This morning...


I’m jumping around here because I want to catch up. There’s a lot but nothing too exciting---yet. Also - I'm really tired...

I got to the hospital right on timethis morning – 7:30 AM check-in. I got my QR-coded bracelet and was in my sad little room by 8:00. My nurse, Daniel came in, took some vitals and we chatted. Daniel continues to come in throughout the morning, repeating everything he told me last time he came in. I think he’s nervous. No wait, that’s me.
By the way, did I mention that I’m going to be PLUGGED INTO A WALL for a FEW DAYS? I can’t get out of bed alone.
With this in mind, I decide that standing as long as I can before they hook me up is a good plan. Also – peeing. Lots of peeing – hopefully until I’m totally empty.  
I pace back and forth my tiny room, breathing deeply.
Around 9:00, the resident comes in. He goes through the medicines he thinks I’m on that I’ve never taken. (Poor kid.) then he recaps things he’s read from my chart and does a quick neurological exam. He leaves around 9:20 and then I wait for the doctor. And then I wait again.
 I start taking walks in the hallway because I’m so bored but refuse to sit down because -- don’t take your freedom for granted!!
My doctor, Dr. Doherty, the resident, and a medical student all come in around 10:15. They have fun with my reflexes and checking my blind spot (I have a left upper quadrant visual deficit from my surgery) and we talk about what the next couple days will look like. Dr. Doherty says the average length of stay is 4 days. I ignore this because I’m planning on being home by Friday.
After they leave, I do more pacing, peeing and start doing yoga in my room because, like you may have heard, I’m going to be in bed for a few days. Suddenly, an alarm goes off and as I’m bent in a modified down dog (hands on bed), a medical assistant pokes her head in my room and says, “that’s the fire alarm,” and CLOSES MY DOOR!! WITH ME IN THE ROOM!!
No one ever comes back for me s I assume it's a false alarm and continue my stretching. 
The EEG techs finally show up at 11:30. It's time to get into the bed. 
I lay back and the guy tech marks my scalp with what feels like and probably is a pencil, then puts my head in all these little ponytails. Then the glueing. They glue elecrodes on my scalp with an adhesive that contains ether. I ask if I'm going to end up passing out like the cartoons but it turns out I will not. But the smell. The smell!! I brearhe into a washcloth but the chemicals are horrible. By noon, i'm hooked in. And that's when life changes. 




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