1) The news by phone is startling
2) As proof by the weather bug, we're in a deep freeze!
3) Having the blood pressure taken
4) Perhaps by premonition, I snapped this pic on the way out of the hospital Monday eve
5) This one too after they asked Gloria if she were pregnant
6) Minelli's pizza and red wine
Up on time. It was 5:38am by the time my eyes met up with the stove top clock and I confirmed by touch that fresh coffee was ready. I choked down a vitamin and quietly went about my morning routine being careful not to wake “the mommy”. After all, this was Mindy's first snow day in two years, so she had designs on sleeping in. I was more than happy to oblige as long as the kids remained at bay, too. But as I later learned, that proved to be wishful thinking.
It was -3 degrees and the wind chill, as predicted, was a bone chilling -18. Like many others, I was eager to venture out to get a feel for the “deep freeze”. Ykraps certainly didn’t seem to mind, but his leash did. His 16’ retractable extended but wouldn’t retract. He and I fumbled and tripped over it a number of times. Aside from that, it was a very beautiful morning. The sky was exceptionally clear and the stars were bright and crisp. And, of course, it was cold!
Back inside, I leisurely went about making some coffee choosing not to make Mindy any. Instead, I figured that she would get her own once she got up and going. I made my lunch and fried a couple of eggs. I sat quietly and ate my breakfast enjoying the peace. I tried to make as little noise as possible while showering but that’s almost unreasonable given the design of our master bath. Mindy was wide awake as I finished up. She & the kids pretty much headed downstairs when I did.
I warmed the Trooper at 7:40am and went back inside to make final preparations. Just as I was putting my coffee supplies away, Mindy checked her phone & saw that a call was missed from a familiar number. However, she was sure who it was. She guessed it was her brother-in-law wanting to share news that his ailing mother passed. She called the number and it was, in fact, her brother-in-law, Larry. Suddenly she let out a huge gasp and a look of serious concern came over her face. I waited to hear the news. When she hung up she told me that it was her own mother in harms way. Apparently she had just been ambulanced to the hospital for what appeared to be stroke like symptoms.
As one would expect, Mindy wanted ot get to the hospital right away. But being off of school due to weather put Mindy in a difficult situation with the kids. She called Grandma Sharon to see if she would keep them while she went to be with her mom. She agreed. I chimed in, however, and volunteered to stay home and watch the kids. After all, I could work from home. That is what we did. I contacted work and made arrangements. Mindy showered then left for the hospital.
Mindy called every hour or so with updates. Everyone knows that going in through the emergency room often lends itself to a long wait. Today was no different. Mindy said there was little information and no official prognosis, but that they had pretty much ruled out a stroke. She would be admitted but wasn’t sure when a room would come available. In kind, Mindy wasn’t sure when she’d be home. I understood.
As the day wore on, I stayed pretty busy working from home. The kids wanted me to play but I reminded them that I really couldn’t abandon work even though I was home. As much as they could, I think they understood. As the morning turned to afternoon, I began to fidget over my pending run. I wished I had run while Mindy showered, now. Around 2pm Mindy called to check in. They were still waiting on a room, and she didn’t know when she’d be home. I let her know that I would need to run before our 4:30 meeting with Pastor Steve. She understood. This being streak week only added to the drama. On the other hand, the sub-zero temperatures affected me little, if any.
At 3pm Mindy called to let me know that Pastor Steve had stopped by to see Gloria, and due to the inclement weather he asked that we move our meeting to Wednesday. She also pointed out that her mom would be moving into a room very soon. The cancellation worked fine for us. I now had a running slot built into my day. Jim was coming to get the kids for his usual Monday visit at 4:15pm. I would run after he left. In turn, Mindy would be coming home to see the kids before they left and then would be heading over to her mom’s to pick-up a few of her personal comfort items to help soften her hospital stay.
In the meantime, I worked through the day with only a few breaks smattered in. Mindy & Jim arrived within ten minutes of one another – somewhere close to 4:15pm. I was already dressed in my running clothes so that I would be ready to run. After the kids departed, I dashed out into the bitter cold to complete my run. I was so happy to be running! And, yes, it was chilly. While I ran, Mindy headed to her mother’s. We would meet back at the house, and head to the hospital together.
