Hospitals

Arriving at 6:15 am for my wife to undergo a thyroidectomy, I would much rather be the chauffeur than the patient. Sure the chauffeur (especially a spouse/parent) has to endure a lot of waiting in usually uncomfortable chairs, watching a TV that you'd kill to control the remote (especially us husbands) and the lack of timely information - but I'd take that any day over anesthesia, being cut open, anesthesia nausea, noisy roommates, noisy hallways, hourly poking & proding, the food (blah!), leashed to an IV and most of all, the endless hours of boredom. It makes one consider the benefit of being DOA.

The elderly woman in the next bed asked them to change her bedding, then asked if they do that daily. The clinical assistant said that they "make" the beds daily (um... not when there's someone almost always in it?) but they don't "change" the sheets daily. Huh? Even the cheapest hotels change the bedding daily if there's an occupant - but in a hospital, it isn't necessary? If the hotel can afford it from just the room rate, a hospital has profit oozing from many sources and like they don't charge enough for the hospital room to at least give you clean linens?

The roommate is wearing noise-cancelling headphones connected to the TV mounted on a nifty floating arm - she said they're for "all the noise around here". She also has her cell phone on the loudest ringer setting (so she can hear over the noise-cancelling headphones no doubt) and takes a minimum of 3 rings to answer it. Funny thing is I only hear her speaking loud to all of her friends from Century Village (FL) and NY about the diverticulitis that has stranded her here for "a minimum of 12 days". Glad we're only here for 2 days!

Luckily Gina's surgery went perfectly, hopefully the side effects (mostly from anesthesia) will subside soon. Then she can get home and rest in a nice & quiet comfortable bed.