Notebook Blog
I am sitting in Janette's post-op recovery room, writing in a notebook: an alien in a Foreign Land.
Pause. Janette is okay. Outpatient surgery we had planned. She can share the details if she so desires.
Back to our story...
Janette's procedure was at the Other Hospital: the one where she gave birth to Hannah, not the Children's Hospital where Hannah sometimes holds Court. The differences are considerable; I feel like a spy.
Here, people are tactfully polite to us. They explain procedures generically - assume nothing of our knowledge or background. They remind me gently that the pager doesn't work off-campus, not sure if I'm one of Those Guys, phoning in my I-care-about-you-honey performance. And when they explain the intimate details of no physical exertion for four weeks to us, a happily married couple with two kids, they don't know how to react when we laugh ourselves to tears.
"Home" at Hannah's hospital, it's kind of like "Cheers." Everyone knows us by face and connects us back to Hannah. We're Hannah's parents (often, her servants). Janette checks in on everyone's personal life, picking up from the last visit even if it's been awhile. I sing to Hannah and run regularly to the 24-hour espresso bar.
And by the way, at the "adult" hosptial, coffee isn't available until 6am. And closes for the night sometime before midnight. We arrived there this morning at 4:30am and headed in for the procedure prep at 5:30am. No coffee for Daddy until 8:00am. Makes Daddy sleepy & grumpy. If I ever need to go in, it'd better be at Hannah's place.
-- Dad
P.S. Adding notes and a tweak on the ending from my notebook tonight around 9pm. Janette is resting comfortably. Lots of sleep without the Vicodin - pretty wiped out & working on recovery.
Many thanks to Zadie for taking care of Gabriel today, J., Hannah's nurse last night, for staying on later than expected to help with an icy morning shift transition, and Uncle K. for preparing a welcome home lasagna meal (pasta is where the heart is).
