based on walking and Lou always wanted to go around the block with me. We were quite the crew, roommates wandering the hall. Lou would say hello to all he passed. Our lives were very different, but in the hospital we were all the same. Lou is a very special man. I was blessed to have met him.
Discharge was approaching and I was thrilled. My pain was decreasing and I was ready to get back to the hotel and to go home. Some anxiety was there as part of the moving on process, but I knew Deb would take good care of me when we were not at the hospital. I was hoping to get out around noon, but as things turn out, the doctors and nurses were busy and it was closer to 1:00 when I met with my cardiologist. I thanked him for all he did and giving me my life back and he said, it is what we do. It is not rocket science. We have done it enough here that we make it seem easy. He was humble about what he does and I was overwhelmed with joy with his success and talents. The nurse was able to get to my paperwork around 2PM and off in the buggy I went. Coolest wheelchair, rolled awesome ( no ceramic bearings, but definitely a good roll), not much wheely potential.
We spent the rest of the day running a few errands, getting a bit to eat and watching movies. Next big step is the flight home on Tuesday. Doctor said no driving for a month and no work for 7-8 weeks.
Love you all. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. Jimmy
No comments:
Post a Comment