An Uneventful Friday...Woohoo!

We finished watching the 10:00 news and I thought I'd check Theresa's blog...quick sanity check...I'd better go write tonight's entry. I think one of the first things I must do is add a little, but very important note to yesterday's post. Our good friend, Kate, is a nurse at Evanston Hospital. She's worked in many departments over the years, but is currently in Ambulatory Surgery. Theresa has had to go through Ambulatory for both of her surgeries, and much to our great relief, Kate has been on the schedule both times, and each time she has made sure that Theresa is one of her patients. There is something very reassuring about having someone who is like your 2nd mom taking care of you, making sure you get the best...of everything...from recommending the best anesthesiologist, to having words with the Associate who is not on Tree and Rob's top Docs list, to being a most relaxing force at a very scary time...oh yeah, she also makes sure to give us a bunch of discount parking passes! She has taken care of Theresa through these two procedures, but I have to acknowledge that she has also taken care of both of my girls when they delivered their babies. Even when she was no longer working in that department, she called on her friends who still did, and made sure that the girls had the best nurses and care that they could have. Thank you Kate for being a dear friend and for always being there for us. I called Theresa this morning and she told me that she had an OK night last night. Sleeping mixed with regular wake ups for charting her vitals. Kate stopped in to check on her this morning before she started her shift. Thank you, Kate. Theresa's diet was pumped up a bit and she had cream of wheat for breakfast. The not so popular Associate came in to see Tree and to begin removing some of the internal packing. For all of the pain preaching he's done, he neglected to tell Tree this would hurt, and as she grimaced, he told her that yes, it would be painful. Thank goodness she's still connected to her pain meds. A blood test revealed that her potassium levels were low, so they pumped her full of potassium drips today. It's a good thing she still has Plum, the port, as this apparently burns when it flows through a regular IV.

Rob and Nick stopped by to visit. Nick had a cherry ice with Mom and watched Planet 51 with her. He used her potty, but told Rob he needed to move the juice out of the toilet so he could pee. Theresa's output is being measured in a bonnet, and Nick came to terms with it as only Nick can. They stopped by here after their visit with Mom, and Nick had some special time with Gramps while Rob caught me up on a few things. It might not be the Mother's Day release for Theresa, but I told her we can make any Sunday a Mother's Day. Ellie will like that. She's been more than concerned that Theresa might have to be in the hospital for Mother's Day.

Rob and Nick left us. We finished up a few tasks here and we were off for Trader Joe's in Glenview. It was a bit of a wasted trip. Half way through or shopping, there was a power outage and we had to leave the store without our selections. We ended up at our Dominicks. They just don't carry some of the cool stuff we can get at Trader Joe's. We had a quick dinner and then we were off to see Theresa. Rob took the kids to a surprise trampoline party tonight, so we were Theresa's entertainment. We took her some little wrapped hard candies, a little variety of teas, and a Sudoku book. She's still having a hard time focusing, so the Sudoku was unwanted, and I am writing her blog entry. She may be having a hard time focusing, but I am here to tell you my girl's bladder is just fine. Because of the quantity of liquids she's drinking, she's out of bed every 15 to 20 minutes. She's getting in and out of bed and into the toilet by herself. She was out walking the halls twice today. She was careful to avoid the food areas. The smells made her sick in September, and I think we all know how bad it is to revisit those things that were at the root of our nausea. Once again, I have to say, Theresa looks wonderful. Her cheeks have that healthy rosiness back and it's not because of fever. I rubbed her legs in with some lotion. She's itchy from dryness. One thing both Gary and I noticed was how noisy everything is. Although there isn't the pounding from construction this time, there are continual loud speaker announcements, the machine that goes beep...beep...beep is right next to her head, and her continually re inflating bed squeaks terribly as it fills. I have no idea how Tree sleeps. She did tell me that she dozes off pretty regularly, so I guess the pain meds help her out that way, too. Her last bag of potassium finished just before we finished our visit. I told her I didn't really have much to say for her blog entry, yet here I sit typing away. I told her I might have to do this entry in rhyme to make it interesting tonight. My close family and friends know I am very capable of doing it...I'm just to tired to have things flow well tonight. The loud speaker announcement told us that visiting hours were over. So we said our good nights, had our good night kisses, and we were on our way.

Tomorrow Gary and Rob are taking the kids down to Union Station for National Train Day. I will not be returning...my introductory experience last year made me vow to never return. The kids, I am including the 2 big boys, however, love it. They'll take the Metra down and it will be a good diversion for all of them and a bit of sanity preserving down time for me. Please continue to visualize Theresa's speedy recovery, an uneventful convalescence, and the new, normal, yet exceptional, Theresa. Thanks. -Paula