Another Cleveland Day

Cleveland's Terminal Tower In The Distance At Night

Good Morning Cleveland

It's 6:30 and I am up, listening to Morning Joe, drinking a crappy cup of coffee, as Cleveland remains in darkness.  The view out my window is not quite as nice as that at Chautauqua Lake as you can see.  It's cloudy and 46º with a slight chance of rain.  It's now 9:00 and I am finishing up the blog in Evie's hospital room.  She wants to make sure she can proofread it. 

A Sunny Morning At The CC

I spent most of yesterday hanging out, which is what you do when you visit a hospital, either as a patient or family.  In fact, we have been waiting for this operation for close to six weeks, so we are used to waiting, sort of.  Our day began at 5:30 when we arrived at the Surgery Center and continued the rest of the day for both Evie and me.  Fortunately, there was no delay for Evie's surgery which can happen when there's an emergency.  She was in and out as I expected.  I sat comfortably in the Surgery Center lounge with lots of other families, checking the digital board every 15 minutes which updates each patient's progress.  Evie, always concerned, made me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so that was my breakfast with a banana and for lunch, I had a bowl of beef marsala soup which was pretty good.

Storm Rising

After Evie'ssurgey, she was in holding, waiting for her room, on her meds and a drip.  So I went back to the hotel and took a much-needed nap because I did not get much sleep the night before.  Around 4:00, my beeper went off, telling me to clean out my locker at the Surgery Center,  turn my key in at the desk, and then head over to building H, the sixth floor, where Evie would be.  I ran over, just missing a downpour of rain.

Rain And Sleet

She was in a double,  comfortable, the nurse was great, the only problem, she had a long wait for her dinner. We talked as she dozed in and out and I left around 7:00 so she could relax and sleep.  I ended up sitting at the Holiday Inn bar, where else, having a couple of Great Lakes Lagers, a barbecued chicken pizza, as everyone at the bar was on their phones.  After dinner, I watched an inning or two of the World Series before falling asleep around 9:15.  I was tired.

The View From Evie's Hospital Window

My take on the clinic is that it's a city of 40,000 at its midday peak, an assembly line Henry Ford would have been proud of.  The line for the checking in desk at the Surgery Center never seemed to stop from 5:30 in the morning until mid-afternoon.  One couple or family or friends after another, meandering in, checked in, took over a couch, and waited for the call for the OR or to visit the patient after OR.