ARCHIVES - 1996 to FOREVER

And I looked on my drives, and they're never there, dammit.

Last night was a miserable night, sleep-wise, and I didn't like it a bit.

It took me over an hour to get to sleep... and then I woke up at 02:00. Wide-awake. Got up about 03:30, giving up on sleeping, and took a shower, then went back to bed. No-go.

So I went to the doughnut shop about 05:00 and even then, they only had one caramel roll left... so I got that and a few others.

Came home, read the paper and smoked a cigar and went into the house and Reta was up. I asked her to do the AM pill routine and I went to bed, and it still took a half-hour to go to sleep.

And then I woke up about 09:15 and willed myself back to sleep, and that seemed to be working when the phone rang. Reta got it on the fourth ring, and shortly after that I heard her coming down the stairs.

It was Kim, and she was crying... Lacee had passed out and hit her head. Then Kim got her up and she passed out again, but didn't hit the floor; and then once again, and then she called me.

Well, it sounded like a trip to the ER to me, so I got dressed and went over there.

Lacee was laying on the floor, awake and semi-alert, but a little slower with her speech than normal.

Well, from Kim's description, it could have been simply syncope... but she almost seemed post-dictal, like she'd had a seizure... and Kim has had no experience with that sort of thing, so she probably wouldn't recognize the difference. I'm not really sure that I would, either, come to think of it... the only ones that I've really witnessed have been grande mal.

Tom was there, and Steve came over shortly after I got there, he'd been at work. So I had Steve carry her out and he and Kim went with Lacee in the van and Tom rode with me.

We got to the ER, got her checked in and so sooner had we hit the room than the doc was there. This is a guy that I haven't worked directly with, but he surely impressed me.

He ordered a buncha labs and a CT scan after he'd looked her over, so I went over to the department to tell them not to call in the CT tech for this one.

And one of my favorite people was there, and I'd heard that she just got engaged, and I'm really happy for her. We got to talk a while and I got some nice hugs, of course!

Then I went back over to get set up for the CT and I noticed someone in the booth... and it was another one of my favorite people!

She was working CT today 'cause the regular weekend guy was off, I had thought that someone else was on call so I was happy to see her there.

We went over and got Lacee and did her head CT and it was perfectly fine, she has brains and everything....

They had started an IV on her and they were also doing blood cultures... something that I hadn't thought of was septicemia caused by tonsillitis... like I said, the doc impressed me.

Seeing that she was in good hands and good spirits and figgering that she would be getting at least two liters of fluids, Tom and I left.

I took Tom by Kim's' to get his car and then I came home, that was about 11:00.

Shortly after that, Jan came over. I tried getting Karen up at noon, but she begged for another half-hour, and Jan had to leave. And then at 12:30, she got another 30 minutes, and another at 13:00. Finally, at about 13:25, Andy and Rhonda came over and she consented to get up.

When Andy and Rhonda left, I called her school-days best friend for her, and she talked for about an hour, really enjoying it.

Before she was done talking, Jan came back with her husband and we enjoyed talking with them for a while, and before long Kim came over. Kim had given me her cell phone when we went into the hospital and I couldn't figger out why so I just put it in my pocket.

And forgot it, of course.

Until it rang...(When I was sitting on the toilet and it scared the crap out of me, heh) it was her brother Matt.

Lacee was doing OK, it was just dehydration and fever that had caused her problems, and she was supposed to stay in bed until Tuesday.

Then Kim left, then Jan and John, and Reta and I persuaded Karen to eat some chicken and noodles.

She's only eating slightly better, but still losing weight... and strength.

I want her to stay up as long as she can, of course, so that I can enjoy her company, but she gets worn out so easily....

She's been taking her steroid at 18:00 and her night-time meds at 20:00, and I've been splitting the difference for her, giving them all at 19:00... but she wanted them at 18:00 tonight, so she could go to sleep and stay asleep.

So she's sleeping, and Reta's sleeping, and I'm damned near nodding off at the keyboard here... I didn't want to go to sleep so early that I got up really early tomorrow, but I figger 21:00 will be OK.

Fuck cancer. Just fuck it.