April 22, 2012
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What a week!
Thursday I took the zoo trip with my son, as planned. We had such a great day! I had him plus 3 other little boys in my group-and they were all really well behaved and good! One little guy had just moved here from New Jersey, and he was just the cutest kid. He kept telling me how he likes to rap, and then he rapped for me. He sat next to me on the bus, and talked my ear off. He was so cute!
Thursday night I met up with a friend from highschool. She has a million different health problems and was going in on Friday morning to have her thyroid removed to try and improve some of her daily symptoms. We had dinner at Applebee's and visited for a few hours before I headed home.
Friday morning I got a call at work from her husband. She had an allergic reaction to something when they put her under for the surgery. Her lungs completely filled up with blood in an instant and her heart stopped beating. They worked on her for awhile and got her heart going again, and had to put her on ventilation, and all kinds of life support devices. They said they didn't know if she would live or not. I left work immediately and drove to the hospital to be with her husband, and that is where I've been at for the last 3 days. I came home twice and slept for a few hours each time, and then went back. I feel that no one should have to sit at a hospital by themselves when a loved one is sick or hurting, so I really didn't want to leave. She has once again beaten the odds....after 3 days, she has just gotten her breathing tube removed and is breathing on her own again. She still has bout 9 different IV bags hooked up, and oxygen to help, but the ventilator is off!!! She is such a fighter-I've never seen anything like it. Actually I've never seen anything like any of it. Her husband was just about to panic and he needed to leave the room sometimes because he couldn't stand to see her in such distress... so when he would go out, I would stay with her and hold her hand and talk to her. Her body would cough and just massive amounts of blood would come pouring out-so terrible. I put that girl on several prayers lists, I prayed over her, everyone I could think of. I am so proud of her for all her hard work in recovering, and although it will be slow going to get her back to where she was before this incident, the doctors have confirmed that she will definitely pull through. The thyroid is still inside her so not sure what the plan will be for that...
It is amazing the people you meet and the stories you hear when you are at the hospital. I'll post on the ones I can remember, and it all just goes to show....you never do know what someone else is going through at all-it could be anything and you just don't know. I hope that I can touch the people who I do encounter and maybe make one bright spot in their day, if nothing else. So...here are a few of the people I met....
1) Friend's mom: I spent 4 or 5 hours sitting in the waiting area with my friend's mom. From what I understand, she has always had an aversion to hospitals, and rarely even comes when friend is in the hospital unless there is a life threatening situation. I have to say that this has always disgusted me somewhat...I feel like you should always be there for your child no matter what. BUT, I sat with her and visited with her and I found some of her good qualities. She is a very funny woman-she has a dry sense of humor and sometimes says things that are totally unexpected. I watched TV with her and was surprised to find that her selection was Lifetime network, where we watched 2 murder shows together. Interesting lady-she showed me how to crochet.
2) Met a family of 4 down from Kingman. They were an interesting bunch. They came into the ICU waiting room for about 30 minutes-went to the snack machine, got snacks and coffee. When their person came out of the surgery room and into the ICU, two of the family members went in and saw the person for maybe three minutes and then they all got up and left. I can't imagine just leaving my family member alone. They were nice enough people though.
3) Today met a man who was in and out of the room waiting and pacing. His daughter had committed suicide. I guess they found her and thought maybe they could save her, but they couldn't, so he was literally counting down the minutes until they cut off her life support and let her go. He was there all alone, and talked with me and my group for a long time.. just talking. He needed to get it all out and you could tell he had no one else. Of course, we were all fine with that, and wished we could help him... what a terrible situation. I'll pray for that man.
4) Met a man who has had to bring her husband in 4 or 5 times in the last six months for unexplained swelling of the tongue. They have no idea what is causing it at all, and he remains a mystery.
Oh, one other thing about my friend. She and her husband have been married for 15 years or so. They are such an inspiration to me. I have never seen two people who love each other as much as those two do. The way that he looks at her and watches her and takes care of her is absolutely amazing to me, and when she finally opened her eyes and found his face...wow. I just melted for them. If a woman and man are ever lucky enough to find someone who loves them as much as those two love each other...well, what else do they need? What a wonderful, brave couple. Such an inspiration.
Comments (2)
Glad the field trip worked out well for you and your boy. Sorry to hear about your friend. So much can go wrong when you undergo a procedure. I do hope she is out of the hospital soon.
I hear so many stories when I am at work. I think about the worst I have heard this year was a lady on the cell phone talking to someone and her eyes were bloodshot from crying. Her son had hung himself in the front yard on a tree and was in the ICU. She was telling them that he would most likely not make it. All I could do was give her a box of tissues while I was cleaning the waiting area and a big hug. He was in his 20s. I don't know who found it but I couldn't imagine seeing something like that.
That's a really scary thing with your friend, I definitely wish her all of the best. It's great that you were there with her and spending time with her before that, I'm sure that really meant a lot to her. The zoo trip sounds fun, I always love going to places and seeing all of the super cool animals. It's always possible to meet some really fascinating people, but wow just the stories you would hear at a hospital. A lot of them are so heart breaking, but everyone needs someone to talk to and lean on in those tough times as well, so you being there probably made things at least somewhat manageable. It's always great to hear about those stories of people who are so in love. A love like that is definitely hard to find, so its wonderful knowing there are some people who have it and appreciate it so much. I hope that everything has been going well with you lately. Take care and have a great week, bye for now.
Kyle
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