Life, Such as it is...
Sep. 22nd, 2011 09:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseOkay, well, that was quite the trip, and, alas, my poor father's saga is not yet complete! Last things first: his surgery went overtime yesterday by about two hours. I ended up having to leave for the train station before hearing from the doctor, but my mom called. From what I understand the surgery was complicated by the fact that the surgeon accidentally broke my dad's femur while fixing his hip. This apparently happens more often than you might expect. It may also mean that, depending on how severe the break is, he may still have to stay off that leg for a while...
...which would mean back to the nursing home for more physical therapy!
AAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH.
I'm going to call my mom in a little while, actually, and see what news. They weren't happy with the x-rays they were able to get in the operating room, so today they will get more, clearer pictures and hopefully know whether or not the break will be able to withstand pressure or not. If it can, they'll patch it up and send him home. If it can't... see above.
My poor pa. It's like a Series of Unfortunate Events, only without the bestselling novel and the funny bits.
The trip down and back were both, uh, "interesting."
Down was much as I expected. The shuttle bus is tiny, cramped and frought with polka (at least the second half of the journey always is). The first shuttle down to Rochester had me cheek (as in butt) to cheek with two other women the entire way. On my left was a woman who currently lives in Iowa but was clearly Not-From-Around-Here because she really, REALLY wanted to tell me all about her trip to Atlanta. I managed to avoid much of that by "meditating" (aka turning on my meditation mp3s and napping) for a good solid chunk of the trip, but when we got into Rochester, she was fit to burst and needed to talk my ear off until we got to the main hotel. Luckily, that was only a few minutes, and she was actually quite pleasant, if non-stop.
The second bus driver is the guy who loves polka. There's ALWAYS smelly food ingested by someone, BUT, twice so far, at least, I've gotten to have a seat to myself to stretch out in. The people behind me this time: two old ladies and an older gentleman were probably the funniest part. You know how some people can just talk about nothing, but not in a funny Seinfield sort of way, really NOTHING? Well, these were those ladies. They were also weridly noisy. They asked me about my laptop's wallpaper (a villa in Italy) and I think they were reading my novel over my shoulder as I was writing which was... awkward to say the least. I ended up giving up trying to write after only a few paragraphs. The bus was bumpy anyway, and I kept accidently sliding my arm across the touch pad and launching functions I wasn't intending.
I did get a lot of writing done on the train ride home, but, this time, instead of pleasant Amish folks, I got on the car with the drunk, party people. There were even Australians for god's sake!
Plus, I noticed as the train pulled in that its engine number was 13. Cue dramatic music!!! Yes, and we were randomly delayed four or five times along the route. The first time it was freight train traffic. The second... MARINE traffic! (Seriously, the railroad bridge had opened for a barge and we had to wait for it to swing closed and be locked down.) Then, we had to wait for some other Amtrack to pass us, and the most maddening of all? We were delayed just outside of the Amtrack station itself... which meant I could SEE MY HOUSE from the car, but I couldn't get off!!!!!
AARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHH.
I ended up walking home around 11 pm, feeling wholly dissatisfied. I would at least feel as though it was a good thing that I was there to keep my mom company, but I think her worry about my travel arrangements may have actually added to her stress rather than relieving any of it.
So, a pretty crazy couple of days, honestly.
At least I got a ton written.
...which would mean back to the nursing home for more physical therapy!
AAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH.
I'm going to call my mom in a little while, actually, and see what news. They weren't happy with the x-rays they were able to get in the operating room, so today they will get more, clearer pictures and hopefully know whether or not the break will be able to withstand pressure or not. If it can, they'll patch it up and send him home. If it can't... see above.
My poor pa. It's like a Series of Unfortunate Events, only without the bestselling novel and the funny bits.
The trip down and back were both, uh, "interesting."
Down was much as I expected. The shuttle bus is tiny, cramped and frought with polka (at least the second half of the journey always is). The first shuttle down to Rochester had me cheek (as in butt) to cheek with two other women the entire way. On my left was a woman who currently lives in Iowa but was clearly Not-From-Around-Here because she really, REALLY wanted to tell me all about her trip to Atlanta. I managed to avoid much of that by "meditating" (aka turning on my meditation mp3s and napping) for a good solid chunk of the trip, but when we got into Rochester, she was fit to burst and needed to talk my ear off until we got to the main hotel. Luckily, that was only a few minutes, and she was actually quite pleasant, if non-stop.
The second bus driver is the guy who loves polka. There's ALWAYS smelly food ingested by someone, BUT, twice so far, at least, I've gotten to have a seat to myself to stretch out in. The people behind me this time: two old ladies and an older gentleman were probably the funniest part. You know how some people can just talk about nothing, but not in a funny Seinfield sort of way, really NOTHING? Well, these were those ladies. They were also weridly noisy. They asked me about my laptop's wallpaper (a villa in Italy) and I think they were reading my novel over my shoulder as I was writing which was... awkward to say the least. I ended up giving up trying to write after only a few paragraphs. The bus was bumpy anyway, and I kept accidently sliding my arm across the touch pad and launching functions I wasn't intending.
I did get a lot of writing done on the train ride home, but, this time, instead of pleasant Amish folks, I got on the car with the drunk, party people. There were even Australians for god's sake!
Plus, I noticed as the train pulled in that its engine number was 13. Cue dramatic music!!! Yes, and we were randomly delayed four or five times along the route. The first time it was freight train traffic. The second... MARINE traffic! (Seriously, the railroad bridge had opened for a barge and we had to wait for it to swing closed and be locked down.) Then, we had to wait for some other Amtrack to pass us, and the most maddening of all? We were delayed just outside of the Amtrack station itself... which meant I could SEE MY HOUSE from the car, but I couldn't get off!!!!!
AARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHH.
I ended up walking home around 11 pm, feeling wholly dissatisfied. I would at least feel as though it was a good thing that I was there to keep my mom company, but I think her worry about my travel arrangements may have actually added to her stress rather than relieving any of it.
So, a pretty crazy couple of days, honestly.
At least I got a ton written.
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no subject
Date: 2011-09-22 04:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-24 12:18 am (UTC)There is a reason we don't have Amish people in Australia!
(Uh, I mean besides the geographical and historical reasons...)