What a day.
Jan. 6th, 2003 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osarabaMy plan was to get to the hospital by 9am, see my father off to his surgery (to put in the filter) which was supposed to be sometime in the morning (between 8 and 10am), read John Ringo's When the Devil Dances, and be there when he returned from recovery, approximately 2 hours later, in order to let my worried mother know that he's safe and sound, and that yes, she can go on her business trip, and leave the hospital by 12:30 in order to get to work by 1:30.
Of course, you know what they say about plans.
Got there at 9:30, he was still sleeping and they hadn't taken him to surgery yet. Waited... waited... Half an hour later, I asked a nurse if she could find out when they planned to take him. She said around an hour. An hour passed. Nothing. My father kept sleeping -- which was definitely a good thing, considering he hadn't eaten since midnight as preparation for the operation -- on an off. I, too, drowsed on and off for another 2 hours, sitting in the most uncomfortable chair ever created. I simply could not read.
By that time, it was becoming apparent that I would not make it to work. Luckily, I knew they'd be covered so I didn't feel as guilty as I might've, but the fact is, I cannot afford to lose the money I'd have made for 6 hours of work today. Especially with Fay "tentatively" cancelling my Sunday hours because of the lack of business on Sundays. While I understand the need to close on Sundays, she will not make up the 6 hours I lose when we're closed on Sundays by giving me the hours on another day. If this continues when classes start again, I don't know what I'll do. I cannot survive on a paycheck for 11 hours of work every week. But getting back to the topic at hand, I ended up staying at the hospital the whole day.
Now, my mother's flight was scheduled to leave at 5pm. And with the surgery delay (the doctor was still with another patient whose operation ran overtime), it seemed that my mother would not be able to get the reassurance that she needed before her flight took off. But, as if to make up for Murphy's Law taking effect, her flight was also delayed! Instead of 5pm, her flight would take off at 8pm (boarding at 7pm).
But we didn't know that at the time, when they finally took my (poor, starving) father to the OR at 3:30. So I asked the nurse if there was some way I could find out his condition after the surgery (before he came back up to the room), and she gave me the number of the Recovery Room. Then I called my mom to let her know that they'd taken him, and I think that was when she told me that her flight was delayed.
So I called Recovery at 4:30. At which time he was just coming out of the OR, so I called back at 5... and was told that he was fine. So I called my mom to let her know and she was terribly relieved. It's pretty cool that it all worked out that way. I think my mom would've worried herself sick on the plane if she took off without knowing that my father was out of surgery okay.
Of course, this isn't the end to it. He might be released from the hospital either tomorrow or the day after, but he will not be able to put any weight at all down on his left foot (the one with Charcot), so he'll be leaving the hospital with crutches. Normally, they'd put a splint on the foot and leg, but because of the blood clot, he really shouldn't completely immobilize the leg, so they're not going to do that. Monday, we have an appointment to get a PTBO brace (the one on the right) made for him which shifts the weight of the body onto the knee, rather than the foot. It takes about 10-14 days to custom make, but after that I think he'll be able to walk on both feet again. But he'll almost definitely be out of work for 2-3 months. After February 27th, he goes on half-pay, which means money is going to be tight. =(
In some lighter news, we got our 14ga and 16ga 7/16" CBRs at the post office today. (After leaving the hospital at 7:15, I went to pick up some stuff from Angelica, who'd gone to the post office.) And so she gave me mine (we split an ebay auction for 10 14ga CBRs and 10 16ga, so we took 5 of each). When I got home, I decided to put them in. Originally, I had planned on alternating the 3 holes in my lobes with the new stainless steel CBR, then the black niobium CBR, then another new stainless steel CBR. But when I started putting the new earrings in, I forgot and ended up putting in the new SS CBRs. Ah well. So I gave 2 of my 18ga black niobium CBRs to Liz so she could have some earrings too. ^_~
Surprisingly, gauging up my ears didn't hurt like I expected it to. I don't know why I expected it to, considering the gauges are pretty thin anyway. o.O* (For anyone who's interested, I used a generic bacitracin as lube, and wore latex gloves to keep a good grip on those damn beads.) BTW, do you know how long it took to get the beads into the 14ga rings?!?! They're so tight! My fingertips are sore now. =(
So now I have 16ga CBRs in my 2nd and 3rd holes (up from 18ga), and 14ga CBRs in my first holes (up from 16ga). Oh, and they're all 7/16" in diameter instead of 3/8". (I realized that the 3/8" niobium CBRs that I'd ordered from Tribalectic were correct! I couldn't figure out how I'd messed up the measurements, but they looked so small when we got them... turns out they were correct, but just looked small! (Maybe 'cause they were black?) So the 7/16" CBRs I have now are way bigger than I'm used to (although still within reason). ^_~
I'd put up a pic, but my mom took the digital camera with her to Copenhagen. (Which means I won't have it for 2 whole weeks!) I don't know if I can survive! I suppose I'll just have to borrow Angelica's to take a few shots! ^_~
Of course, you know what they say about plans.
