Prison Blues

Whew! I haven't blogged in a week, except for a fast re-post for Vintage Thingies Thursday. I've been in lock-down, known to many as Brigham & Women's Hospital. I prefer to call it lock-down or prison, because I never go willingly. Last weekend I felt kind of yucky, and woke up Monday feeling like I had a fever. Because I am still recovering from a bone marrow transplant, this is a BFD. Any temp over 100 and I have to call the doctor. Instead I called my mom, who jumped in the car and was here in less than 2 hours! Super Mom to the rescue! She made me sleep all afternoon and eat toast and applesauce. In the late afternoon my temp was 102, but with Tylenol it was down to my usual 97.7 by bedtime, and stayed there through the next morning. My mom went with me to my regularly scheduled Tuesday morning doctor appointment where there was still no temp, and I still felt fine. Then I made the crucial mistake. In the effort of full disclosure, I mentioned the fever. Do you hear the iron bars rolling together and crashing shut? That was it; IV antibiotics and hydration, put into a room in the afternoon and stuck there for 48 hours waiting for the results of blood cultures, which came back, you guessed it: NEGATIVE! But better safe than sorry I am constantly being told. At least B&W has free tv, DVD players, room service, and because of my compromised immune system, I always get my own room. Here are some of the blues I was able to enjoy for those 2 1/2 days; unfortunately I forgot to have someone take a picture of me in the blue jonny, but I only wore it for a few hours. My mom brought my hospital go-bag very quickly.As soon as you enter the room, you can use the antibacterial cleanser in the blue bottle by the door. There's also a blue sign saying that no one can come in without wearing mask and gloves.It's a standard hospital bed, but the bottom sheets are blue, and the various control buttons are also blue. The brown pillowcase is my own. I always bring my own pillow.Again, standard hospital issue IV pump in blue, but check out the bathroom sign behind it. No one can use my bathroom when they visit me because of germs.I like the little boxes of tissues they give patients and I always manage to take a couple home to keep in my car. Next to the tissues on the windowsill is the room service menu. Patients can just call the kitchen and order food anytime 7 AM-8 PM. Much better than the old check-box menus. They have awesome carrot cake!Also because of germs I can only drink Aquafina because it is processed water.
So that's the saga of my prison blues. For prettier blues, be sure to visit Smiling Sally, our Blue Monday hostess to find links to the other participants.