Mon 31 Mar 2003
German Wonder Land
Posted by Ken Atherton under germany
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I did not ask for the Ritz and I did not even expect them to leave the light on at Motel 6, but when I had to check into the hospital here in Schwenningen, I had one rude awakening.
We came to the emergency room on Friday afternoon due to unbearable pain that started Thursday and would not stop. I will not bore you with the details of my medical roller coaster , the bottom line is that I had gall stones and they needed to be removed immediately. When I explained that I was nursing Sadie and she refuses to drink from a bottle, they were kind enough to set me up in my own room so that she could stay with me. Ken ran home with the kids to get her travel bed and other supplies for us. The doctors took out the stones and I was back in my room before Ken could even return. It was very quick and painless. I was sure I would be going home the next morning.
As I sat in my hospital room, on the second full day and looking at 1-2 more, I began to wonder. I wondered: where is the T.V., where are the towels, where is my lovely hospital gown, where are the Kleenex, and where are the rest of my so called radio stations (I have one and it seems to only play German songs from the 20′s)? I did receive a phone after I signed a paper saying I would pay for all calls. How do they expect you to stay here if they do not even provide the basic necessities? I now understand why we have stayed clear of the hospitals on our travels around Europe. I have been looking at plain white walls, reading every magazine I own, and trying to entertain a baby far longer than I had planned.
Of coarse, I am not the only one having fun. Ken has been left alone with Carissa and Celia for the past two days. He has shuffled them back and forth from the hospital to home more times than I can count. He has been on his own with feeding, bathing, grooming, and tucking them in. He has also mentioned to me that the house is a complete disaster. I know from experience that when Ken takes note to a mess, what it really means is that you may as well take a torch to it.
They say they need to keep me around for another sonogram to make sure all the stones are out. If they are not, then I will be blessed with one more round of stone retrieving and two more days of this fun.
Now, I begin to wonder…. will I ever get out of here?
