'THIS POST STARTED OUT AT THE HOSPITAL:(( AND ENDED UP AT HOME:))

Stratford Hospital Early This Afternoon:: I haven't seen my doctor (Bukala) since Tuesday morning, so I have no idea how I'm doing or when I will be going home.  Nobody has told me anything, but I have been treated very well here by the nursing staff.  Lorraine (who lives in Stratford) has been in every day to see me and has been keeping me supplied with a few of life's essentials like Tim Horton coffee and Tim Bits.  You do not want to hear my thoughts on the hospital food!! My first 3 nights in the hospital were very rough, and I suffered from a severe lack of sleep, especially Tuesday night when my roommate, a dearly sweet little old man with Alzheimers, was very disruptive all through the night and the nurses had their hands full.  I was awake through all that.  Luckily, he was moved to another room first thing the next morning, and since then, I have been the only one in this spacious 4-bed room.  I am right next to a window facing east, so I get to see the sunrises.  Sure wish I had some Windex here to clean the window.  I have no idea how long I will be in the hospital or what Dr. Bukala has planned for me.  Luckily, Woodsy/Lorraine (my little angel) brought me my laptop computer on Tuesday, and I have my iPhone with me.  Sometimes, I disconnect the power from my IVTree and the 'tree', and I go for a walk around the halls and look out the windows in a few places.  Oh, how I wish I were out walking with Pheebs somewhere.  Being in the hospital these past 4 days, I've thought of Kelly a lot and all those hospital stays she had over the last few years at London's University Hospital.  She sure put up with a lot and fought a royal battle right to the end.  I don't think I fully understood her difficulties with hospital life until these past few days..........Thank you to everyone for your kind comments and concerns.  I have so many fine friends that I have never met.  Hopefully, I will write my next post from home..............:)) Having just finished writing that last line, I heard footsteps coming into the room on the other side of the curtain.  I knew it wasn't a nurse because they wear soft footwear and walk quietly.  These were solid steps lending themselves to leather footwear.  Could it be??  Could it finally be??  And, just like that, Dr. Bukala walked in around my curtain.  With a bespeckled bald head, this slender, small-framed build of man had the makings of a slight smile on his face.  He asked how I was feeling of course, and then proceeded to tell me all my bloodwork tests, etc, etc, and etc, were all looking good and I could go home:))))) Well, I wasn't long in getting out of that bed and went about putting myself all back together and getting all my stuff packed up in a big red bag.  A few quick messages back and forth to Lorraine and half an hour later I was out the hospital door and into her waiting car.  I was certainly not out of the woods yet because I felt weak and shaky, but oh my, what a beautifully scenic rural drive we had back to Bayfield.  It was a perfect weather day.  Blue skies, puffy white clouds, warm, and everything looked so lush and green.  And the lilacs were blooming. .................. Home::  One of the first things I did upon arriving home was throw my sorry old sack of bones into the shower.  Although I felt much better, I knew I had a ways to go before I would really feel a whole lot better.  Although there is a ton of work to still be done outside, I am already chomping at the bit to get out there and get at it.  Woodsy/Lorraine fixed us up some 'cream of chicken soup' for supper, and that hit the spot.  What little I could eat, that is.  Tomorrow we have to head for the Walmart Pharmacy in Goderich and pick up some antibiotic medicine Dr. Bukala has prescribed for me.  Next Tuesday, I am to call his Stratford office to make arrangements for getting all those kidney stones out of me.  Could be an interesting few weeks ahead.  I'll see if I can slip out and find a few mid-Spring photos in the morning:))