PS DAY FIVE:

I arrived at hospital to a flurry of activity. You'd think it was a week "day". Much to my joy, our Mary Kay was Tony's nurse. No matter what time of day we run into MK, we can always count on a big smile, a warm hug, and an "I'm so glad to see you", from her.

Let's see.... I think I left you with Tony being dis-combob-ulated. I suspect that was a result of being in a deep sleep, and woken suddenly. Needless to say, there was no sign of confusion by the time I got there. Next couple of hours spent figuring out chest pain. Eventually resolved with a bit of malox, after everyone scurried around checking vitals and trying to determine if it was heart related..... all the while Tony explaining the discomfort was similar to that he experiences when taking ooodles of pills on an empty stomach.

Watched a movie with Tony.... "SICKO"..... by Michael Moore. Were I a millionaire, I'd order a copy for every citizen of the USA, and mail it to them ASAP. Time to wake up and take to the streets, folks. Alas, I suspect things shall continue as is in our land of complacency. (ok, soap box being tucked away now)

Following Sicko, Tony watched one of his favorite movies, The Queen. Also very highly recommended, if you've not seen it.

Late afternoon visit from Dr. Graber and his Dr. assistant. (must try to remember his name). Dr. Graber's assistant is a Londoner. Again, the "plan" was spelled out to us. Tony will remain at Ruby for probably another week to 10 days. Monday or Tuesday they will consider cutting the chest tubes, and over the following 3-5 days they'll slowly withdraw them from his chest.

In the meantime, the pulmonary and physical therapy folks will work with him, increasing his lung capacity, and getting him up and moving more.

Early evening arrived and I was going stir crazy. The walls of the hospital room seem to close in tighter and tighter as day progresses. Britt popped in for a visit, which is always a treat. I decided to leave a bit early (7pm) and head home to be with the pups and parrots. As I was leaving the building, I ran into our Matthew (Lutheran pastor) who was on his way up to visit Tony. He's done an exceptionally fine job of visiting and taking care of Tony's spiritual needs. Matthew will be bringing Tony communion early Sunday morning, before he leaves town for the week. He's made arrangements for Tony to be visited by other local Lutheran pastor. Thank God for our Lutheran brothers!

On the home front.... pups seem to be managing us not being home much at all. With the bitter cold we've been experiencing over the past few days, I've had to juggle whether to keep them in the house or out, during the day. Mikey (handicapped African Grey) has become an escape artist this past week, and I'm having to put his cage in lock-down while I'm away. On two occasions I came home to find him out and about.

With the cold comes the scurrying of little feet. Obviously our little mouse friends are looking for a warm place to bed down, from the cold outside. Probably doesn't help much that the water department is in the process of completely destroying the little marsh area just down the hill.... eliminating their little slice of heavenly home. Must find my little humane hotel trap.... and begin relocating our new residents.