Giving Birth
- Friends and midwives and doctors tell you that it will be difficult.
- They tell you labor varies from individual to individual.
- Your wife turns inward. Distracting her while she is concentrating on her “job” could result in: at minimum your hurt feelings because she snaps at you, at maximum you leaving the room in embarrassment after being harangued in front of the nurses.
- She shows little resemblance to the woman you married.
- It’s over between 12 and 24 hours, on average
- You are terrified. The changes come suddenly and without warning, you don’t know what to expect. Uncertainty is short lived (not counting life with a newborn).
Stem Cell After Effects
- The doctors tell you it will be difficult.
- They tell you each individual reacts differently.
- Walking 100 yds becomes the “longest mile.” Trying to distract him, leads to: at minimum being ignored, at maximum him stopping, asking “What?” Answering your question, then mustering up the energy to walk again adding at least 3 minutes to the trip.
- He shows very little resemblance to the man you married.
- It’s over between 12 and 24 days, on average.
- You are terrified. The changes come suddenly and without warning, you don’t know what to expect. Uncertainty becomes the norm.
Monday night we learned he had pneumonia. After being admitted to the hospital, he spiked a fever. He has no white cells to fight off that fever. The nurses kept saying “We need to stabilize him.” Not a confident building statement. He was given oxygen (which sent me reeling back to our first hospital administration) and antibiotics. A nurse stayed outside the room, checking frequently on him until 4:00 am when his fever came down.
On Tuesday, he didn’t leave the bed. He managed to hold small amounts of Jell-O and sherbet down. He vomited only twice, an improvement over Mondays’ record of 6 times. I learn that this is all normal – the fatigue, the fevers. Dr. Wolin did admit the administration of oxygen is not usual, though. Art’s inability to walk anywhere, our needing to get him a walker, his unsteadiness, inability to stay awake for more than 15 minutes, his loss of appetite, even the vomiting is within the range of reactions. However, just like giving birth for the first time, normal range is fine and dandy when you hear about it, but when it’s you or someone you love, watching your loved one loose his ability so quickly to function is the most frightening experience I have ever had. I take that back, this experience has only one equal -- the day we watched Pallas get hit by a car.
Art is doing better now. He’s alert, and his sense of humor has returned. He actually got up to use the bathroom this morning. Yipee! Thank God for antibiotics, platelets, and blood.
P.S. Don't forget Art's Birthday is Sunday!
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