Friday Ramblings

We have spent enough time in doctor's offices and hospitals this week to choke a horse.

The outcomes have been so favorable and I am beyond grateful.

That said, I thought I'd ramble a little about what I have noticed out and about in the medical world.

Let's start with waiting rooms.

 Entire families join one person for their procedure. We do travel in packs don't we?

I used to wonder why someone would come with all 

their children, grandma and a sister or two for one person to be seen by the doctor.  Now I think, who the heck cares? It's pretty cool how much support they have and it gives me more to observe.

Doctors chairs are much comfier than waiting room chairs. I guess there is a good reason for this.

I do have a small suggestion for waiting rooms. 

Nix the junk t.v. And the news. 

Dear Lord, puh-leeeze turn off the news. Four solid hours of it aren't good for anyone.

Maybe put on nice movies that are full of fluff.  I would even tolerate kids shows instead.

Maybe.

Brenna and her 18 year old self was able to sign her name on athe admitting papers to the MRI for the first time.

My husband kept saying it was a big moment. The admitting person said we should have video taped it and how great it is that she can sign her way in and out of the hospital now. 

Right. 

Like I got so excited over that prospect. 

No, my anxious self went all over the map in about 20 seconds. 

I will say that I remembered to write on my hand today and the word I wrote was "trust". Our nurse for the beginning of the MRI wasn't so sure about me. She asked, "And why would you write on yourself??" 

Silly girl.

 To REMIND me to be kind to me, of course!

Here is some advice for when your child or (adult type person) is released from the hospital after being anesthetized for two hours for an MRI and not had any food for a good 20 hours.

Grogginess is to be expected. 

Multiple trips to the bathroom on unsteady feet are not unreasonable.

Drinking juice and having half of a popsicle is a good thing. Encouraged, even.

When you go up the elevator to your car? Beware.

Barfing could be a possibility.

As in all over the parking structure. 

Multiple times.

Can I tell you how adept I have become at maneuvering these situations?

Oh, baby. I'm a pro. And proud of it.

Hellloooo Los Angeles.

When one has to drive two hours home from L.A. at 6:00 p.m., and with traffic it can easily stretch into three or more-DON'T start on the freeway. You cannot possibly pull over and open the door quickly enough.

Instead, find a crummy grocery store parking lot in Hollywood and hang out. Preferably away from the  store entrance. That way, you and your spouse can take turns running into the grocery store and find something to eat for dinner for yourself. 

Yes, you will be able to eat if you have dealt with this as many times as we have. It's rather amazing. Plus, when you buy dinner at the grocery store, you can use the plastic grocery bags for barf bags. Doubling them is recommended. 

So is eating your food outside of the car.

The barfing hopefully will have subsided by then and your child is wanting crackers now. Send your husband in for those crackers on his run. He will find them eventually. Probably they will be between the melba toast, matzo and smoked herring.

Your child will eat some crackers and pass out on the drive home.

 It's been a fourteen hour day, so Be Kind To Yourself when you get home and go directly to bed.

The next day is a new day and there are new mercies.

The ones that were shown to us?

I highly recommend ketchup served like this with your french fries.

The phone call during our lunch out from the cardiologist telling us the results from the MRI: that while Brenna's right ventricle is larger than her left it's not twice as big, which would determine surgery right away. So we happily tell Brenna her heart is in pretty good shape and she doesn't need surgery. (We will keep checking every six months, and another MRI in two years)

Her response?

She is fairly quiet, and then she says, "Mom, I feel like Jesus pounded love into my heart."

So help me, she did.

And then burst into tears.

And we joined her.