Confinement to Bed: Day 1

Lefty now has skin coverage courtesy of a generous gift from my thigh. Unfortunately, the thigh seems to have gotten the short end of the stick because it is what really hurts right now as the doctor predicted. So, I have officially been on pure bed rest for almost 24 hours, and it is no fun. There is nothing like seeing what you want, but it is just out of your reach so you have to push the little call button and wait for someone to come and get it for you, to really drive a highly independent person completely crazy. However, it is made easier by the fact that yesterday my doctor somehow convinced bed reservation to give me a private room. So, we all (meaning me, lefty and the other extremities who all seem to have become personalities in this tale) enjoyed a good night sleep without listening to a roommate’s snoring, talking, TV watching, inability to turn out the light or any number of other non sleep conducive things that I am sure I did to them also.

Let me tell you a little something about life from “behind the curtain” at a big cancer hospital. For the past week, I have sat on one side of the curtain dividing the room with my friends and family as we talked, laughed, cried, prayed etc, while there was another family living out parallel experiences on the other side of the curtain. You try not to eavesdrop to respect each other’s privacy, but there is just no way as the rooms are too small. The experience has left me with the following thought: if you ever think that the deck of cards you are being dealt stinks, then spend a week on the “otherside of the curtain” on the neuro/ortho ward at a cancer hospital to realize that you don’t have it so bad after all. I wish all of my hospital roommates and their families health and peace as they continue their journeys.