Josh is doing much better today. He woke up with an appetite, managed to get himself out of bed, and ordered a full breakfast, which he ate with gusto. The nurse said it was OK for him to take a shower and brought him some fresh towels and a clean hospital gown. I had to assist a bit with the shower, but overall it went pretty well, and Josh definitely felt better afterwards, since he hadn't showered since very early Wednesday morning. He decided he was up to watching a movie, so I put one of his Lord of the Rings DVDs on for him, and he seems to be pretty happy now.
I stopped by to check on Ben on my way down to scrounge up some breakfast, and he was up in his chair checking email on his laptop. He also looked a bit better, although he said he's been having trouble with his blood pressure and fever at night. He seemed pleased to finally be free of all the tubes and wired that were connected to him for the past 3 days, and said that despite the other problems he's having, the new kidney is performing like a champ.
A team of doctors came by to check on Josh this morning. They said he could go home this afternoon if he wants to, but it's up to him. He may want to stay in the hospital until he's sure his digestive system is back in full working order, because that could potentially cause some serious problems if it isn't. And if Ben's going to be here another day, he may also want to stick around to keep him company. Josh is still weak, although the walks don't tire him out as much as they did yesterday, and he needs to take it easy to give the abdominal incision a chance to heal properly.
While voluntarily spending an extra day in the hospital might sound crazy, this is actually a pretty nice place, as far as hospitals go. The rooms are relatively large, the staff is friendly and helpful, and Josh can order from a pretty extensive room service menu whenever he's hungry -- which I'm hoping will be more often now. They also have an impressive art collection -- particularly textiles -- on display throughout the building, including the patient rooms. On occasion they even have live music on the main level -- one day there was a harpist, another a flautist, and yesterday a violinist and pianist. The only problem I've encountered here, besides the dry air, is that the place is like a maze. I think the building was designed by M.C. Escher. The first, second, and third floors all have street-level exits, and it is very easy to get lost and disoriented in the halls where the patient rooms are, since there are NE and SE wings that are otherwise identical. They could have at least used a different paint color! It also somehow takes twice as long to walk from the Cascade elevators to the Pacific elevators on the first floor as it does on the third floor. I've noticed they have maps available at the info desks and by all the elevators, so clearly lots of people have trouble finding their way around. After spending several days here, I can at least find my way to the cafeteria, tea room, gift shop, pharmacy, and ER (and back), but I'd be hard-pressed to give someone else directions.
As long as we can find our way out when it's time to check out, I'll be happy.
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