S Day #2

Yes, this blog may be just the fruition of having some extra time on my hands but thought that a quick update from earlier this afternoon as things can change very quickly with these types of situations....well, they haven't.  All is good in room #2 of the 6th floor wing that we're in. 
Shawna is feeling a little better with time.  She is being taken off, slowly, the magnesium that gives her the pukey feeling and will hopefully be able to eat some ice chips soon (gotta celebrate the small victories!!!).  She has been able to start to sleep a little but the nurses (who are great) are monitoring her very closely and come in about once an hour (can't wait to try to get some good sleep tonight on, what actually I think, may be an okay pull-out couch).  She's been a champ all day, not that I or any of us expected anything less.
But I thought you all would want an update on me, as I know I am the one you are all SO concerned about!!  I tried to do the right thing this morning and, hoping she would turn down the offer, told Shawna I would hold off on eating until she could to make this more of a joint experience and allow me to suffer at least a little of what she is having to physically go through but her reply was, "We don't need two grumpy people (she didn't use the word people...use your imagination) in this room!"  Whooo, a sigh of relief.
I thought that I'd be feeling rather guilty to a point having to sit here and watch her go through physical pain that I could do almost nothing about, that is why I offered to fast with her.  Little did I know, I would be suffering physically...the magnesium they give her basically makes her body a furnace so they turn the temperature in the room WAY down.  So here is the picture you can put in your head....I'm sitting here with gloves on, trying to type, two pair of sweatpants, two pair of socks, three layers on my upper body, icicles of snot coming out of my nose and peeing ice cubes every time I have to go to the bathroom!!!  I'm just about to walk to the Penn bookstore a few blocks away and buy a winter parka and hat. 
On that note, if anyone wants some Penn/Eagles/Flyers/76ers/Phillies gear, get your orders in. 
So, to de-thaw earlier this afternoon, I slipped out of the room for about 45 minutes while Shawna slept and took a jog around Penn's gorgeous campus which was bustling with students as I think it's the first week of classes.  It was bid different trudging through the 90 degree, thick heat, than sitting in our igloo, but it was great.  I had 3 eye opening experiences/observations:

1. As I started my run, I had to run around the massive medical complex that CHOP is a part of and quickly noticed the numerous hospital employees taking smoke breaks....isn't that sort of ironic/stupid/whatever.  People working in health care that see people on a daily basis that have life threatening issues yet they spend their free time, ultimately, picking up their lives pace to death.  Hmmmmmm.....

2.  One of the few reasons I actually had some excitement about being at CHOP was that I knew it was on Penn's campus and I knew, as would any college basketball fan with any passion, they played their home games at the Palestra, an old barn of a gym with tons of college basketball history.  Numerous legendary games between heated rivals from the Philadelphia area and greater northeast have been played there.  It's like the Holland Civic Center of the east coast.  So, on my jog, I ran up to the doors but unfortunately found them all locked.  Just as I was turning around to continue on my run, the first door I had tried opened up and a YOUNG man about my age asked if he could help me out.  I explained to him that I'm a college bball junkie and small college assistant coach and was hoping I'd get the chance to peek in the legendary Palestra while I was in Philly.  He asked what brought me to Philly and I explained our journey.  Turns out he was about my age and had just been promoted to, basically, running maintenance and that sort of stuff for the Palestra (he was very proud of the promotion) and had 3 year old that doctors had detected a heard defect on before it was born.  His wife and child were also operated on, prenatally, at CHOP so we quickly struck up a bond.  Brandon then took me on a personal tour of the facility and we were able to watch some of the Penn players working out with some of the coaches and walk through the hallways which have been turned into an unofficial museum of sorts of all the history of the building.  He was great...a weird trend of the people that are going out of their way for us in our time of difficulty.  I could tell he knew exactly what I've been going through and thought this was a way he could help and it did.  It was AWESOME!  Thanks, Brandon. 

3. As I entered back into CHOP I got in the elevator with an older lady and just as the door was closing a kid, couldn't have been more than 12, slid in carrying a car seat with an infant in it.  The older lady said to the boy, "Seems you've got your hands full."  His response was, "Oh, I take a cab here all the time.  It's no problem."  No parent in sight.  The boy was young enough I didn't know if he was at the children's hospital for him or for the infant but he was definitely the care taker, having to look after an infant on his own.  Another eye opening experience that made me count my blessings!!

A few people have requested our address out here.  We don't have one...yet.  We think we have some housing through the month of September (I'll explain later....another blessing out of nowhere!!!) but I'll be making trips back and forth as Shawna's mom, Janet and I share duties of being her support person.  So as the male support does that make me Mr. Jockstrap and as the female support person, her Mrs. Brassiere?  So, I'll be able to get stuff and get it back out here on my trips back and forth.

8791 Gordon St.
Zeeland, MI
49464

My fingers are tired from texting with people all day.  This is a good thing.  You all have been so supportive and reaching out to us on this pivotal day of our journey meant so much to all of us!

CHOOSING JOY

-Jeff

With all of my layers on I quickly ran down to the car, where it had to be at least 95 degrees,  to try to get out a few DVD's and snacks.....It was hard to CHOOSE JOY when I couldn't get into my car!!  That's okay because I knew I got to head back to the room to this beauty!!