From the hospital. And glad for it. The care has been kind, compassionate, and efficient. But three nights is plenty.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Meditations on being in the hospital
As some of my readers already know, I'm inpatient in the hospital. (Short backstory: I have a really gruesomely infected tattoo, and needed IV antibiotics. I'll be fine, probably just have a wickedly scarred tattoo to show for it..)
I'm in a quad room, with three other patients. In this era of cell phones, I'm struck by how much I know about them after less than 18 hours here, while really not knowing them at all.
I know one roommate is quite religious, but I have no idea what beliefs: but when asked how he is, he regularly responds "Blessed." He watched television throughout the night last night. I can't see him, so I don't know if he slept or not.
I know another just loves to talk, and has some sort of intestinal / GI tear or rupture, which he refers to as his "burning chest wound." He is extremely friendly and outgoing, and really wants everyone to know how healthy his lifestyle is: doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't do drugs, exercises, eats healthy. And almost all of his (nearly nonstop) conversations are about food: the food he likes, the food he's going to eat when he leaves, the food he wants to order from the hospital foodservice.
A third is right across the curtain from me. He has the misfortune of having his bed, as he puts it, "right next to the shithouse." We briefly chatted yesterday, through the curtain, right after I was admitted. He has a somewhat similar condition: a badly infected, and abcessed, wound from a spider bite. As curtainmates, he and I have been doing that thing that folks do when they have to stand next to one another at the urinals in the men's public bathroom: give one another careful space, and strictly observe silence unless you cannot do otherwise. He snores like a logger. I had to get earplugs last night, and still sleep with a pillow over my head.
The staff are exceptionally friendly, pretty much to a one. There is wifi, plenty of power outlets, and because I had 24 hours notice of my likely admission, I got to pack a go bag with all of my electronics, download a bunch of ebooks, etc. They're working hard to accommodate my vegan diet. I have a window to the outside world. It's hardly as bad as it could be, and I'm absolutely not the sickest person in the hospital, or even in the room.
But I still would kind of prefer to be somewhere other than here.
I'm in a quad room, with three other patients. In this era of cell phones, I'm struck by how much I know about them after less than 18 hours here, while really not knowing them at all.
I know one roommate is quite religious, but I have no idea what beliefs: but when asked how he is, he regularly responds "Blessed." He watched television throughout the night last night. I can't see him, so I don't know if he slept or not.
I know another just loves to talk, and has some sort of intestinal / GI tear or rupture, which he refers to as his "burning chest wound." He is extremely friendly and outgoing, and really wants everyone to know how healthy his lifestyle is: doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't do drugs, exercises, eats healthy. And almost all of his (nearly nonstop) conversations are about food: the food he likes, the food he's going to eat when he leaves, the food he wants to order from the hospital foodservice.
A third is right across the curtain from me. He has the misfortune of having his bed, as he puts it, "right next to the shithouse." We briefly chatted yesterday, through the curtain, right after I was admitted. He has a somewhat similar condition: a badly infected, and abcessed, wound from a spider bite. As curtainmates, he and I have been doing that thing that folks do when they have to stand next to one another at the urinals in the men's public bathroom: give one another careful space, and strictly observe silence unless you cannot do otherwise. He snores like a logger. I had to get earplugs last night, and still sleep with a pillow over my head.
The staff are exceptionally friendly, pretty much to a one. There is wifi, plenty of power outlets, and because I had 24 hours notice of my likely admission, I got to pack a go bag with all of my electronics, download a bunch of ebooks, etc. They're working hard to accommodate my vegan diet. I have a window to the outside world. It's hardly as bad as it could be, and I'm absolutely not the sickest person in the hospital, or even in the room.
But I still would kind of prefer to be somewhere other than here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Tuesday, February 03, 2015
Vegan Cincinnati Five Way Chili!
Noodles, chipotle tofu, sauteed onions, sauteed broccoli, kidney beans, sauteed Anaheim peppers.
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