I completed my run by 5:20pm. Despite the bitter cold, I worked up one hell of sweat. The only trouble I had was with my groin, which has been hurting the past few weeks. It was worse today, however, I think because of 'ball restriction' which goes hand in hand with extreme cold. I jumped in the shower minutes after returning home. Mindy was still at her mom’s. I had time to shower, dress, and tidy up a little awaiting her arrival. Finally, near 6pm, she arrived home. She had a story about gaining access to the house. The garage door was inoperative and the screen door was locked, apparently by the paramedics. She had to do a B&E to gain access.
We walked Ykraps together before we left. That allowed time for the Trooper to warm. We arrived at Riverside hospital at 6:30pm. All of Mindy’s siblings were still there. The room, 7101, was full. Call me self-conscious, but I think we must have stunk because no sooner than we arrived did everyone else leave. We visited with Gloria for about 30 minutes. While there, they came and took her blood pressure. It was still something like 190/90. Not too good. They also scheduled an MRI but had no idea what time they’d come for her. The nurse said it could even be in the middle of the night. I guess a good night’s sleep won’t be in the cards. In preparation, they asked Gloria all sorts of questions, most pertained to the housing of any metal objects on her person, which would cause major troubles during an MRI. They also asked if she was pregnant, had any tattoos, or had an IUD or diaphragm. That was pretty funny. I guess they’ve got to ask!
We left the hospital just after 7pm, both of us hungry. After making our way out of the hospital garage we called Minelli’s and ordered a pizza for pick-up.
Once home, we changed into our comfy clothes. Just as we both dig into the pizza, the kids returned from their evening with daddy. Bella was crying that she didn’t want to come home. I think that surprised Mindy, but kids are fickle! We enjoyed our pizza. Bella had some too. Jacob didn’t want any. After pizza, Mindy got the kids settled into bed. I helped with the tuck. We stayed up and talked a while longer, but not for too long. And by the way, Mindy learned just before we left the hospital that SWCS would be closed again Tuesday. She’s living a blessed life. We headed to bed somewhat early. We were in bed by 9:30pm.
1) The news by phone is startling
2) As proof by the weather bug, we're in a deep freeze!
3) Having the blood pressure taken
4) Perhaps by premonition, I snapped this pic on the way out of the hospital Monday eve
5) This one too after they asked Gloria if she were pregnant
6) Minelli's pizza and red wine
Up on time. It was 5:38am by the time my eyes met up with the stove top clock and I confirmed by touch that fresh coffee was ready. I choked down a vitamin and quietly went about my morning routine being careful not to wake “the mommy”. After all, this was Mindy's first snow day in two years, so she had designs on sleeping in. I was more than happy to oblige as long as the kids remained at bay, too. But as I later learned, that proved to be wishful thinking.
It was -3 degrees and the wind chill, as predicted, was a bone chilling -18. Like many others, I was eager to venture out to get a feel for the “deep freeze”. Ykraps certainly didn’t seem to mind, but his leash did. His 16’ retractable extended but wouldn’t retract. He and I fumbled and tripped over it a number of times. Aside from that, it was a very beautiful morning. The sky was exceptionally clear and the stars were bright and crisp. And, of course, it was cold!
Back inside, I leisurely went about making some coffee choosing not to make Mindy any. Instead, I figured that she would get her own once she got up and going. I made my lunch and fried a couple of eggs. I sat quietly and ate my breakfast enjoying the peace. I tried to make as little noise as possible while showering but that’s almost unreasonable given the design of our master bath. Mindy was wide awake as I finished up. She & the kids pretty much headed downstairs when I did.
I warmed the Trooper at 7:40am and went back inside to make final preparations. Just as I was putting my coffee supplies away, Mindy checked her phone & saw that a call was missed from a familiar number. However, she was sure who it was. She guessed it was her brother-in-law wanting to share news that his ailing mother passed. She called the number and it was, in fact, her brother-in-law, Larry. Suddenly she let out a huge gasp and a look of serious concern came over her face. I waited to hear the news. When she hung up she told me that it was her own mother in harms way. Apparently she had just been ambulanced to the hospital for what appeared to be stroke like symptoms.
