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Yesterday we brought Dad home! He seemed relieved to be out of the hospital. When they asked him if he’d like to eat something before leaving, he politely turned down the offer, to which the nurse replied, “Yeah, you’ve probably had enough of our cooking”- a truth he did not dispute. Despite being attached to what I call his “ball and chain”, all the tubes and bags which hook up to his bladder every evening, he said he felt detached from the drugs but happy to be home.
At the hospital, he’d been woken up every two hours to be poked, prodded, or injected, making it impossible to get any restful sleep. He woke up this morning after nine hours of uninterrupted sleep, and felt much improved. He was able to eat a normal breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and coffee. The most impressive feat of the day was going grocery shopping. After a week of only walking from one end of the hall to the other, traipsing back and forth through Fred Myer on a Sunday afternoon was quite exhausting. I know he is frustrated and surprised by how little stamina he has, but I think it’s pretty amazing to be shopping for sweat pants only a week after having organs removed; heck, I’d just be lounging in sweat pants period!