Laughing
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 11:21AM | by Otter With hours to go before surgery, mom's night was a little strange, but we've been laughing about it.
The night-nurse and mom agreed to keep her blood-pressure cuff on the edge of the bed so that vitals could be taken quickly and quietly, disturbing her sleep as little as possible. The night-nurse came in cheerily at two to take vitals. And empty the wastebasket next to mom's head, shaking out a plastic bag. And empty "the hat," the urine-measurement cup. And flush the toilet, which, mom says, "sounds like Niagara Falls."
"I like to be helpful," said the nurse.
Mom says she's becoming a saint, because she didn't throw a shoe at the door as the nurse left. But she says it with a grin.
And the cute young doctor who came in at four clattered in, as doctors must, with attendants, banners, a flourish of trumpets, and a banging of kettle drums.
"Yes?" mom asked, blearily.
"I just came in to tell you I can't see you now."
"Couldn't you have just not seen me?"
I got here this morning and interrupted a discussion with the nurse about the sign on the door: "NPO AFTER MIDNIGHT."
"What does NPO stand for?"
"Nothing by mouth."
"Shouldn't that be NBM?"
"It's... you know, I never thought of that."
Mom appealed to me as I was settling myself and turning on the computer.
"It's Latin?"
"Nihil pro ora, or possibly nihil per orem...? I've forgotten too much Latin."
"Get on that." Then to the nurse: "It's Latin."
Now she's napping off the night's busy work of not sleeping.
Another aide of some sort is at the door, looking in the window and waving a new box of latex gloves around.
Mom's in good spirits. But then, sometimes she sees life like a Wodehouse novel.
Otherwise you have to throw shoes.
Otter
She had on yellow hospital socks. When they came to get her for surgery, she remarked, "Big Bird goes to surgery..."
Reader Comments (3)
Laughing with you.
Nil per os.
And I must say (since I'm currently halfway through "Right Ho, Jeeves") that I think Wooster would have no problem with throwing shoes.
bring bag of shoes up to hospital, got it!