Sunday, February 22, 2009

A busy weekend

Buddy had surgery on Friday. Thanks to all your prayers out there, things were uneventful and surgery went well. We drove up immediately after work on Friday, and spent the weekend with them. He was discharged today after a 2 night stay, after his JP drain volume trickled down to a minimum.
I have to say, strange as this may sound considering we were visiting someone in the hospital, we had a swell time yesterday. True, we didn't do much of anything besides hanging out in the hospital for almost 12 hours, but you sometimes realize that you really don't have to DO anything special to have fun with your good friends.
You can just be sitting there and not even say anything and still end up having a good time.
In this case, Kristin took buddy's girlfriend out for some girlie stuff like pedicures and massage (after all, the poor dear probably needs a break), I just stayed in his room chatting, reading my book, or just sitting there.
He was feeling well enough by the evening that we actually bought ribs from Applebee's and sneaked them in. We ended up playing cards and chatting until almost 10 pm.

Yes, it was a good weekend. It was swell to see our close friends we miss so much. And it was a bonus to see buddy doing well. We know he's going to restart chemo and radiation again soon, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, we are thankful and feel blessed for this weekend.
Coming back to Iowa was an adventure on its own. Usually a 3-hour drive, I was driving the CRV on a bright sunny day, and Kristin was talking to her sister on the phone when in the distance (probably quarter mile away) I spotted a huge cloud of snow surrounding a red moving object on the median. Squinting, I soon realized that it was a car from the opposite direction that was flipping over and over again. We pulled over to help; a trucker had already stopped and so we were the 2nd ones on the scene.

A pickup truck laid there, with its windshield gone, it's roof smashed in. Running towards the car, I was shocked to see what I thought was a body, 20 feet away. We could soon see that he was alive, and groaning. His wife remained in the driver's seat, bleeding and groggy, with her chin split so deep that I could swear I saw bone.
A lady and her husband, for reasons unclear, slid onto the median. And against all wisdom, both did not wear their seatbelts. That man who was ejected out was lucky to be alive. There was debris everywhere, including a motorcycle they were carrying. Any one of these could have crushed him.
We didn't do much, aside from making sure they had their ABCs going, and that they weren't moving (for fear of spinal injuries). Another doctor and a paramedic soon joined us on the scene. Though it was a bit irritating to have the off-duty paramedic come into the cabin of the truck where I was, jostling me out of the way, saying loudly, "Stay back, everyone. I'm a paramedic".

I was tempted to say, "And when you get to the part where you need the doctor, I'll be right here."

The ambulance got there after 10 mins, and whisked them away. Wherever they are, Jessica and James, I hope they're okay.