adjusting. settling. tangling.

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, sometimes you gotta put up with the rain." -- Dolly Parton

A dear, dear friend of mine sent that to me at the perfect moment this morning, right as I was about to begin the craziness of adjusting to hospital life. I didn't ask, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that that was in fact what she was referring to as "rain." I'm trying to be optimistic and patient and remember that it's for the best, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't at least a sprinkly drizzle being in here. I don't want to complain right off the bat, so let me tell you about the pros of this place first!

a) I have awesome nurses and a great doctor. The nurses are all really helpful and kind and (thank goodness because it can really suck!) they know how to stick in a needle so I barely notice. I am grossly squeamish, so to have that characteristic  is enough to make me love them. Rather than sporting the typical white lab coat doctor garb, mine sports a bolo tie and makes me feel like I'm talking to one of my neighbors from home instead of having the intimidation factor that sometimes comes with the position. Plus, there's Daniel--who I believe is a clinician of some kind--straight out of England with an incredible accent.

b) McDonalds on site. McFlurries.

c) The room service menu is unbelievable. Might have to swing by Albertiville for some new pants on the way home.

Alas, like I said, it has its rainy spots. For instance, I'm on a 24/7 EEG with camera surveillance everywhere I go--this amounts to me carrying around a little bag with the electrical pack that connects to all of the wires coming from my head, dragging along a 100 ft cord behind me, trying not to tangle it up in the hallway like an idiot, possibly with me in the middle of it. The cool part, though, is that I now have cornrows to make it easier for them to get to the electrodes. The hair goes really well with the booty now...just sayin.

They encourage socialization out in the "lounge" and to avoid staying in your room all day. Mom and I tried so hard and chilled out there all day...we were left high and dry with no one to socialize but each other. So we did this...

 It's rather disappointing considering that some of my friends were really hopeful that I'd meet the love of my life while we were both sitting out there, waiting to crash and burn when our brains shorted out. Unfortunately, with the neighbors I have up here I don't think I'll be falling in love any time soon unless I want to hit up the Early Bird Special Senior menu on our first date.

The whole experience certainly has its downfalls; I hate having an IV in my arm at all times...I can't leave the unit at all...I can't even wash my hair for 4-5 days. But now that I'm up here, I realize just how lucky I am. Sure, it sucks that I'll be in here for a week or 2 waiting to figure out some epilepsy stuff and will probably have to deal with that for a long time. Even so, I am so insanely fortunate that we will likely find a way to control it, and learning to live with that is probably the extent of it, along with some other limitations. There are heart patients in the wing who have tried everything but have not been able to get better, and probably never will. I know that for me there will be a rainbow...not everyone gets to say that. It's absolutely worth the wait.