This is just a random assortment, and probably not much worth reading.

• In my hospital room, my IV pump was broken and it beeped incessantly. I finally just turned it off when it started beeping. The nurses fussed with it constantly (when they were in the room) but couldn’t get it to work. It was obviously a painful and familiar experience for them, too.
• I hate being touched when I’m in pain.
• I phased in and out of consciousness around the clock, and during the day I had my pixel buds stuffed in and listened to Bill Bryson narrate his book “The Body: A Guide for Occupants.” It was A Choice for the circumstances! At night I listened to Calm sleep sounds. Nothing could block out Hospital Sounds with Intermittent Screams.
• The phlebotomists drew blood mostly from between my knuckles, and I’m not sure why? I have a big bruise on my inside forearm where one blew out a vein (and scolded me for it).
• In the ER hallway, my stretcher was broken. The head part couldn’t go up or down (it was in a very semi-raised position). I think this contributed to some of the excruciating pain, but it’s tiring to try to explain so trust me.
• My body would start sweating just moments before the pain started, and I would sweat absolute bullets.
• Once I was back home, my husband said I was sleeping really hot – I’m usually a cold sleeper and he’s the hot one, but he said I was radiating heat like an oven.
• It’s taking a long time for my brain to come back online. I’m not following the thread great yet still.
• I have to wait THREE! WEEKS! FOR! A! BATH! Heresy! Burn it down!
• My PCP had to ask me what tests the hospital wanted done, because none of the hospital docs wrote any notes down. FTR, I got a CBC and a full liver panel done. Hope that was right!
• The hospital told me I had the start of a UTI, which I don’t think was correct. They told my roommate the same thing, who was also surprised. I think their UTI machine was broken. (My friend told me about her sister who was told by her doc that she has leukemia because they misread her bloodwork.)
• Once my lungs unfroze, they behaved a lot like big, fluffy, hot, damp pancakes stacked on one another. They did not want to peel apart. They gave me this device to breath in with, and mark on it each time how high I got the little float thingy. I eventually got it off the ground, and as high as the second lowest mark. They told me to keep trying or risk pneumonia, which was terrifying to contemplate when I just wanted to get home. I left the breathing device at the hospital and I have no regrets and quite possibly no pneumonia.
• After breathing in hospital air in short sharp bursts and having a breathing tube and having a scope down my throat, I was generating phlegm in my throat, and it was pure torture, because I couldn’t clear my throat (it hurt my upper belly too much), but I would also get phlegm trying to suffocate me. Exquisite, hated it.
• I forgot, but I got a CT scan somewhere in there.
• I had to miss Grant’s 7th birthday party, and I couldn’t take Eleanor to see Dear Evan Hansen (but my MIL was able to take her).
• I was genuinely terrified I’d have to have a feeding tube for the rest of my life, it hurt so much to eat for days.
• I couldn’t read. The work to read was too much for my brain. I listened to an audiobook or the amplified sound of nothingness. I couldn’t listen to podcasts; I needed the rhythmic susurrus of reading. Bob read to me at times, which was particularly nice (but I felt bad passing out while he was talking).
• I have been Spending Money since being out. I think there’s some kind of panic-overcompensation happening. I’m sure it’s not a primitive way to regain some semblance of control in an uncontrollable world. It’s probably healthy.
• Kindness is really good. I’m grateful to all the kind people.