Got there at 9:30, he was still sleeping and they hadn't taken him to surgery yet. Waited... waited... Half an hour later, I asked a nurse if she could find out when they planned to take him. She said around an hour. An hour passed. Nothing. My father kept sleeping -- which was definitely a good thing, considering he hadn't eaten since midnight as preparation for the operation -- on an off. I, too, drowsed on and off for another 2 hours, sitting in the most uncomfortable chair ever created. I simply could not read.
By that time, it was becoming apparent that I would not make it to work. Luckily, I knew they'd be covered so I didn't feel as guilty as I might've, but the fact is, I cannot afford to lose the money I'd have made for 6 hours of work today. Especially with Fay "tentatively" cancelling my Sunday hours because of the lack of business on Sundays. While I understand the need to close on Sundays, she will not make up the 6 hours I lose when we're closed on Sundays by giving me the hours on another day. If this continues when classes start again, I don't know what I'll do. I cannot survive on a paycheck for 11 hours of work every week. But getting back to the topic at hand, I ended up staying at the hospital the whole day.
Now, my mother's flight was scheduled to leave at 5pm. And with the surgery delay (the doctor was still with another patient whose operation ran overtime), it seemed that my mother would not be able to get the reassurance that she needed before her flight took off. But, as if to make up for Murphy's Law taking effect, her flight was also delayed! Instead of 5pm, her flight would take off at 8pm (boarding at 7pm).
But we didn't know that at the time, when they finally took my (poor, starving) father to the OR at 3:30. So I asked the nurse if there was some way I could find out his condition after the surgery (before he came back up to the room), and she gave me the number of the Recovery Room. Then I called my mom to let her know that they'd taken him, and I think that was when she told me that her flight was delayed.
So I called Recovery at 4:30. At which time he was just coming out of the OR, so I called back at 5... and was told that he was fine. So I called my mom to let her know and she was terribly relieved. It's pretty cool that it all worked out that way. I think my mom would've worried herself sick on the plane if she took off without knowing that my father was out of surgery okay.
Of course, this isn't the end to it. He might be released from the hospital either tomorrow or the day after, but he will not be able to put any weight at all down on his left foot (the one with Charcot), so he'll be leaving the hospital with crutches. Normally, they'd put a splint on the foot and leg, but because of the blood clot, he really shouldn't completely immobilize the leg, so they're not going to do that. Monday, we have an appointment to get a PTBO brace (the one on the right) made for him which shifts the weight of the body onto the knee, rather than the foot. It takes about 10-14 days to custom make, but after that I think he'll be able to walk on both feet again. But he'll almost definitely be out of work for 2-3 months. After February 27th, he goes on half-pay, which means money is going to be tight. =(
In some lighter news, we got our 14ga and 16ga 7/16" CBRs at the post office today. (After leaving the hospital at 7:15, I went to pick up some stuff from Angelica, who'd gone to the post office.) And so she gave me mine (we split an ebay auction for 10 14ga CBRs and 10 16ga, so we took 5 of each). When I got home, I decided to put them in. Originally, I had planned on alternating the 3 holes in my lobes with the new stainless steel CBR, then the black niobium CBR, then another new stainless steel CBR. But when I started putting the new earrings in, I forgot and ended up putting in the new SS CBRs. Ah well. So I gave 2 of my 18ga black niobium CBRs to Liz so she could have some earrings too. ^_~
Surprisingly, gauging up my ears didn't hurt like I expected it to. I don't know why I expected it to, considering the gauges are pretty thin anyway. o.O* (For anyone who's interested, I used a generic bacitracin as lube, and wore latex gloves to keep a good grip on those damn beads.) BTW, do you know how long it took to get the beads into the 14ga rings?!?! They're so tight! My fingertips are sore now. =(
So now I have 16ga CBRs in my 2nd and 3rd holes (up from 18ga), and 14ga CBRs in my first holes (up from 16ga). Oh, and they're all 7/16" in diameter instead of 3/8". (I realized that the 3/8" niobium CBRs that I'd ordered from Tribalectic were correct! I couldn't figure out how I'd messed up the measurements, but they looked so small when we got them... turns out they were correct, but just looked small! (Maybe 'cause they were black?) So the 7/16" CBRs I have now are way bigger than I'm used to (although still within reason). ^_~
I'd put up a pic, but my mom took the digital camera with her to Copenhagen. (Which means I won't have it for 2 whole weeks!) I don't know if I can survive! I suppose I'll just have to borrow Angelica's to take a few shots! ^_~
Re:
Date: 2003-01-07 05:01 am (UTC)You know, it really means a lot to me to have you post replies to these posts -- it's really nice to know that for a few moments out of a busy life, someone I know and like is thinking about me and being sympathetic to my concerns. So... thanks! *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2003-01-07 12:06 pm (UTC)I try to reply whenever I can. It's hard sometimes when a lot of people are posting and I don't have as much time to reply to everyone. I'm always reading though, and thinking about you. I'm really happy that I've discovered LJ because it does make it easier to keep in touch. I miss you guys!
Please do keep updating when you can. I'll be away at Ohayocon from Thursday until late Monday, just so you know. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to look at back entries when I get home. I'll try to at least look at yours. *big hugs*