The Sound of Music

For me, this afternoon got better with time. To start, the bus that goes directly to the U from my work in Bellevue left a passenger behind. So instead, I had to catch the next bus (the one I normally take home) to down town Seattle and then catch a bus from there to the U. As a result, I walked into the hospital a little on edge only to have it quickly dissipate. I entered M.E.’s room and was met with the sound of music. It was very satisfying to have people taking advantage of the “tools” we brought in. They are there to make a more comfortable and speedy recovery. Christy, her evening nurse, was there as I walked in. She had just re-situated M.E. in a different position. M.E. likes to be turned throughout the day from side to side. I can relate as I turn all night long because I sleep on my side too. I feel ya M.E and I am sure there are more of you out there who will attest to that as well. Anyhoo, Christy left shortly after I arrived and left M.E. and I to chat. I blabbered on about how the buses make me crazy sometimes. After I got that out of my system, a half hour later, I caught her up on other activities that have been going on at home, in the neighborhood, with the economy and life in general. She was pretty exhausted, as she usually is in the afternoons. As I was chattering away she would do her best to keep her eyes open, but they were looking awfully heavy. I told her it was ok to close her eyes and I would just keep on talking. After my spiel, I let her rest for about a half hour to prep for “Caitlin Time”. Because tired or not, she will be woken up.

During her cat nap, a volunteer of the Bioenergy Treatment program came in for an afternoon session. If you are as confused as I was by that statement, don’t feel bad. She explained it to me as providing positive energy to the patient through close proximity and physical touch. This has been proven to help with pain relief and providing a feeling of well being. As she put it, “it couldn’t hurt”. She also explained that it was a free program volunteers offer to provide and that someone had signed M.E. up. Hmmm, that sounds like something Caitlin would do. Sure enough, I was right! Caitlin caught the tail end of the session when she came in after her intubation work shop was over. After the nurse left, Caitlin jumped right in there to continue the positive energy vibe. She got right up close to M.E., “Hey Mom!”. She woke right up, as I promised her would happen. We got to talking about Caitlin’s workshop and what happened before she got there when we were pleasently surprised by a visit from Diane and Ann Ledlie. They stopped by for a quick hello and goodnight. The number of visitors had quadrupled in a matter of minutes! The group was talking and laughing, making it hard for M.E. to sleep. M.E. wanted to listen in and be a part of the conversation as much as possible, but she was pretty tired. When it was finally time for us to go, M.E. asked via mouthing, to have her head turned. After propping her up a bit and a few adjustments, she looked comfy for the night. Caitlin and I took off to leave Diane and Ann Ledlie alone with her.

Signing off-Dayton

P.S.

Dave, I don’t know if this is a new thing, but she twitches her nose when she sleeps. Like a little bunny rabbit.