Rest doesn't come easy

It is almost 6 am Tuesday morning and I haven't slept much through the night. I left the hospital at about 8 p.m. Monday night, exhausted by the days events. There is just a few days left before school starts and I need to be ready for that as well as spend as much time as I can with Marilyn. When I arrived at the hospital Marilyn was not in her room so I assumed she had been taken down for her first radiation treatment. After a rather frustrating search I found out that she was off for an Ultrasound (something I wasn't aware that was going to happen) Unfortunately, I had accidently set my cell phone to "silent" and I missed Marilyn's call to let me know. When I finally found her she was just arriving back to the room somewhat disoriented and very tired. After a few words she soon closed her eyes and I sat visiting with her dad and Dorothy who had thankfully arrived in time for the tests and were able to go down with her. The rest Marilyn so desperately needed was made impossible by constant interruptions from nurses and of course sitting in her room and chatting away probably didn't help much either.



Part way through the afternoon we were informed that Marilyn would be moved. This has become a regular occurrence - One of Marilyn's roommates informed me that she had been moved 3 times in 4 days. Being moved to accommodate another patient with a more urgent need is something you come to expect here. Unfortunately, the hospital policy that it is ok for men and women to share both rooms and bathroom facilities is one that neither Marilyn or I are comfortable with so for the third time I had to advocate for Marilyn's rights based on her moral stance and our ethical values. Thankfully cool heads and intelligence prevailed and Marilyn was allowed to move across the hall with another lady. Moving however, means that all the spaces to be newly occupied and vacated must be thoroughly cleaned and de-germed creating more fuss and ruckus around Marilyn's bedside. In the end I could see that not only was she totally exhausted but also becoming more and more confused - probably brought on by the extreme heavy doses of several types of medications. When it came time to move we decided that Marilyn should attempt to go for a short walk but Marilyn could hardly mover her legs. She did although manage to walk a short distance down the hall before in her words "seizing up totally". Because the room wasn't quite ready yet, I took her on a wheel chair ride around the unit and by the time we returned Marilyn was completely befuddled and hardly knew where she was. With some assistance the staff and I were able to get her back to bed and settled but by this time she could barely speak.

I came home both tired and upset from the days events only to find out that the lock on our front door had decided to cease to function properly and also due to the hot weather of the day the flowers were gasping for a drink. Upon checking our automatic watering system I discovered a few kinks that needed fixing and then focused my attention on the door. I managed to temporarily repair it but not before having to take it off it's hinges and manhandle the old lock bolt out of it's socket. After all that I thought I would fall asleep and stay there for hours but sleep didn't come easy. Now that I have written this I do feel tired - hopefully I can get in an hour or so before I head off to the hospital for another adventure.