Hi Barry........Lots of good cheer and all from these fine folks huh? But like I said in the card, I bet what you really are at the moment is BORED STIFF! So lemmee ask.........Have you gotten into any of the wackiness that comes with laying around a hospital and doing basically nothing? In my case(s), I loved the music, got to read some, enoyed the visits and all, and the calls.............but this doesn't cut it does it? You can only do so many of those things and even adding in sleep, there are a lot of hours left open. I hope you are a saner man than I..........well, come to think of it, that's not too hard........but I started getting into some bizarre behavior.

TIME: Time takes on an entirely new character. I am always one to try to show up places on time and hospitals tend to run pretty much to a schedule on certain things. After awhile, the slightest discrepancy from the norm had a big effect. Since you have learned all the places where things come from and the "noises" associated with them, when something doesn't arrive when it should I started trying to figure out the reason......."It's 6:15 and supper arrives on the floor at 6:00. Did it arrive?".....prowls down hall, no carts in sight, none by the service elevator either....hmmmm.

MEALS: Frankly, I may have been lucky, but the hospital food was pretty decent and after awhile you begin to know what to expect. Do you get a menu card? Mine arrived at 9:30 and I would spend an inordinate amount of time reading and making selections, always planning what I would eat and what I would squirrel away for later. Then the meal must arrive on time (see above). When it did, I would "organize" the tray and mess around for about 5 minutes before starting to eat. I mean it had to be just so! This from a slob who normally wolfs down a meal and has no idea what color the plate is. Geeziz, I think I chewed my food longer there in one meal than I would normally chew in a month!

CLEAN-UP: Showers, shaving, etc. Oh man.....Did this stuff ever take on massive proportions! At home, I'm done with the whole works in no longer than 20 minutes and that is if I stand and soak under the hot water for a long time. In the hospital, I spent 20 minutes getting the stuff laid out "properly." With the IV's and all I would spend a ridiculous amount of time keeping them protected from the water, but I'd spend at least 10 minutes shaving!!! When I had this time for completing everything up to about an hour and fifteen minutes, even I could see I was losing it!

REAL DUMB STUFF: I developed a method to peel and eat an orange that took about 45 minutes........After a week, I had memorized the spouse's names and children's names of every nurse, aid, and tech who cared for me on every shift and weekends. "Hi Robin. How was were your days off? Did Charlie take Carla to his Mom's for her birthday?"................I organized every detail of my personal toiletries and reading material; just had to have it in the right place. Checking this twice a day will pass about 20 minutes if you inspect everything......................Play "Guess Your Vitals" which amazingly enough, you can do after awhile!

Barry my friend, I hope you get the good news soon and you and your family continue to be in my thoughts. My Best To All.

Spaw