The Welcoming Committee

The ride to my new home was unlike a roller coaster.  Jerome must have had a lot of patients to move around; we were hitting 15 mph, I swear, up the hallways to the elevator bank.

“‘Sorry for the rush,” he finally eeked out.  “I’ve got a lot of people to move out of this place today,” he continued. 

“That’s cool,” I replied.  “The sooner you get me upstairs, the sooner I may be get some real food.”  I had long since lost my taste for chicken broth, gelatin and an occasional cracker or two.  I was ready for the real stuff.  My appetite coming back meant to me that things were returning to normal.

As we rounded the corner off the elevator on the Cardiac ward, we narrowly missed the nurse, Randy, who had been my favorite first time on the floor.  She quickly dodged the gurney, then looked up.  “Well, hi there!” she exclaimed.  “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever be back.”

“Oh yeah,” I answered, “just couldn’t get a reservation.”

“You’re back in the same room,” she explained, “I’ll be down there in a minute to get you settled.”

As we rolled down the hall, I recognized several faces I’d seen now almost a week before.  Funny how I hadn’t even thought of any of them, but how important seeing their faces again had become.

We rolled into the room, and there sat Belinda!  “What’re you doing here?” I asked.  “How’d you know when I’d be back?”

She laughed.  “I’ve been here over a week, I was about to give up on you,” she answered.  “No seriously,” she continued, “John called me this morning and said they were letting you out of jail on a pass.

“You’re looking pretty good,” she continued.  She waited until they had gotten me into bed and walked to the side.  “You had me worried there for awhile,” she said as she kissed me on the forehead.  “Gotta admit, it’s never boring knowing you.”

The orderly left with the gurney while at the same time John came into the room.  “That didn’t take long,” he commented.  “Kinda weird you’re in the same room you were in, don’t you think?”

“I’m just glad to see the outside, glancing at the window.  The sun shone brightly through the trees at the front of the hospital – I was so grateful to be where I was.  “So bring on the feed bag,” I said, laughing.

Belinda reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a menu.  “Uh-oh,” she said, “still a diabetic diet.”

I cringed.  Though this was going to be solid food, I was sick of the flavorless, non-appetizing selections they were giving me.  “Wonder if I could get someone to bring me a big bowl of ice cream?” I asked, winking.

“That’s not going to happen,” I heard, as Randy entered the room.  “I see some things didn’t change while you were downstairs,” she smiled.  “Still not happy with the food service?”

“I just want something that TASTES good!” I said. 

“Don’t want to mess up the apple cart now,” she replied.  She walked to the foot of the bed, took a foot and held it.  “Wow, there’s a pulse in here now,” she said.  “‘Looks like they knew what they were doing down there.”

John strolled to the bedside, straightened my pillows, and sat on the side of the bed.  “Well, at last now I can keep an eye on you,” he added.  That ‘10 minutes ever hour’ visitation was about to drive me crazy!”

He turned to Belinda.  “Ready for some breakfast?” he asked.  “I’m sure they’ll keep him out of trouble while we’re gone.”

“Sure,” she said.  “Let’s go.”  They stood and started for the door.  “See you in a bit,” John said.

Randy pulled the stats cart to the bedside.  “Now let’s see what we’ve got going on here.”  She checked my pulse, temperature, oxygen level.  “Everything’s looking good,” she said.

“It ought to,” I added.  “I got all new parts.”  I reached for the phone and dialed the in-house food ordering service.  As I chose anything and everything I knew I could have, I thanked God I had made it back this far.  The hump had been a big one, but I was slowly moving forward.