"I Just Have A Sweet Tooth"

Not only did a Sunday School class bring us dinner on Monday night...
They brought Chicken Express Fresh Brewed Sweet Tea.

Thank you, "Praise Ladies" Sunday School.
You have made us all very very happy.

Our Good Dreams...

It's a normal sound. It's not loud or invasive or even unpleasant.

But I am sick-to-death of falling to sleep to the rhythmic clicks and hums of the I.V. unit.

Those of you who've been hospitalized know the sound well.It drives me crazy. I turn off all the lights; I ready my "bed"; I kiss my wife good-night. All acts of normalcy - all ways of saying to this world that "Tonight, we rest. Tonight, we restore ourselves. And as we sleep, you cannot touch us."

But you do, you little maniacal machine.

You do touch us. You click and whir and even beep from time-to-time as if you know that we just got to that good place in our dreams:

That place where we've built a house on top of a rainbow or in a field eating Starburst Waffles or playing scrabble with Richard Belzer.You sneak into our good dreams and say oh, so quietly but oh, so persistently:

I'm still here...
You're still in the hospital...
Everything is messed up...
Your life is turned upside down...
I'm still here...

You're not cool, I.V. machine.
You're important and I'm glad you're here, but you're not cool and you never will be.
And when me and my crew leave, you have to stay here.

No wonder you're nuts.

GRRRR...

Actually found wi-fi today at the hospital!

Shortly after Kristen's procedure this afternoon, I ran over to the lobby and shot an update, ready to fly it right into blogger so all the world could know what's up.

But that didn't happen.

Apparently the wi-fi isn't as consistent as it needs to be, so my little video will forever remain on the hard drive. But I did manage to grab this fantastic screen shot, though.

Kristen went into endoscopy around 1pm today. The doctors suspected that a gallstone had been lodged in Kristen's bile duct and that's what messed up her pancreas. All of the test so far have confirmed that, but today, no stone was found there. The doctor think she might have already passed the stone at some point during the week. The little guy did a bunch of damage and then left! Jerk.

Anyway, Kristen was in recovery for about an hour and then came back to the room. She seemed to be a lot better the whole afternoon. She was pretty loopy from the medicine, which made for a lot of fun, but it was obvious to all of us that she's feeling better.

She had a fever today, so the doctor ordered another set of cultures. He also lessened her intake restrictions. She can have clear liquids, now! She's still taking some pain medicine and is pretty sleepy, but they think she'll be ready to have her gallbladder removed on Monday.

Thank you all for praying. I hope you're using these posts to stay updated! That's what they're for!

...and don't worry. I've got lots of other ridiculous posts saved up to lighten the mood around here.

Thanks for reading!

Excitement!

And for those of you wondering if I'm working at an Italian restaurant or a hotel, the answer is no.

It's a new white shirt. And I look hot in it.

Kristen Recap...My Perspective

9:45pm - I arrive at the hospital for the night shift. Kristen's dad is with her. Kristen is a lot of pain. Talk with her for about 10 or 15 minutes. Nurse comes in and adds some medicine for nausea to her I.V.Krist asks for ice chips...the nurse says no.

10:30pm - I've got tons of stuff to tell Krist about our day at home, but she's just too tired. I watch "Will and Grace" while eating something delicious that was cooked up in the mind of two guys named Ben and Jerry.

10:45pm - Head out to the waiting room on our floor to search for wi-fi. Buy a Diet Coke and learn right quick that there's no wireless internet around here. I drink my soda while a dude named A.J. Hammer (yeah right) can't stop talking about Charlie Sheen-Alec Baldwin-Pamela Anderson-Tommy Lee-Kid Rock and some woman who's suing Victoria Secret for a defective thong.

10:55pm - Get back into the room, start getting my bed ready. Look longingly at the DVD of "Rambo" that I brought. Should I pop it in? Fill my mind with senseless violence and an even more senseless storyline before going to bed?

11:00pm - Nurse comes in to give Krist pain medicine. Kristen is asleep with five or six minutes. I brush teeth and climb into bed. I decide to give "Rambo" a try, but I have the iPod cued up w/ some Lemonheads to put me to sleep. Why does Evan Dando's music put me to sleep? I guess he's smoked so much weed it comes through the mics and up into my ear buds.

12:00am - Turn off "Rambo" and immediately fall asleep.

1:30am - Kristen accidentally knocks off her TV remote/call button and it wakes us both up. I get it for her, help her get fixed in bed again.

1:30am-7:00am - Sleep like a rock. Hear a few nurses come in and some discussion about Kristen's heart monitor showing a green light, which means a patient is dead. Yeah, I slept through that. (Thankfully, Krist and the nurse were justmaking a little early-morning witty banter.)

7:30am - Wake up when Krist's parents show up for their shift.
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For those of you praying, thank you! Here's what we're asking: Pray that Kristen's enzyme levels will continue to drop. We've still got a way to go before we can proceed with surgery. Right now, the doctors are predicted that we'll do the preliminary "scope" on Monday. We'd love it if things were moving faster, but we understand that Kristen's body just needs time to rest.

Pray that she'll sleep soundly and that her visitors will be minimal. She likes people seeing her, but she's also trying to sleep through her pain and anytime she's awakened, it's hard to rest again.

Pray for the rest of the family (us and the extended crew.) This is starting to take its toll on us. Pray that we'll have great attitudes and that God will bless our resting!

Midnight Update!