Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!!
You might have wondered where Jorie has been this first week of Wyrd And Wonder! I must admit, the first week of May did not quite play out the way I had thought it would – as I was gathering books from my local library which parlay into our lovely theme this year of #NauticalFantasy whilst I was happily diving inside the #bookstack I selected to read this May. Those stories are not quite within the theme, but one series is adjacent to the theme which was a happy surprise!
On the 2nd of May, late at night that Friday, my Mum went to the hospital – she had intense back and stomach pains and was truly uncomfortable. I was beside myself as I didn’t know how to help or what to do other than to drive her to the ER as I knew the answer had to be at the hospital. This is on the foot heels of her addressing her asthma which resumed after a long absence in her life. We have been sorting out with her doctors and insurance how to get inhalers and a nebulizer which seems to take longer than necessary to resolve but we were making progress. Then, that Friday, after I was home from my second job I knew something was wrong. We were in the ER from 10p to 130a and when they released her as she still had those same pains, but they were a bit reduced from when we arrived – I did question if they should run more tests and see what was causing the issues. They were convinced it was something more minor and would resolve on its own as her heart and lungs were cleared by the tests they had already run.
I was too exhausted to contemplate it further at that point and we went home. By 1045a Saturday morning we were back in the ER and why it took them *six!* hours to sort out it was her gallbladder causing all the pain and discomfort I am unsure. However, she was admitted to the hospital and surgery was scheduled for Sunday. Except that on Sunday, the 4th her levels were too elevated for surgery, and they had to push the surgery forward to Monday. I took off work on Saturday but went in on Monday as the timing of the surgery was originally scheduled for when I would be at work and afterwards, I could see her in her room as she recovered. Ironically, that didn’t quite go to plan!
Blessedly my boss let me go early as he knew I was growing worried about not knowing what was going on with Mum. The text alerts from the hospital never worked for me and so, I was in the dark. I arrived shortly before 2p and was stunned to find she wasn’t in her room. Apparently, her surgery time had shifted, and I was to hurry to the basement to see her before she went into the OR. On arrival in the family waiting room, I was informed I couldn’t see her as I missed my time window. I was about to leave and go home to return a bit later as I needed to check on my cats and change clothes, etc as I had come straight from work. I also needed to let my night boss know I couldn’t come in as I was going to be at the hospital waiting to speak with the surgeon post-op and to see Mum after she returned to her room. Thankfully that elevator is truly slow moving – as another nurse popped her head out of another door and said, “Come with me”. Somehow, I was able to see Mum after all right before she went into the OR and it was a blessing for both of us!
One interesting bit to note is that when it was time to ride the elevator it wasn’t arriving at all. There was someone from the hospital waiting with me and he said, “Where are you going?” I said first floor and he said, “Come with me” – we went through the secured door and through another one and I found myself in a steep staircase and then, promptly after two flights told “Here you go!” I was so dearly winded as that was more exercise than I usually get during a week – I said, “Thank you.” I had to get directions as I was on the ‘staff’ side of floor one and in a winding route, I made my way back to the front entrance. When I turned to thank him for his kindness again, he had already disappeared.
I returned about an hour later and spoke to one of the surgical nurses who went to find the nurse who had taken me back to see Mum. She let me know everything had gone well even though the surgery took a bit longer than expected (nearly two hours!) and that the surgeon would be out to see me as soon as he could. It would take another hour for me to see Mum as she was still in recovery. I might not have had alerts from the hospital, but I felt buffered by the kindness of nurses and staff who were looking out for me and Mum.
The surgeon was wicked kind and explained everything to me – he was thankful he had taken the case as it was an interesting one from the fact her gallbladder was so dearly inflamed. It was a living testament of prayer and divine interventions – I felt watched over from the moment we entered the hospital to the moment Mum was discharged. Everything just fit into place – she had wonderful and attentive nurses and most of them had wicked humour which helped loads! Including her doctor in the ER who not only helped her with this issue but with her asthma in the weeks prior to her surgery. We were truly blessed and to have her home now recovering is the best bit of all.
Thereby, my Wyrd And Wonder started off with a medical emergency and a rotation of visits to the local hospital – whilst I dreamt of fantastical worlds and characters I couldn’t wait to meet. I did play loads of hours of Puzzles and Spells (ie. the Harry Potter mobile game) — so I was still keeping a toe step into Fantasy, you could say! Laughs. I also put more books on hold at my library. Overall, it was a very intense week, and I am thankful calmer waters are arriving now. I hope if anyone has to go through something similar, they feel as supported as I did by the nurses as they truly are the unsung heroes of hospitals. They not only help patients, but they are the supportive shoulder for families, too, and it was especially kind how they helped me as I was navigating this alone. It was another new experience as I am used to having someone with me – they will have my gratitude forever.
Journey with me into #WyrdAndWonder:
Tangled in Water
HIVE
Falling Pomegranate Seeds
White Feathers