vicariously chris

Yesterday afternoon I found Chris in a wheelchair parked in front of the busy Nursing Station. He waved and smiled as he saw me coming down the hall. It was such a treat (for both of us) to see him out of his bed. I usually don't get there until the evening so I miss this part of his day.



Chris was quite intent on figuring out what the staff were doing. There were people darting in and out carrying all sorts of do-dads and what-nots, while others were busy answering phones, checking charts and computer screens. Chris could not stop himself from speculating upon the events.



He said that,"all these people are busy trying to figure out how to get me out of here...should be in a couple of days now."



While that is obviously not entirely true, it is a great attitude for him to have and I concurred that he was "prolly right". I said prolly because it drives Chris craaaazy and he gave me heck for it right then and there! The staff thought that was pretty funny.



I was informed that I could take Chris outside for a while :) so off we went. That was so much fun. I pretended to ram his feet into the elevator doors & walls, told him that we should play hide and seek to see how long it would take for his ward workers to find him..he enjoyed all the goofing around. Chris especially enjoyed our sojourn into the sunlit world outside of his prison.



Chris enjoyed all the commotion..construction, traffic, birds chirping, planes overhead, and he really liked eavesdropping in on the other inmates who were discussing and comparing the severity of their afflictions with each other.



One of the most puzzling bizarre sights that you always see is the ubiquitous hospital O2 Smoker? Even the most cynical amongst us must realise that if oxygenating your lungs requires a nasal tube attached to a small tank of Oxygen, that you prolly shouldn't be frickin' smoking HELLO!


Chris was mesmerized by the frail looking O2 Smoker who looked like she would have to get better just to die! I reminded Chris that he (we) had inadvertently QUIT 7 weeks ago and that now he needed to think of himself as an Ex-Puffer.

Hopefully this sinks in because he does talk about it and all of us have threatened him with a quick retribution if in the future we ever catch him trying to sneak a puff :( I was a light smoker (Chris was a pack-a-day'er) and after witnessing the brutal effects of the stroke, secondhand, it was a no-brainer for me...
and that's the end of my preachy sermon.



On our way back to his ward it became evident that some of Chris's social filters are still not working at full capacity although his commentary on women's fashion was most entertaining and informative. Most of the seasonally clad young ladies in the hallway seemed oblivious to his comments which although unwarranted, were definitely flattering :)



When we made it back to his ward it was Suppertime! I sat with him and watched him eat. Chris can feed himself with his left arm (I helped him a bit with the soup and cut up his food) and he ate the entire portion..as well as a chocolate bar that his sister had left.



We watched the news and talked about the Thunderstorm that had hit the city in the morning. A few areas in town had their power knocked.



I said,"See Chris, this is like you, lines are getting reconnected and things are getting back to normal." He laughed and nodded his head as he sipped on his Tea.

It was probably the best visit that we've had so far and I am "banking" this experience for the next not-so-great day.