4/22

sometime between 3:30 and 5 pm, I forget exactly when.

Well, now the surgeon who did Gary's second spinal

operation tells me the hearing loss is NOT due to the

drugs ( he wasn't given the ones that could cause

that) but either due to drainage from the feeding tube

that was in his nose or possibly to blood in his inner

ear from trauma during the accident. Sigh -- bottom

line is, they don't know for sure, but they don't

think it is anything to be worried about.

He is "on schedule," progressing nicely. Today they

start weaning him off the trache tube. They are

optimistic that this will go quickly, meaning 2-3

days, until he is just wearing the trache collar for

24 hours, meaning the machine won't be giving him a

little extra help and he will be breathing normal air

(now he's getting a higher concentration of oxygen).

Hmm, what else. Oh. He would like a vanilla caffe

latte (he's going thru caffeine withdrawal). I'm not

sure the experience would be the same going thru one

of his tubes, but as long as he gets the caffeine kick

. . .

He complained that you would think that with all the

technologically advanced equipment surrounding him,

they would have a decent TV system. The remote works

randomly --it's anybody's guess when hitting the "on"

button will actually turn the damn thing on -- I think

this is cruel, making the patients wonder about their

sanity (half-joking). they also have a lousy selection

of channels. The attending (male) nurse told Gary he

needed to get into the soaps. Gary said the nurse

probably watched them all, to which the nurse

agreed,saying he watched them right in the ICU. I told

Gary the guy watches them instead of the patients. The

nurse said if Gary kept up his complaints about the

TV, he would be sedated. Gary called the nurse cruel,

to which the nurse responded, "If you want to see

cruel, I'll call Bobby Lowder and have him come visit

you." Gary said he didn't think he better write out

his response to that. (To the non-Auburnites, Lowder

is all the faculty's favorite AU trustee. Not.)

Many of you have asked how I am. What can I say? I was

petrified he was going to die on me. I am deeply

grateful that he's had no brain injury and am very

glad he's still got the use of his arms. A good friend

(hi, Connie)brought me back to Auburn last Monday for

the day where we did what had to be done -- getting

tax stuff in, getting the accident report, seeing

State Farm, packing up some stuff I needed, or wanted

for Gary's entertainment -- and one thing I did was go

to his car to retrieve what could be retrieved.

Definitely not an experience I would like to repeat,

seeing the car. Thank God he wasn't hit on the

driver's side (the impact was on the front passenger

side).

i am ensconced in a hotel where I can literally be at

Gary's side in less than 5 minutes. Hotel living isn't

my thing, but if it has to be, this place is good for

it. Convenient to the hospital so I don't have to

drive. Reasonably quiet for a hotel -- I'm betting

the majority of people here are here because they have

someone in the hospital. I use my hot plate and my

rice cooker for my meals -- I'm allergic to most all

foods, so am able to meet my needs this way. Actually

it was a few days before I could choke anything down.

Sleep is lousy, but I'm sure that will get better. My

major worry in that regard is to try to get enough

rest so I don't have a CFS crash. If this had happened

even a few years ago, when I was much worse off, I

don't know if I could have even made the trip here. So

in that regard, after my visits with Gary, I go back

to the hotel room to unwind. Some people literally

live in the waiting room of the hospital, but I

wouldn't be able handle that. Even waiting there in

between visits would be too much, in terms of comfort

for my back and getting some rest.

I am grateful for all the help I've been given and

offered. When I received the news to call the

emergency room, I had just arrived at Paneera's for my

writing critique group. One of the group members, an

Auburn junior -- Eve -- drove me to my house where I

threw the necessities in my car (unfortunately with my

food allergies I am high maintainence)-- or rather I

should say i threw them in boxes and Eve carried them

to the car, because I have been having back problems

(in fact, when I talked to the emergency room doctor,

he told me Gary had told him I couldn't come to B'ham

because of my back, and later when he found out I was

on my way up, he told me he wanted them to call me and

tell me not to chance it, but that they couldn't

because I didn't have a cell phone -- I told him that

if he thought that would have stopped me, to let me

assure him as long as I had breath in my body I

would've been there. As you can see from this he has

been quite lucid throughout the ordeal; the only thing

he can't remember is the gap in time from heading home

from the golf course to waking up in the emergency

room, tho he evidently even aswered questions of the

police at the accident scene). Eve also carried all my

boxes up to the hotel room for me. Connie hauled me

around last Monday on the various errands, and then

she and Jamie, another critique writing group member

(and on the English Dept faculty) formed a caravan to

take me back to B'ham so I would have a car up here

(so I can buy my zuchinni :-))but wouldn't have to

drive it up myself.

Various neighbors --Sue Rodger, Sylvia Goldman, Hilary

Wyss and her husband James whose last name escapes me

now -- have offered to see to the house and cats (who

were pretty mad that I hadn't made the trip back home

on Monday in order to spend the day petting them).

All of you have helped me by sending your emails of

sympathy and support, and replying to various

questions I had re insurance stuff, etc, taping "24"

so we won't miss an episode (Gary was concerned about

that , thanks Jim). I've probably forgotten people

I should single out for thanks, so if I have, I'm

sorry. I'm grateful for all the help I've received and

all the offers of help.

What do I need? My massage therapist Connie and my

chiropracter. I assume those aren't possibilities (at

least, affordable ones), so I will have to look for

ones up here. I imagine we'll be up here for at least

another month.

Well, this is probably MUCH more than you ever wanted

to know but I figure you can always hit "delete."

;-)

All for now.

Peg