Al is still in surgery. That’s according to schedule. I’m hanging out in a “Family Waiting Room” where I was told to stay so the surgeon could find me if needed. It’s nice. There are a few other people here that spent the night. There are pillows and blankets to help make the couches comfortable. It was a nearly full house this morning when I first got here.
I got a nap for a while, the went to the cafeteria. I called the Family Services to let them know I was going there, just in case they needed me. They seem to have a system to keep tabs on you here, so I went along with it and called.
The cafeteria here hasn’t changed since I was last here. It’s actually the best hospital cafeteria I’ve seen. A huge selection of food, almost like a mall food court, and a spacious area to sit and eat. The last time I was here, the view out the window was the demolition of a stadium at the university next-door. Now the new stadium is done.
I got a real spirit-booster while I was sitting there. Steve Ferkau, a CF patient and lung transplant recipient, posted a comment to my earlier post. If you didn’t see it, go back and read it and check out the links he gave to his web pages. It was really good to hear from another person who knew firsthand what Al has gone through and to remind us of the gift that someone gave that makes all this possible. He got to know a bit about his donor and uncovered a story about a beautiful person and source of inspiration.
My Aunt Fran asked about Al’s web page with some of his cartoons. You can find it at http://crashland.zapto.org, but I turned the computer that hosts it off before I left home, so you can’t see it right now. Al would be embarrassed to see it anyway, he thinks it’s so old and his work is so much better now.
The flight here was quite the experience. It was the first time either of us had flown in a small plane and it was a beautiful, clear night, so we got a great view. The whole trip took a little over an hour, so we didn’t get very high, only 6000 feet. The ground and all the lights on buildings and cars were visible the whole time. The only dark areas were the lakes and rivers. We got some spectacular views of Pittsburgh and it’s three rivers as we came in to land at Allegheny Airport. We wore headset and could hear all the radio traffic and whatever the pilot, Joe, said. He had a friend ride along, so we mostly listened as he explained the instruments to him. It was a fairly new plane and the instruments were all computer screens. It was pretty entertaining.
And comfortable. I’ve had cab rides that were rougher. You hardly knew you were in a plane!
That’s all for now. Right now, no news is good news. I spoke with a social worker a while ago who was checking to be sure I knew what services were available and had a place to stay tonight. I had called the Family House while I was in the cafeteria, so I was all set in that regard.
I’ll update later.
