So much has happened this week.
A week ago today, Mark's dad took his mom to the ER in Bartlesville because she was incoherent when he went to check on her Sunday morning. She'd been having ear pain and bad headaches for a few days before and even went to the after hours clinic twice that weekend for some medication. Throughout Sunday morning, they transferred her to Tulsa and admitted her to the ICU, where we met up with them after a frantic drive up there, worrying and wondering the entire time. Several tests and many doctors later, we learned that she had developed bacterial meningitis from an ear infection that rapidly spread, ate through the bone of her skull, and got to her spinal and brain fluids. I stayed up there until Tuesday, then flew back up Friday after work. Mark and I both drove back home today, after his mom was finally discharged and headed back home.
The first few days were surreal. When you spend 48 hours straight in the hospital, it strangely starts to become normal to you. The ICU had weird visiting hours, so we'd be kicked out for 2-4 hour periods every so often and have to wonder around, killing time. We'd go eat at the Wendy's across the street or sit in the dreadful ICU waiting room with the countless other families. I started wandering around the hospital, just to get away from it all for a while. I went to the 6th floor, where labor and delivery was. I never saw a single baby in that nursery. They must all stay in their mothers' rooms because it was always just rows of empty baby beds. I went to the chapel in the lobby to sit quietly with the small handful of other people who were there, praying for their own family members. I started frequenting the room of vending machines on the second floor - the only 24 hour food service in the building. Anyone who buys a hotdog in a bun from a vending machine must be REALLY hungry. I stuck to the pretzels. I also discovered on the second day that the waiting room for the NICU is incredibly nicer than the one we were in. Light years nicer.
Mark's brother flew back home from Beijing to be with his mom. He left at 4 AM Monday, our time, and got to Tulsa at around 4 PM Tuesday, just as I was leaving. My heart hurt to leave Mark and his dad, but I felt a huge relief once Mike got there. I felt like I was holding them up and once his brother was there, they had someone else to lean on besides each other.
We typically ate two meals a day, skipping either breakfast or lunch and eating a really late dinner. Hence the trips to the vending machines. When you live out of a hospital room, you eat nothing but crap. Wendy's. Olive Garden. Chick-fil-a. McDonalds. I felt horrible eating awful food day after day, meal after meal, but I was so hungry I'd scarf it down without feeling guilty.
When I got back up to Tulsa Friday night, Mark's mom was out of the ICU and in a room on the cardiovascular floor. She was remarkably better when I saw her. Back to normal, talking straight, aware of what was going on, and ready to go home. They actually discharged her on Saturday, but by the time all the paperwork and procedures was complete and she was free to leave, it was snowing like crazy outside. We had the local news on and they were doing a constant live-stream of weather reports. They actually said "do not get on 75 and drive to Bartlesville right now. The roads are awful." So we looked at each and weighed our options. Do we chance it? We sadly decided it wasn't worth the chance, since his mom was still so sick and it would not do her any good to get stranded on the side of the road during a snow storm. So we called the nurses back. Hooked her back up to the monitors. Put her night gown back on. Ordered her dinner to be delivered to the room. And stayed another night. I could tell everyone's spirits were down at the idea of staying one more night, away from their home. But I reminded them we were all together and the five of us got to hang out for another night in a room that was smaller than my college dorm room. We watched the snow fall, and fall, and fall all day. We ate Girl Scout cookies and watched a lot of college basketball. Mark, his dad, his brother and I even ventured out in the snow for a late lunch that afternoon. This Texas girl never sees snow and had a blast trekking through it while it fell all around us.
On top of everything else, Mark's birthday was on Friday, so we did our best to celebrate. His brother and I took him out to dinner that night after we left the hospital and ordered a brownie sundae to serve as his cake. On Saturday night we met up with several of his friends who live in Tulsa to have dinner and drinks with them as well. We also learned that two of his friends are pregnant! Sunday when we finally made it back home, I gave him his presents to open, but by that time we were both so drained and exhausted that it didn’t really feel special anymore. I know he didn’t mind, but I felt like he got a little jipped with all this happening right at his birthday, but it was also a fun to get to see all his friends and family for his birthday, despite the circumstances.
I’m looking forward to an uneventful weekend this week. Mark is frantically trying to catch up on his studying, after losing a full week of his schedule. So I’m staying out of his hair and offering to help clean his house and cook for him whenever he gets bogged down. I think he’ll eventually take me up on the offer. In the meantime, I rented Twilight tonight and am watching it while eating chocolate chips straight out of the bag. It’s just been one of those weeks. But I do think a little chocolate and some vampires could prove to lift my spirits back up.
