Picture this – it’s Monday and I’m feeling on top of my game. I had engaged the kids, I was getting caught up on laundry, I was putting the finishing touches on my very own ‘cherry chest’, which I’ll save for another post. Best of all, dinner was ready and it wasn’t yet dinner time.
The phone rings and for a minute I can’t hear the caller… solicitor, I think, and almost hang up but then ever so faintly I hear Henry’s voice.
Henry? You okay?
I’m in the ER….he says a little louder.
What? Turns out stomach pains landed my dear hubby in the hospital late Monday afternoon. After taking a conference call from the floor of his office, he decided he was nuts for not seeing a doctor for the progressing pain in his abdomen and drove himself to the local ER.
Flash forward to eleven p.m. and I’m sitting in the surgical waiting room pumping the last feeding for the day popping pistachios and throwing their shells in a trash can I’d drug over from the corner of the room. Could life get any crazier? Here I am waiting for my husband’s emergency appendectomy to be finished with a heart baby and two preschoolers at home. Cuh-ray-Z!
And I couldn’t help but notice over the last 24 hours how weird hospitals are with their own set of rules and their own set of logic. You know, like when I was in transition labor with Ainsley having contractions every two minutes that were lasting two minutes with double peaks and the admitting nurse is asking me…. so do you consider yourself african american, asian, island pacificer, caucasian, hispanic, or non-white hispanic? And, how many years did you complete in school? Do you have any college? Any advanced degrees? What is the income level of your household? 50-100k, 100-200K, 200k and above?”
Really? Are you serious? Do any of these questions take away the pain or get me better service? Because I can be anyone or anything you want me to be right now as long as you keep manhands away from checking my cervix!
But I digress. This is about Henry, not me…
The poor dear arrived at the ER and was in surgery about four hours later. Extremely doped up and missing a minor organ, he arrived in his room at midnight. Being the dutiful wife I am, I decided to stay the night on the little pull out recliner to make sure he got the best hospital care.
Reminiscent of my past hospital stays was when Henry climbed wearily back in bed at 4 a.m. after having hobbled to the bathroom (with my help) and the nurse took the opportunity to ask him all the admittance questions left unfinished from the ER. Nauseated and extremely groggy, I watched the minutes tick away as she asked important things like, are you allergic to any medications? do you have a history of hypertension, thyroid disease, diabetes, etc. (it seems like these would be important things to know prior to surgery)?
Oh, and if you plan on storing breast milk at the hospital, think again. Apparently since breast milk is a bodily fluid, there is a policy against storing it in the refrigerator. It seems any disease that can be passed through other bodily fluids can also be passed on through breast milk. So my liquid gold sat on ice all day because Lord knows I’m not throwing the stuff out. I work hard to produce it as you well know.
My favorite part of the day was when I came home to spend some time with the girls and upon explaining that daddy had a boo-boo and would need to rest when he finally came home Natalie said, “Mommy, can you not sleep in your bed and sleep in my little bed so I can sleep in your bed and take care of daddy when he comes home?” I mean, really, can it get any better than that?
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (8)
Sorry to hear about henry’s surgery. Hope he feels better soon. Love you all.
wow, I am so sorry for that, but praise God he got to the hospital okay and that he is fine. Wish I was there to bring you a meal or watch the girls!
i went through the same thing. after 6 hours i had to convince my dad to take me to the ER b/c i was doubled over in pain and ended up with an emergency appendectomy that night. Thank God he got there before it burst! Praying for his recovery! <3
O wow! What a week so far! Praying the rest is uneventful for you guys!
OH My goodness, I’m so sorry about poor Henry. I’m so glad he was able to have it treated and I hope he recovers quickly. Isn’t that the way it always is, just when you think OK I’m having a good day, I seem to have things under control today (because Lord knows some of those other days are just too much) and then WHAM, something crazy happens. You gotta laugh at it. Praying for a speedy recovery.
Can life get any crazier?!? I now know why you didn’t answer your phone the other day:) Hope his recovery is quick. I wish we were closer and I could help out. Call me next time your in Hagerstown.LOL
Praying for a speedy recovery for Henry. As always, praying for little Ryan.
Wow, so much is going on in your life! Bless your heart. ((smile))
I prayed for you this morning. And my husband and I pray for Ryan too.
I hope that everything will settle down soon and fall into a “normal” pattern, and that you will always feel God’s peace,…and His love in your lives.
Linbda @ Truthful Tidbits