Rule #1: Expect the Unexpected

After our homecoming adventure on Sunday, I expected the rest of the day to be fairly relaxed and routine.  I was, of course, mistaken.  I need to stop making such assumptions, it’s completely unwarranted at this stage…

The early afternoon was quiet enough, with some surfing and baby-watching and resting occupying us all.  Paul had gone out to do something with his GPS, so he was not at home when suddenly there was a loud RING-A-DING-DING-DINGLY-DONG-DING on the doorbell, setting the dogs all a-bark.  A peek out the front window revealed one of Jeff’s good friends, Mr. C, standing on the doorstep.  This was a great surprise, since A) he lives in the east valley, and B) he always attends church with Jeff, and C) they always go to lunch together after church.  We let him right in, and after a perfunctory greeting he informed us that Jeff had been taken from church to St. Joseph’s emergency room due to collapsing with chest pains in the choir loft during the mass.

I immediately called Paul, who drove straight to the hospital.  I would have gone right away myself, but for many complicating factors of the afternoon.  It ended up working out anyway.  I stayed at home until around 3pm, then loaded up the older girls, Malinda, and baby, and headed out.  First we dropped Malinda off at her apartment.  Then we made for the church, where Laurent and Megan each had an interview scheduled for youth leadership positions.  I met Paul there, as he was planning to attend the evening mass, and found out more about Jeff’s condition.  They had him stabilized and he was doing better after some IV fluids.  They had initially ruled out a heart attack as the cause of the chest pains, but needed to keep him overnight for further testing, so he was being admitted.  Consequently, I needed to stop at his apartment to get his CPAP for him, so I did that on my way to the hospital.

(I can’t help but insert a side note here, that as I tremblingly turned the key in his front door, I greatly feared what I would behold inside, for my dear brother is notoriously … errr … eccentric in his housekeeping.  It was, therefore, a shock to my system to open the door and see a perfectly pristine and orderly tableaux — floors vacuumed and swept, clean dishes stacked in one side of the sink, counters empty, no trash bags or Dasani bottles anywhere in sight… I was a little disturbed actually, and wondered if I was in the right apartment!  I thought he must have hired a maid, but found out when I queried him later that he had spent the July 4th weekend – while we were all at the ranch – cleaning the place up.  To say I was impressed does not do justice to my amazement.  Unfortunately for him, he’s now raised the bar on my expectations! 😉 )

After leaving the apartment, I began to feel a sense of foreboding, for I was now heading into uncharted territory, quite literally.  There are few things in life that send me into a greater tizzy than getting lost, and I have worked very hard as an adult to become proficient at finding my way without having an anxiety meltdown.  Though I have visited this hospital before, it was only as a passenger, so I was going on a smidgeon of a memory that it was on Thomas Rd.  I was really really happy when I arrived where I thought it was and found it there… but unfortunately, at that point, I “dropped me brain” and fell victim to a completely illogical train of thought that resulted in my driving in circles around the hospital trying to figure out where to park for roughly 20 minutes, all the while fighting a rising panic.  I finally picked a parking garage and parked in the first available spot, grabbed my purse and the CPAP, and trudged up the ramp toward the elevators.  I should have been home free at that point… but my woes were only beginning.  I had chosen a ramp that was far, far from where I needed to be, which was the main entrance of the hospital.  So now, I was stuck wandering the empty, endless, indistinguishable corridors of the hospital for what seemed like miles and miles, turning corner after corner, after corner after corner, past strange shadow-box decor filled with incongruous Victorian looking memorabilia, in what became a surrealistic nightmare, until finally I saw some signs that pointed me toward where I ought to be.  By the time I reached the main lobby I was exhausted, but relieved to see humanity again.

Thankfully, once I spoke with the receptionist, I discovered that, though Jeff was still over in ER (this was nearing 6pm) he was soon to be delivered to the CDU, which was very near the front entrance, so I went there, checked in with the nurses, and rested in the nearby cafeteria until he arrived … which was about an hour later.  “Soon” has a different meaning on hospital time!

I was glad to spend an hour laughing with my bro while he had some dinner, and was blessed to meet his priests, Frs. Terra and Shannon, who came to visit and pray with him before I left.

Since the nurse had informed him that he would have to stay in the hospital 2 days instead of just one for his testing, yesterday included more interesting drive-abouts.  This time I had all the kids along with me, and we stopped first at his church to pick up his bag (containing his cell phone) and coat which had been left in the choir loft Sunday when he was hauled off by the ER crew; then at his apartment to pick up his laptop; then we went to the hospital where, in the light of day and with my head screwed tightly on in its proper alignment, I was able to discern that the visitor’s parking ramp was immediately adjacent to the main entrance to the hospital (DUHHHHH) and in we went, lickity-split.  Naturally, Jeff was not in his room when we arrived, but that was ok by Jacob, who was dying of hunger.  We went to the cafeteria and ate a too-expensive, but quite tasty lunch, and by then Jeff was back.  We went in to see him two at a time to bring him his various treasures, but did not stay long not only because he was looking a little wiped out from his morning of tests, but I was on a time clock, with several more stops on my afternoon sojourn.

Hopefully today will not be too taxing for him, and we can get him home and into his “hobbit hole” (as we call his little under-ground apartment) where he can rest and recuperate from it all.  I know he hates to miss work, so do pray that he will be able to get back to the office a.s.a.p.