Our Last Day at Bellevue

Let's face it: Life in northwest Albuquerque is much less eventful than life in Bellevue! Before I give a current status report, I have a few tales from the day of Jillian's discharge.

Once Dr. Kalva and the nurses had completed all the paperwork and instructed Jilly on how to care for the PEG wound, we headed up to the 10th floor so Jilly could see where she had spent her first two "lost" weeks. The room she occupied of course had a new occupant, who was conscious and out of the bed, with a family member keeping her company. The nurses and aides surrounded Jilly immediately, their faces bright with smiles over her obvious recovery. It was as if a rock star had come home to visit. This was an epiphany for Jillian, who of course remembers nothing of those dramatic days.

In the hospital lobby, the exit lane was manned by the security guard who, as many friends will remember, rousted our posse from the waiting room sometime in Week 2. Seeing him again, I was happy to remember I had been only slightly rude to him on that day. A week or so later, as Raymond walked through the lobby, the guard had stopped him to ask how Jilly was, also saying that he had been in the ER when Jilly arrived on August 11. We reintroduced ourselves as he looked in amazement at Jillian. He told us how the sight of her had made his heart sink; it was clear he had thought she wouldn't survive or at least would not make such a fast, dramatic recovery.

Because the UN was in session, getting to and from our home base in those last days presented challenges. The traffic was heavy, of course, but worse than that, the streets leading to our sublet were closed off completely! Fortunately, Dr. Kalva provided us with a note explaining that Jilly could not negotiate the steep hill so soon after her release. Skeptical cab drivers waited while we presented the note to the policemen on duty, and we had no difficulty throughout our remaining hours in New York.

Jilly is starting to get used to being somewhat of a miracle. From the 10th-floor nurses to the relatives she's seen since our return, everyone exclaims over how wonderful she looks. She usually replies, "I'm going to look a whole lot better in a few more weeks!"

More catching up tomorrow--and it's all good!

Ingrid