Thanksgiving With SWMBO - Part III

As predicted, SWMBO and I celebrated Thanksgiving Day together --- in the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. Also known as The Hospital.

SHE had a cup of tea, a lot of water, some chicken broth, and a small cup of Strawberry Jello.

As she sat in her hospital bed, holding the newly opened container of Strawberry Jello, I noticed that it smelled wonderful. I commented on the savory aroma to SWMBO.

"Yes" she said. "I'm just sitting her smelling it. It reminds me when I use to sneak into the garden to steal strawberries. They tasted good, fresh from the garden, and stolen."

That's a nice memory for her. And it gives her something positive to be thankful for. Well, that and temporarily at a pain level she can abide.

Two hours earlier she had awaken from a nap in agony, clenching her waist and shuddering, when her inter-venous pain medication had run out. (She gets a new shot in the drip shunt every hour ... if she requests it. If she doesn't request it, they don't give it to her ... but it doesn't last more than an hour.) While the nurse was renewing the medication, she also extended her O2 line with a longer section which would allow SWMBO to move around the room if she wants. Later, she mentioned that "the air smells like plastic". It took a while for enough Oxygen to flow through the line to clean out the plastic aromatics.

The lab results today were "inconclusive". They couldn't definitively diagnose Diverticulitis from the CAT scan they ran on her this morning, and the blood tests didn't point to anything specific ... which at least rules out the dreaded Necrotizing Fasciitis. (Nobody mentioned this, but it gave us something else to be thankful for!)

For the moment, they're wondering if it's a blockage in the intestines. They're working on that; it's an awkward diagnosis, because they really can't tell until, if that is the problem, it clears up. In the meantime it's humiliating to treat and is not entirely reassuring.

I spent my day taking care of myself, getting enough to eat, doing laundry and household chores for SWMBO, and most of the afternoon and evening holding hands with SWMBO. My day was a lot more comfortable than hers. Her younger sister and her daughter (SWMBO's neice) visited this morning, and this evening she received calls from her daughter and two of her grandchildren -- her grandson is the father of a brand new baby boy, and that's another thing to be thankful for.

Tomorrow, or perhaps Saturday, if her doctor allows her to eat something more complicated than "clear liquids", I'll bring her a dixie-cup size portion of Vanilla Bean Häagen-Dazs® ice cream.

Among the rest of the things to be thankful for are our many supportive friends, and our families. Thank you all for your affection, and your support.

Hope you all have a warm, rewarding and safe Thanksgiving Day.