Hospital: Little luxuries

I am now home from the hospital. I was discharged on April 2, exactly eight weeks after being admitted. I still have a lot of recovery to do, but boy, is it good to be home.

I did a little bit of writing while in the hospital, but not much. I wrote a long article about my various roommates, which I'll publish in a day or two, but here's one regarding things that are normally important to people but not when you're in the hospital.

These are some things I have not seen or done since I arrived at the hospital. Note that these are strictly because of being in the hospital, not related to my particular condition.

• Money. I've paid for a few things with credit cards (phone, TV, internet), but that's only because I have my credit card numbers recorded somewhere. I have no idea where my actual wallet is (I think Gail has it), nor have I used cash.
• Travelling by car, van, bus, truck, etc. I got here in an ambulance, but since then the only modes of transportation for me other than walking have been wheelchairs and stretchers (and moving beds around with me in them once or twice).
• Clothes. I wear a pair of pyjama pants and a hospital gown every day. I get new pants and gown every day or two. (Note: that was before surgery. I don't wear the pants now because of this big ol' incision across my belly.) I have a housecoat that I can drape over myself if I get cold. I have a few pairs of socks and a pair of slippers. That's the entire extent of my wardrobe.
• Haven't seen, pet, or played with any dogs or cats, or any other kind of animal. I miss playing with my sister-in-law's dog Candy, and being ignored by my sister's cats.
• Weather. There were a couple of days where Gail took me outside for a few minutes because it was so nice, but apart from that, I don't generally care whether it's sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, or anything else. The only times I do care is (a) when I have to close the blind on my window because it's too sunny, and (b) when I have visitors from Waterdown or Toronto, and I don't want them driving in bad weather. Of course, Gail drives here every day, so I suppose I should care every day, shouldn't I?
• Food. I was on a "clear fluid" diet for a long time – nothing but Jello, juice, popsicles. Then I got moved to a "full fluid" diet, where I got things like milk, Cream of Wheat for breakfast, some creamy soups, that kind of thing. Still nothing to chew. Since the surgery, I'm back on clear fluids. I can't tell you how sick to death of Jello I am.