Things can change in an instant… (part 3)

I promise I will not start this blog post talking about how Jack is not only updating the blog again, but has updated the blog three times in a roll!! I wouldn’t stoop to the level in which I would discuss how shocking it is that Jack has posted not one, not two, but three blog posts in less than 7 days. No….I would not do that. Therefore, I will begin my blog post talking about the adventures of our stay in the hotel room. No…I’m not going that direction…get your mind out of the gutter.

By the time we got out of the hospital it was after 7:00 PM. I know this because we were in the middle of watching one of our favorite TV show, How I Met Your Mother or HIMYM for short. This particular episode of HIMYM was one that we really wanted to see because it was the second part to a cliff hanger in which one of the character’s father unexpectantly passes away. It was a very sad episode, yet a very good episode. I have see others compare it to several episodes of M*A*S*H* and I would have to agree. While funny, it also had a wonderful somber part about it that brought a real life twist to the show and that particular episode. I must admit that while extremely happy that we were getting to leave, I was a little bit disappointed that we were being dismissed in that 30 minute period of time. However thanks to modern technology I did get to see the episode even if it was over 48 hours later.

ANYWAY, back to finding a hotel room. Before leaving the hospital, we had found what we thought was the place we were going to stay. Upon arriving at the hotel, we noticed that while it might have been a wonderful hotel, all of the rooms opened to the outside. Ordinarily this would have not been that big of a deal, however per doctor’s orders, Fran needed to walk for 30-45 minutes a few times a day in order to keep blood clots from forming. Having a room at this particular hotel would have made accomplishing this task quite difficult when you are trying to keep your lovely wife, who is several months pregnant, from getting PNEUMONIA!!! After reaching the obvious conclusion that this hotel wasn’t the best for our situation, we drove to another hotel right down the road. Upon arriving, we noticed that the lot was fairly empty (which wasn’t unusual since it was the beginning of the week and a non-extended stay hotel), however after inquiring about room availability, we were told that they only thing they had were smoking rooms. You may be asking yourself, “WHY in the world would a non-extended stay hotel in the middle of the week be so booked?” I personally think that’s a very fair question so I asked. Apparently they had some large group arriving that had yet to check in...in the middle of the week….after 8:00 PM….at a non-extended stay hotel…but I digress….again. Now, I’m not the smartest person in the world, but even I know that a smoking room wasn’t the room for me to try to get for my pregnant wife when we were basically going to have to live out of it for the next 36 hours. So, we kept moving forward and continued to look for another place to stay.

The next place we came to also had a fairly empty parking lot. Luckily they did not have a large group coming in, and therefore, had plenty of rooms available. After getting the best price we could, we unloaded the car and settled in for the night. By the time we got settled it was probably nearly 9:00 PM, and we were tired. After getting us unpacked and getting ready for bed, Francie and I were beat and went straight to bed. And. We. Slept. HARD! It’s amazing how much better one sleeps when you are not lying on this convertible chair that is suppose to make a “bed.” It’s also amazing how much better one sleeps when you are not woken up every two hours for something that really in the grand scheme of things could have been done much earlier or a few hours later. Seriously people. How hard is it to check vitals at 10:30 or 11:00 PM instead of 1:00 AM?!?!?! And if you need to check vitals at 1:00 AM shine a flight light on their chest. Is it moving up and down? Yes? Ok, they are good. Let them (aka us) sleep! Like I said, we slept wonderfully that night. It was some of the best sleep we’ve had in a while. Plus the king size bed didn’t hurt either! ;)

The next morning we got up and went down stairs to enjoy the hotel’s breakfast. It was quite good, and we probably ate a little more than we should have. However we were on “vacation” right? After breakfast, Francie and I went on her first walk. After walking we spent the rest of the day taking it easy and resting. In addition to doing some laundry (as I was out of clothes because I thought that I was going out of town for only 3 days instead of 5), I also was able to get a few things accomplished at work through remoting into my office computer, however the big highlight of the day was the 3 hour nap in the middle of the afternoon! I told you we were tired! Dinner was a wonderful meal (to go) from a Cracker Barrel down the street. After dinner we watched some TV and then went to bed.

The next day we were schedule to leave and try to head back home. After breakfast, I packed things up and we both got dressed and started the long drive home. Like I said in the first blog post about this whole ordeal, the NICU was about 2+ hours away from where we live. This time, however I took my time and we made it safely home. During the drive home we stopped in another city that happens to have one of Francie’s favorite restaurants, Chick-fil-a.

A quick side note that I wanted to mention, and forgot to, in one of the previous posts. Another favorite restaurant of Francie’s is an Italian restaurant that we do not have anywhere near our home town. The day after Francie was allowed to have solid food, I suggested to my dad that he go get Francie’s favorite dish at her favorite restaurant to help build up brownie points with his favorite daughter-in-law! :) Thinking that this was a wonderful idea; mom, dad, and my sister went and had dinner there then brought a meal back for both Francie and myself. Upon getting her meal, Francie preceded to….well I wouldn’t call it “eat”. It was more like “chewing-so-quickly-that-people-wonder-if-you-really-are-tasting-it-but-don’t-say-anything-because-you’re- pregnant-and-haven’t-eaten-in-several-hours” eating it. It reminded me of my grandfather (dad’s dad) who would sit down to a table to eat, put his head down (no necessarily to give thanks) but because it was closer to his food, and would not come back up until the plate was ready to be put back in the cabinet because it was so clean.

I mention the event of Francie having her favorite dish at her favorite Italian restaurant because the same exact scenario happened at Chick-fia-a on our way back home. :) After getting her chicken salad sandwich and fruit cup (because you know, she is trying to be healthy for the baby) I thought I had warped into a scene from the movie “When Harry Met Sally”. All I can say is that I sure am glad that there were not children around! :S But seriously, she did enjoy it so much that being the loving husband I am, I went and got a second sandwich for her to have later that day.

Once back on the road we made our way home (after another stop or two to stretch our legs) and arrived safely some 3 ½ hours after we left. To say that it was a whirlwind of a trip would be an understatement. I just knew that when Francie was taken up in the helicopter that I would likely be coming back home with a car seat in the back seat, and likely after spending several weeks in the hospital either being with Francie or being with our baby or both! By the grace of God this was not the case, and we arrived safely without a car seat in the backseat.

Since arriving home I have been able to go into work for short periods of time, and Francie has been resting and taking it easy. We cannot express how thankful we are to EVERYONE who has expressed concern for our situation. The visits, cards, prayers, calls, texts, well wishes, food, and other forms of concern have been overwhelming to us. We are truly blessed people with many, many friends and family who care about us. As we approach the end of this pregnancy (whenever that may be), we must pause to give our appreciation to the gift that God has given us and be humbled by the fact that life can truly change in an instant.