Today went well, seeing as I was released from the ward at around 4pm. I got my bags, had all of the tubes pulled, packed up, got my at home instructions, and blew the joint. Five days really feels like a big difference. Not that I feel better, or sicker or anything, just that the gravity of everything has weighed in a bit more. These five days gave me a bit more time to think.
Going by the grocery store was also really surreal - after looking at the inside of the hospital for so long, everything seemed really open and unstaged. It was like people just going about their daily business, just like nothing had ever happened. Which, from their perspective, was true. I know this all sounds like a lot of navel-gazing, but it is an odd experience to relate.
My family has been great. When I arrived at the house I found that my daughters had made and hung up a 'Welcome Daddy' sign for me. When I walked in, they jumped out and ran around the room screaming like banshees. I nearly lost it there - I missed them so much.
When I got home, I found that Jane had set up our office in the basement to make it a bit more like a real office. I have a desk, chair, multifunction printer, and some clean surfaces to work on. Hopefully this will facilitate some additional work at home time.
Upstairs, dad had repainted a couple of bathrooms, hung a new fan, and is helping us rehang a new medicine cabinet, to handle the additional pounds of pharmaceuticals I'm bringing from CVS... And mom had watched the kids the whole time, which for 5 days, is a spectacular feat.
Tomorrow, I'm going to see how the first day out of chemo treats me and try to use a little of this home office I have set up. I'll head back to the office work on Thursday, and hopefully will be able to make some time recovering from all the work I've missed.
Seeya,
Patrick
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Hi Patrick, glad you're back home! Sounds like the family has been busy preparing for your homecoming. Don't spend too much time in the basement. Take some breaks outdoors ;-)
ReplyDeleteHey Patrick! I'm glad your hospital stay finally ended. It will be great for you to be around your family in a more natural environment!
ReplyDeleteThings in the Netherlands are going well for me so far -- my project is really coming along! People here are nice, but the food is kind of strange. Strange, but good. Lots of salmon and boiled eggs. :-) It's fun, but I am starting to miss home.
I hope you will enjoy your new home office. See, this will be one of those rare times when you will actually enjoy doing a bit of work! ;-) Be sure to take it slow and ease yourself in, though.
Take care!