My Golden Anniversary (50 days)

I've been waiting to mark my 50 days in here so I could joke about my 50th Anniversary and every day being the equivalent of a year in here (sometimes that feels true)-- but I'm not up for much joking today. I woke up at 4am with some... well ... (is there another way to say gushing?) and Spartacus practicing Rugby. Since then I have felt nauseous and a bit off. I just want to curl up and sleep today. I've been thinking how absolutely impossible it would be to stay here in bed day after day if I felt lousy. I'm so very, very thankful that has not been the case.
Dr. Lovelace came in and I told him how I felt. He said, not to freak me out (my words) but he believes when it's my time to deliver it will most likely happen quickly. Things will change rapidly-- so to watch for infection, fever, cramping and more contractions. I had a good one, by the way, while he was examining me. But I still feel I'll be in here for a while longer.. so don't everyone go getting worried!
As an example of how fast things move, Dr. Lovelace told me about a patient who was in here until yesterday. He said she was fine yesterday morning and in fact, looked better (less contractions) than she had all week. And then she crashed.
Let me set the stage: my nurse's assistant had just come in to take my temperature. I was eating a hot lunch so she told me to finish, wait a while and push my call button. I did all that, pushed my button and seriously-- about 45 seconds later it was crazy outside my door. I heard nurses running and yelling and all kinds of commotion. The woman had gone into labor two doors down and the nurses did not think they could get her down the hall to labor and delivery-- so they were calling for the tray that holds all the sterile stuff (I know, love my medical terms) to deliver. I guess, they felt like they might be able to make it... so they wheeled the nearly 300 pound woman-- in her bed and everything out of our unit to L & D. Dr. Lovelace was just closing up in surgery, he said. So his partner took over and he went and delivered the baby-- two minutes after she arrived!!!! Never a dull moment in here. I find it all fascinating, as long as it's not me being the fascinating case!
Today is Reese's 3rd birthday and I'm feeling a little bad that I am not at home orchestrating a birthday celebration. She's at a good age to not expect a big production-- but I struggle with missing out on these milestones. It doesn't help that Greer called me the other night to tell me that I just had to come home-- that I needed to be home for Reese's birthday because 3 is a really big deal. Can we say dagger to my heart? Sorry to whine. I'll quit that. She's in great hands. Pictures will be coming-- but they called this morning to tell me all about the big camp out on the lawn and breakfast cooked over the grill... and all the presents she opened (including the most awesome PINK magic fairy wand from Elly and Ron). And my mom just called to say Eureka-- she found a white coconut cake and the lady in the bakery "sprayed" it pink. Did anyone know that little bakery secret-- that they spray the colors on the frosting??? So all is well at home and we will have one happy little girl-- tired but happy for tonight's family BBQ.
My mom did bring the girls up yesterday and Reese told me she was going to be the "birthday boy"! I said... are you sure? And she thought for a minute and then said, "No, I'm going to be the birthday sister"!! Ah, how their little minds work. It was probably more hilarious if you had been here... rather than me writing it. But I want to remember it, so there.
I think one of my nurse friends (they've all become my friends since I'm the patient that won't go away) felt sorry for me today. Debbie has a light patient load-- (I'm not even her patient today) so she took me out for a wheelchair ride. It was such a nice diversion. She took me in this area of the hospital that has all of these historical pictures of the hospital when it looked like a large Victorian house in 1902 and then how it has changed through the years. There were also all these cool pictures of nurses from the early 1900's all the way up through the days during WW II. I loved it. Plus, we went outside for a spin. The sun felt so nourishing on my lily white skin-- it's supposed to be a record breaker today-- 103 degrees. Back to my 70 degree room.