As one would expect, Mindy wanted ot get to the hospital right away. But being off of school due to weather put Mindy in a difficult situation with the kids. She called Grandma Sharon to see if she would keep them while she went to be with her mom. She agreed. I chimed in, however, and volunteered to stay home and watch the kids. After all, I could work from home. That is what we did. I contacted work and made arrangements. Mindy showered then left for the hospital.
Mindy called every hour or so with updates. Everyone knows that going in through the emergency room often lends itself to a long wait. Today was no different. Mindy said there was little information and no official prognosis, but that they had pretty much ruled out a stroke. She would be admitted but wasn’t sure when a room would come available. In kind, Mindy wasn’t sure when she’d be home. I understood.
As the day wore on, I stayed pretty busy working from home. The kids wanted me to play but I reminded them that I really couldn’t abandon work even though I was home. As much as they could, I think they understood. As the morning turned to afternoon, I began to fidget over my pending run. I wished I had run while Mindy showered, now. Around 2pm Mindy called to check in. They were still waiting on a room, and she didn’t know when she’d be home. I let her know that I would need to run before our 4:30 meeting with Pastor Steve. She understood. This being streak week only added to the drama. On the other hand, the sub-zero temperatures affected me little, if any.
At 3pm Mindy called to let me know that Pastor Steve had stopped by to see Gloria, and due to the inclement weather he asked that we move our meeting to Wednesday. She also pointed out that her mom would be moving into a room very soon. The cancellation worked fine for us. I now had a running slot built into my day. Jim was coming to get the kids for his usual Monday visit at 4:15pm. I would run after he left. In turn, Mindy would be coming home to see the kids before they left and then would be heading over to her mom’s to pick-up a few of her personal comfort items to help soften her hospital stay.
In the meantime, I worked through the day with only a few breaks smattered in. Mindy & Jim arrived within ten minutes of one another – somewhere close to 4:15pm. I was already dressed in my running clothes so that I would be ready to run. After the kids departed, I dashed out into the bitter cold to complete my run. I was so happy to be running! And, yes, it was chilly. While I ran, Mindy headed to her mother’s. We would meet back at the house, and head to the hospital together.
I completed my run by 5:20pm. Despite the bitter cold, I worked up one hell of sweat. The only trouble I had was with my groin, which has been hurting the past few weeks. It was worse today, however, I think because of 'ball restriction' which goes hand in hand with extreme cold. I jumped in the shower minutes after returning home. Mindy was still at her mom’s. I had time to shower, dress, and tidy up a little awaiting her arrival. Finally, near 6pm, she arrived home. She had a story about gaining access to the house. The garage door was inoperative and the screen door was locked, apparently by the paramedics. She had to do a B&E to gain access.
We walked Ykraps together before we left. That allowed time for the Trooper to warm. We arrived at Riverside hospital at 6:30pm. All of Mindy’s siblings were still there. The room, 7101, was full. Call me self-conscious, but I think we must have stunk because no sooner than we arrived did everyone else leave. We visited with Gloria for about 30 minutes. While there, they came and took her blood pressure. It was still something like 190/90. Not too good. They also scheduled an MRI but had no idea what time they’d come for her. The nurse said it could even be in the middle of the night. I guess a good night’s sleep won’t be in the cards. In preparation, they asked Gloria all sorts of questions, most pertained to the housing of any metal objects on her person, which would cause major troubles during an MRI. They also asked if she was pregnant, had any tattoos, or had an IUD or diaphragm. That was pretty funny. I guess they’ve got to ask!
We left the hospital just after 7pm, both of us hungry. After making our way out of the hospital garage we called Minelli’s and ordered a pizza for pick-up.
Once home, we changed into our comfy clothes. Just as we both dig into the pizza, the kids returned from their evening with daddy. Bella was crying that she didn’t want to come home. I think that surprised Mindy, but kids are fickle! We enjoyed our pizza. Bella had some too. Jacob didn’t want any. After pizza, Mindy got the kids settled into bed. I helped with the tuck. We stayed up and talked a while longer, but not for too long. And by the way, Mindy learned just before we left the hospital that SWCS would be closed again Tuesday. She’s living a blessed life. We headed to bed somewhat early. We were in bed by 9:30pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.