She appeared next to my hospital bed in the CCU. A big beautiful girl with a long thick blonde braid and a very heavy accent. My geography is not great but I would have guessed one of the Stans. Her name tag said she was Nina (say Neena). She drew blood so gently I hardly realized that was her mission. Thanking her for not making me scream, I commented on her great accent. “I love your accent” I said. “Where are you from?” Read this with your best Eastern European accent. “I am from Lob.” I thought about this for a minute. As I said, my geography isn’t great, and I get really confused by countries changing their names. “Lob? Where is that?” I asked. Without missing a beat she answered “Second Floor.”
Archive for July, 2009
My $20,000 marguerita
Last week we went to New Mexico with Don and Billie. We stayed in the barn (you can look at the July 2008 blog for that), wandered around Taos and Santa Fe, ate lots of great Mexican food and even had a couple of margueritas (imagine that). It was very hot
and I did find myself dragging (heat and I are not friends). I noted on my FaceBook page that when I got home I was going to stay in air conditioning for three days without going out. A couple of great restaurants of note that we have not visited before – Antonio’s in Taos and Cafe Pasqual in Santa Fe. Wonderful fresh food perfectly prepared and great ambience. Santa Fe Pale Ale was a hit on those really hot days. 
And did I mention the desserts at Cafe Pasqual? Cactus sorbet, roasted pineapple ice cream and zabaglione.So what , you may be asking, about that $20,000 marguerita? That marguerita came from Gabriel’s. “Do you want salt on the glass?” the waitress asked. “Of course” I said. What was I thinking? I have a heart condition. I’ve lived with it so long that I forget I have it. It is a slightly enlarged heart that doesn’t pump as well as yours. Salt is my enemy. So let’s see – Santa Fe, Mexican Food, potato chips, salty margueritas – oh yes and heat. I can’t forget the heat. I’m not sure when my slide into oblivion began but I do know when it ended – at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning when I woke up unable to breathe. This after a Friday at home struggling with stairs and just generaly feeling awful. Fortunately for all the times I took care of my Mom I knew that 911 was the only way to go. EMTs and paramedics can get you far ahead of the game and are in constant communication with the ER doctors. I didn’t realize until a couple of days after the fact how sick I actually was. My oxygen count was so low that I was immediately put on a ventilator. I was placed in the Coronary Care Unit . I was poked with IVs and blood lines in every inch of my arms. I have only vague memories of a Saturday and Saturday night spent in CCU. I’m relying on the stories of my friends who were there. Some of those stories might make another blog but for now – I am happy to be the poster recovery child of Lutheran Hospital. Thanks to a wonderful crew of doctors and nurses I was able to move off CCU on Sunday. I am home since Monday night. I’m counting salt grams. I’m trying to learn to sit still and rest. I hope to return to work next week. I thank God for answering the intercessions of my friends and family. I guess HE isnt’ done with me yet. And when I find out how much that marguerita actually cost I will let you know!
Staying in Touch - Idle Musings from Denver 