I slept fitfully in my tiny cramped room, waking up every two hours or so when the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm to take a reading. My new nurse came in around eleven a.m. to check my IV and unhooked me from everything so that I could go to the bathroom. An hour later she brought me a lunch of mystery meat on top of a bed of rice, flaccid broccoli and a wilted salad. I told her I was vegetarian, and she told me to just eat around the meat. Which I did but I wasn't really very hungry. I hated being in that room, and I could tell that the nurse hated coming into it because she had to put on a mask which messed up her hair. She told me that I would be moved upstairs as soon as a bed became available. By then I was on to them; I knew that it would be hours and hours before a bed was ready for me. My cell phone did not work in that room but the nurses let me use their phone to call Sparky. I had to wear a mask every time I left my room so that I wouldn't infect anybody with whatever it was that I had. I told Sparky that somebody needed to tell my parents what the hell was going on, and he said he would call my sister. He promised to visit once he found somebody to watch Bee.
I went back to my airless room which I though of as my prison cell, and fell back to sleep. This time I was able to sleep for a solid three hours because the nurse forgot to hook me back up to all the machines. And then I was woken up by a familiar voice yelling at everybody to fuck the hell off. It was my friend the homeless guy from the waiting room! He had finally been given a bed but wasn't very happy about it. I heard some scuffling outside in the hallway and some more swearing, and then chaos ensued. It took about twenty minutes for the poor guy to be contained. My nurse came in and she was really mad. She told me that she had been there for over twenty years, and she could not believe some of the patients that they admitted. If it were up to her, that homeless guy would have never been let in. She clearly had seen too much over the years and was now solidly cynical. But she was nice enough to me, and I liked her despite her telling me to just eat around the meat. She told me that she hoped that I had TB because it was very treatable, and far better than having cancer or some fungal infection.
Then Sparky was there and I was immensely happy to see him. He told me that my sister had told my mother, and I was relieved that my parents finally knew what was going on with me. He stayed with me until visiting hours were over, and when he left I gave him back Green Lambie because Bee was really missing it. In exchange, he gave me one of Bee's stuffed animals that she had picked out for me. It was one of her favorites - a little white and gold unicorn which made me smile.
By then it after seven p.m. and the nurses were changing shifts. My new nurse came into greet me and told me that they finally had a bed for me upstairs! He said that they would move me in about twenty minutes and he offered me some dinner. I told him I was a vegetarian and he said he would try to find something from the cafeteria. Five minutes later he had a collection of fruit, juice, milk, and crackers. It was not the most substantial of meals but I quickly ate it as I was starving at this point. I noticed that my new nurse wasn't wearing a mask and he told me it was because he didn't think I had TB. Great. The other nurse had hoped it was TB for my sake, and he was telling me that it wasn't. He then started an abstract conversation about death and dying, how it was something we all had to face, and blah blah blah. What the hell was he talking about? The whole thing seemed nonsensical, gibberish, and I did not want to get into a discussion about this topic. It was freaking me out. I believe he thought he was in a Ingmar Bergman film. Luckily for me another nurse showed up just then to take me to my new room, and I happily said "so long" to the philosophical male nurse and the hospital horrors of solitary confinement.
(to be continued...)
Then Sparky was there and I was immensely happy to see him. He told me that my sister had told my mother, and I was relieved that my parents finally knew what was going on with me. He stayed with me until visiting hours were over, and when he left I gave him back Green Lambie because Bee was really missing it. In exchange, he gave me one of Bee's stuffed animals that she had picked out for me. It was one of her favorites - a little white and gold unicorn which made me smile.
By then it after seven p.m. and the nurses were changing shifts. My new nurse came into greet me and told me that they finally had a bed for me upstairs! He said that they would move me in about twenty minutes and he offered me some dinner. I told him I was a vegetarian and he said he would try to find something from the cafeteria. Five minutes later he had a collection of fruit, juice, milk, and crackers. It was not the most substantial of meals but I quickly ate it as I was starving at this point. I noticed that my new nurse wasn't wearing a mask and he told me it was because he didn't think I had TB. Great. The other nurse had hoped it was TB for my sake, and he was telling me that it wasn't. He then started an abstract conversation about death and dying, how it was something we all had to face, and blah blah blah. What the hell was he talking about? The whole thing seemed nonsensical, gibberish, and I did not want to get into a discussion about this topic. It was freaking me out. I believe he thought he was in a Ingmar Bergman film. Luckily for me another nurse showed up just then to take me to my new room, and I happily said "so long" to the philosophical male nurse and the hospital horrors of solitary confinement.
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