Yikes! I didn't mean to wait so long between blogs! So much has happened.
Obviously I returned safely from my trip to Indianapolis. The second flying day was spectacular. Clear, calm skies. Views of the ground and all the autumn foliage the whole way. Sat next to the nicest man. A psychiatrist from Muncie, Indiana who's afraid of flying! How interesting and timely is that? I was comforting him. Seriously, when I got off the flight and found out that it took me longer to get from the plane to the parking lot where my car was than it had taken my to fly home, and then when it again took longer for me to drive to my rehearsal from Dulles than it had taken for the flight, I became a believer. I'm seriously looking into my next opportunity to fly!
I was home for a week or so when I got the call from Dave. This is my ex-boyfriend who owns the house where I stay when I'm up in DC for rehearsals. I've mentioned him before. He called to say that he had lost the sight of one eye while out of town, had returned to find that it was a retinal detachment, and that he was going into surgery the next day! YIKES! So I cleared out my schedule and got up here a day before my regularly scheduled trip. Picked him up at the hospital following the surgery. Charisma Dubois becomes Florence Nightingale! Call me Flo!
What I've learned about retinal detachement in the last 5 days is amazing. Dave has to stay in a face-down position for a whole week. This is not easy. We ended up renting a seated massage chair. . .the kind they have in malls for short, seated massages (hence the name "seated massage chair"). He spends the entire day in that chair with his face in the little pad. He has his Kindle, his TV and his computer so that he can intake info all day. . . he just can't move. There are 4 different types of drops that have to be administered 4 times a day. He can't do it himself since he is still blind in that eye and has no depth perception. So I'm here to make sure he stays in the chair, gets his meals and drops, and gets his eye taped up for the night. Between those times I can come and go at will. I'm actually having a great time. . .much greater than the time he's having.
A doctor's appointment this coming Monday should result in him being able to raise his head. The lowered head is to facilitate the gas bubble that was placed in his eye to hold the retina in place. You can see all of this in vivid, gory detail on YouTube. It's a frighteningly gruesome experience to watch it. Dave was not up to it. Also. . . of course it's not Dave's actual surgery. But now I understand why his eye is so beat up. Not for the squeamish! The good news is that he's beginning to see shadows in that eye, and this morning could make out that the table he was sitting at is yellow.
Yesterday I had lunch with Casey at his new place of work. Unfortunately he introduced me to a new game App for my phone which I like even better than Angry Birds! Train Conductor Australia! Yikes. I love it!
Also am finishing up my book club book this month. . . Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire. Very interesting and compelling but sometimes not as compelling as Train Conductor Australia! I'm supposed to tackle Les Miserables after this. Can I leave my IPhone alone long enough to absorb 1400+ pages? Stay tuned.
I'm going to see Chad and Oscar (The Big O and Dukes) at an appearance at a new Steak 'n Shake in Fredericksburg at lunch today. It will be fun to be Mama Dukes again.
I'll be up here until Wednesday. When I get home the framing in the house is supposed to start. Let's get this house going, shall we?
So, to summarize. Flying. . . kind of love it. Train Conductor Australia. . . really love it. Fulfilling my life long desire to be a nurse. . . . fun, but glad there's an end in sight.
Seeing my kids. . . .priceless!
No comments:
Post a Comment