Hospitals and Rain�

2005-01-09

Yesterday was Mom's 'little surgery.' Her words not mine. The surgery went well enough according to the doctor, but the aftermath of anesthesia, not so much.

The doctor told she would be in recovery for a half hour and then we could go see her in her room. Over two hours went by and no one would give us any info. Finally they told us she was being taken to ICU so they could keep an eye on her; she wasn't breathing on her own well and didn't wake from the anesthesia for a long time.

Two hours of waiting for Dad and me. When they finally told us she was being taken to ICU I kind of figured out what was going on and told Dad that was what I thought it was. I don't know if that was any comfort to him, it sure wasn't to me.

It distresses me to see my parents so fragile. Makes me feel protective, and want to pound on the healthcare staff and yell 'Take good care of them or I'll hurt you!' Which, of course, would not be at all productive.

So I bit my tongue, held my temper and fed Mom ice chips while Dad held her hand. The staff were all actually very polite and as helpful as they could be. But I was sure glad I'd gotten my lazy ass out of bed and over to the hospital by 6:00 am.

The rain is really starting to wear on me. It has rained 11 days out of the last 13. The patio is a river, the atrium is a pool:

The garage floor is awash. The cement pad is a couple of inches below the level of the house. It often gets wet when we have extended rains, but I've never seen it entirely wet before.

I have never seen this much rain in this short a time. I don't think I've ever seen it rain as hard as it has. As of the 6th, the Los Angeles area was at 363% of it's average for the same period. That was 3 days ago and it hasn't stopped raining for more than a couple of hours since then. Both the cats and I are getting more than a little stir crazy. No letup is likely until Tuesday.

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