Hospitals

I've never really liked them, but I could tolerate them. The smells, while not the best in the world, were a little comforting to me. Now, before you leave this blog thinking that you've come across some kind of crazy person, let me explain. I was fairly sick as a kid. I was born with asthma, and back then, there were no home nebulizers. If you had a bad asthma attack, you had to go to the ER. Well, one thing my mom could count on was my consistency. Every Friday night at midnight I would have an asthma attack. It got to the point where she would put me to bed (I was a monster if I didn't get my 8 hours of sleep at night) and then she would put my shoes on after I was asleep. She would keep my brother up (because he only required a mere 6 hours of sleep each night) and then when midnight hit she would have him go out to the car while she got me out of bed and then she brought us to the ER. The ER staff knew me by name and would usher me right to the back and begin giving me a breathing treatment. This happened until I was about 2. When I was 7, I began having migraines. My mom took me to lots of doctors and specialists to make sure that I didn't have some sort of nerve damage or tumor, so I again spent a lot of time around doctors and hospitals. Shortly after we figured out that I didn't have any tumors in my head, I began having some pretty major digestive problems. I was again going to many different specialists (one time we got a little lost and ended up in the wrong state!) so there we were again surrounded by these smells and sounds. Because of all of that, I was always aware of when I needed to get to the doctor. I have even broken a few bones which brings on even more doctor visits (and if you ever have a child who needs to get the bones in their arm set, insist that they are put completely out even if they say they don't want to be...otherwise it will ruin those little finger trap toys for them for LIFE).

Now I sit here, surrounded by all of the familiar sounds and smells, but it is different. It isn't me who is sick this time. It is my brother. He was almost never sick when we were kids. The last time he was in the hospital, I wasn't here. I was at a friend's house, and he was only here overnight. We are now on night number four, and we do not have an end in sight. He has yet to be without a tube in his throat. He is sedated. To be honest, I miss my brother. I want him healthy and home. We do not know why he had this happen. We do not yet have a name for the infection, but we have a name for what the infection did. This road that we are traveling with him is a road that we never wanted to travel, and yet, here we are.

I have found that this time, I'm not as fond of the hospital smells and sounds, but I am fond of the people taking care of my brother. The team here is completely amazing, and there is no way that my family and I could ever thank them sufficiently for how they have not only cared for Jason, but also cared for us. They not only come running when his machines beep, but they make sure that we are comfortable before they leave the room. They are completely amazing.

We are also overwhelmed by the amount of support that Jason is receiving from so many people around the country. Wow. We began a CaringBridge site to keep people updated on his progress more easily, and through that we have shared so much and received so much. My mom posted something about insurance needs for him, and we ended up finding out that he was going to be covered by insurance and then my employer offered to pay for his premium! The call about paying for the premium came just minutes after finding out that he actually was going to have the insurance. I also just got a message on Facebook about someone else wanting to contribute to the premium. Since that is taken care of, we are going to make them aware of the need for covering copays and living costs because he still has to pay rent while he is here and during his recovery. It has just been completely encouraging to watch the support around Jason grow and grow - people we don't even know are leaving comments and praying for his recovery to be faster than the doctors think it is going to be. That is what we want now - a recovery that astounds the doctors and leaves them speechless.

I can safely say that I do not like hospitals, and I can safely say that I do not want to be in one for a very long time when this is all over. I believe that it will be some time before the smells and sounds here are in any way comforting to me, but I am eternally grateful for this hospital and the wonderful staff attending to my brother. They are doing what his family can not right now. We do not even know how to begin thanking them.