Thursday, January 03, 2008

sounds from life

The last 2 days have been some of the most difficult days of my life. 2008 came in quietly and with great promise and then came to a screeching halt last night when E went to the emergency room in excruciating pain and 6 hours later he was admitted and is awaiting surgery this weekend. As we waited hours we heard the man wheeled into the ER behind us making the most horrific and heartbreaking sounds I've ever heard, then then most gut-wrenching vomiting sounds (I told myself "don't look" and kept true to my words), to the "mentally challenged" person in the next room making the strangest sounds I've pretty much ever heard and believe me I've heard some strange sounds. Last night was a night to remember. People convulsing. People scared. People waiting. People crying. You don't experience this everyday. The sounds and sights of a night unexpected. I'm still going on 2 hours sleep as I type this. I think E will be fine, but not without a nightmarish round of treatments. Try going 5 days without ANY food and not even a drop of water or liquid. Nothing. IV all the way, with 3 tries for good measure on those frustrating veins and me heading for the door white and about to faint. Wearing that needle for 5 days. Scopes down your throat. Automatic massagers on your feet. Blood drawn daily. Vitals taken every few hours. The same questions by the same people over and over. The whirring sound of that IV drip machine. Peeing in a plastic container. The bar code bracelet they scan a million times a day. And that strange odor. And that doesn't even describe the planned surgery yet to come, and I'll spare the gorey details on that. I feel sad tonight.