John's Blog

Usually, I'm guilty of exaggeration and hyperbole as I spin the occasional tale but on occasion I can engage in understatement as well. When we last spoke, I said that I was a bit "under the weather". This was accurate to the degree that the Titanic was taking on a little water or that the levees in New Orleans had a bit of trouble during Katrina. As it turns out my little bout of sickness turned out to be pneumonia which resulted in a visit to the hospital for the last week, probably NOT my favorite place to hang out. A few of the highlights/lowlights of that journey:

If you've never had the opportunity to just hang out on a gurney in the ER hallway for 12 to 14 hours while they find you a room, make sure you pass on this experience if you have the chance, since it's hardly what I'd consider a good time.

The only good part was that I was completely delusional, and although I knew it was just a clump of wires coming off a wi-fi box mounted on the wall, somehow I kept seeing a gorgeous woman, with a vague resemblance to Katherine Zeta Jones. Wishful thinking, probably.

Finally, late at night they whisk me off to a room. But it was a strange anomaly of a hospital room, which was probably bigger than the first apartment that I had after college. The room looked like it was big enough to hold four people, but it was just 'lil 'ol me that was there. This oversight was corrected within a day, and I was soon shifted to a "normal" room with a roommate.

Unfortunately, my roommate was about 85, and was apparently the model for the role played by Burt Lancaster in the 80's classic flick "Atlantic City". He spent much time recalling the good 'ol days. The rest of the time he spent listening to the TV without his hearing aid. I've never craved silence more so than I do now.

Amazingly, once they started to pump me full of antibiotics I started to bounce back rather quickly. Strangely, I really didn't appreciate just how bad I had been feeling until I started to feel better.

I take back any suggestive comments I might have done in the past on "naughty nurses". I have a newfound respect and appreciation for what nurses do. Working long hours in what has to be very trying circumstances, they endure a ton of demands from up and down the food chain, with very little recognition. I was lucky enough to have had a series of very attentive and caring nurses, which made my stay a bit more bearable.

Another moment when I started to realize I was getting better, was when the hospital food began to taste good. Much maligned, hospital food really wasn't all that bad. When I started to look forward to mealtime, that's about the time I realized it was time to get the heck out of there.

Luckily, I got sprung and although I'm a long way from a clean bill of health, I feel twenty times better than I did a week ago. I can look forward to (?) another ten days of recovery, before I step back of the 'ol merry-go-round of the normal life and activity levels. But, it's good to be back, even on a restricted level. And thanks for all the nice comments and concerns while I was gone.

Tags: pointless rambling, the roadbumps of life