I was sitting in my comfy hospital chair, reading a good book, when I noticed the tubing that protruded out from under my shirt. It has become normal for me to go about my business - read, write, walk, nap -- all while tethered to an infusion pole. The absurdity of it all is that this now passes for normal.
It's normal to be woken up at midnight and 5 am for vital signs. Normal for me to sleep with a mask by my bed. Normal to quantify my daily bodily functions. Normal to be taped up prior to a shower. Normal to wipe myself down with special antiseptic cloths after I shower. Normal to do laps in a tight corridor. Normal to not have breathed outside air for three weeks.
Those aren't meant as a litany of complaints, but rather an observation on the normalization of things that are not meant to be normal.
Counts today inched up and we're starting to play the "When will Michael be discharged" game. The money is still on early next week, but it might be into middle of the week. It all depends on the counts.
Keep up the good work Michael. The absurdity will get you back to the land of normal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting so detail and thought into this blog. I'm thinking of you as you enter the home stretch of this phase and prepare to go home.
ReplyDeleteSo if the absurd now seems normal, will the normal seem absurd once you are released?
ReplyDeleteGood question. I'll be leaving with my port, so I think it'll take some time for the old normal to become regular normal again.
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