Things are hopping at the hospital

Well, I've been at the hospital for almost three hours and I literally have not had a chance to sit down and write anything! Robert is wide awake, more or less alert, but feeling a bunch of pain from the incision in his back. Which is, by the way, about 14 inches long. All the staff that are helping him are saying what an unusually long specimen of a back incision it is. He seems pleased that he's causing comment.

The high point of the morning was that Robert did get out of bed with the help of two physical therapists and walked about 15 feet with the walker. The PTs were really happy with what he was able to do. When the PTs are happy, I'm happy.

Dr. Abbed, the surgeon, just dropped by. It was the first time Robert had seen him since the surgery. Dr. Abbed reiterated that he was very pleased with how the surgery went, that he was able to achieve all the goals for the surgery. He radiates confidence and good cheer. He said in particular that a couple of Robert's vertebrae were essentially packed solid with bony growth, so that the nerves were jammed together with no breathing space. He thinks the space they were able to create for those nerves is going to make a big difference to Robert's overall sense of ease and comfort. When he recovers from the surgical incisions, that is.

The hospital staff are really friendly and helpful and good about discussing everything that's going on. The one thing we don't have here is space. Everything is wedged together like a puzzle, and in order to do one thing (like roll in an IV stand) then other things (the dirty linen bin, the rolling food table, the wife) have to be shifted around to make a path. Every free surface is storing something, whether it's spare towels, a jug of water, a fruit cup, the buzzer to ring the nurse.