Which I think was longer for my friend having surgery than me.
I haven’t been an inpatient for a while and certainly not one facing major surgery since 1995. I don’t count a shoulder scope as major surgery. Rehab yes, but nothing major as far as recover on the surgical side. So anyway – Adventist Hospital with staff and patients coming in all sizes and shapes. Visitor parking that is free. Yes, free parking which is unheard of in most major metropolitan areas. Except for the SFVA which offers free parking but has extremely little actually available.
Back to the present – surgical waiting room for hours where I had a chance to talk to a myriad of interesting people: a gentleman in his early fifties who was there supporting his sister-in-law while his brother faced yet another in what seems to be an endless number of surgeries, a guy who fits the classic “long haired looking hippy” of my era who is probably mid40s worrying both about his family member in surgery and their 9 month old family pooch who has just had a leg amputated secondary to a tumor and an elderly man waiting on his partner hoping for good news but not really expecting it. Everyone gets a case number when they come in. Visitors have it written down along with a sticker saying they are a visitor. The electronic board on one wall lists location of patients by their case number by pre-op, in procedure or pacu. (Post anesthetic care unit for those not of US medical background).
I found the cafe/cafeteria. Their coffee is quite decent and a lot cheaper than Peets or Starbucks. They don’t offer completely healthy choices, but each and every item lists caloric load as well as distribution and amounts of protein, fat, carbs and sodium. I could easily live without knowing how many calories in each item come from fat, but that is just me….
Followed by transfer to the ward and settling in before I headed out in the rain.
