Did I Ask For Rain?

I'm back...sorta.  Things are settling down here a bit...sorta.

AOL Music: Jo Dee Messina: 'Bring on the Rain'

You know that saying, when it rains, it pours.  Upon arriving home from the trip to Spokane, I found out my best friend Bona is in the hospital, in a coma.  I'm not going to even try to explain it right now...it's too complicated and I'm on an emotional overload.  I don't even want to go down that road right now.

Yep, this year is starting off in an unbelievable way.

So enough of the heavy, depressing crap.  On a lighter note, I have been smoke-free for 90 days!  God knows my committment to quit is really being tested, but I am determined to succeed.  This is one aspect of my life I can control and I will not back down.

And for some more lightness; a funny story from the hospital last week.  But first, a little background info on this type of procedure.  The stint is inserted into the blocked artery via a catheter, which is inserted at the right groin area...yes you male readers may wish to groan right now.  Now, when it comes to being sick, or in pain, Sam has no tolerance.  When he's sick he is such a wimp, and when he's in pain, he whines.  And yet, he wouldn't even go to the doctor when this all started.

On Thursday, after the doc inserted the stint, he told Sam they would remove the catheter in a couple of hours.  Prior to and after the procedure Sam is given Plavix (blood thinner).  For this reason, the medical staff must wait until Sam's blood will clot before removing the catheter.  After several blood tests, the results indicate his blood is clotting.

Bear in mind, this is the second catheter injected into the same artery at the same site in the past two days.  The first catheter was on Wednesday morning when they found the arterial blockage.  And Sam is already very, very sore in that spot.

Okay, so the nurse comes in to remove the catheter and the eight inch long sheath.  After doing so, pressure must be applied at the site for at least 15 minutes until the blood thoroughly clots.  And yes, the nurse has to stand there the whole time, with herhands pressed against Sam's groin.  And oh, she is young, slender, and attractive.  You know where this is going, don't you?  But wait...

Sam is doing his level best to watch the tv and keep his mind preoccupied throughout.  He's been instructed not to move his right leg for obvious reasons.  About halfway into this process, I see him moving his left leg as he raises his knee up a bit.  Sam makes a couple of comments about how much she is hurting him.  A few minutes later the nurse checks the site but the blood is not clotting yet (probably cuz it's rushing to another area nearby).  As the minutes tick by I watch the nurse patiently shift her weight from one foot to the other.  About the time things are getting really quiet in the room, the nurse leans in toward Sam and brings her left leg up.  A rather panicked Sam shifts his attention from the tv and asked, "What are you doing!?"  The nurse stops, and replies, "Just bringing my knee up for leverage."   Relieved, Sam says, "I thought you were going to put your knee into my groin."  She laughs, and turns to me.  I shake my head and roll my eyes up.  "Is he always like this?" the nurse asked me.  "Oh yeah," I replied, "I'm surprised he didn't think you were trying to get into bed with him."

Now Sam will tell you that the entire time, he was in too much pain to notice where her hands were.  Ah-huh.  The previous night he described the pain as 'feeling like someone had just kicked him in the groin.'  At first, I didn't believe him...he's exaggerating to get attention.  That is, until I saw the bruises.  And he is bruised, black and blue all over.  Partly from the procedure and the blood thinner meds.  Doc said one of the side effects of Plavix is the tendancy to bruise easily.

So much for the red blooded American male.

P. S.  It should be noted that just before the hospital discharged Sam, he commented on how many people had paraded through his room, either poking or proding him.  And, he was convinced that EVERYONE in that hospital had peeked under his gown--including the cafeteria staff.