I'm back....

well, i guess i need to start somewhere!  the past couple of weeks have been rather a blur.  new year's eve i started having what seemed like a re-run of late Nov. cold/flu/not well feeling.  by thursday evening had a fever of 103 and could hardly breathe.  went to bed and soon called J to help me get to bathroom and then call 911... and you know i had to feel like crap to get to that point.  so, rescue came, went to ER,spent several hours with the tests, xrays etc., and diagnosis that it was probably pneumonia and not flu.  soon joined there by family support...  Jim, who had followed the ambulance from home and Robin, Chuck and Curbie.  finally admitted and put to bed.  it's been many years since i've been in hospital and hope it's many more before i'm there again.  the care and attention was beyond excellent... the major problem being that all that left no time for sleep.  i was at the new Kaiser Westside Medical Center, with state-of-the-art everything... including a computer on a pull down to my level arm where i could click on a menu for choices on all meals and snacks,  scheduled to be delivered whenever i wanted to have them.  really!  and the food was pretty good.  and the nursing and other staff seemed to be cream-of-the-crop people.  Kaiser seemed to have had an advantage in recruiting staff... offering this new facility plus some definite perks that come with working for them.  there were people from hospitals all over Portland and (almost) every one that i dealt with seemed highly qualified. so, after 5 nights there... i'm home in my queendom and ever so happy to be here.  energy is coming back!!  and so happy i've banished that dark thought that lives in the back of my mind that goes something like "you get old, you get pneumonia, then go to the hospital and die".  the other version includes broken hip.  too grim and depressing?  but i'm here and getting ready to rock and roll and get going on all that stuff i still need/want to do.  and i owe SO much gratitude to my family care team and advocates who were there every day and offered wise input to medical, nursing and axillary staff.... Robin and Judy.  also, Curbhead who came to read one of my fave crazy books to me and offer his support, and my very important man of my life, Jim, there for me always and trying to understand what the hell was going on. and having Chris come down from Duvall for 2 days meant more than he will ever know!  as his gramma often said.. "he is the SWEETEST boy"!  and now he is a very sweet and loving man.  and so, the end to that saga.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!