Our Guest Blogger is Lady Wonder Wench Summer:
Big Louie, his own bad self, is standing in the corner and laughing at me. ‘S okay, I ignore him anyway …
Dickie Baby (I will explain that later) is presently attempting to gather himself and his knee into some semblance of “I’m fine; don’t worry about me …” which is, of course, a very big laugh. Guys just do not deal well with big operations and the attendant pain. Not that I blame him this time … the thing must hurt like hell … but DB is about the stubbornest guy I’ve ever known and he is not going to let a little (!) knee pain keep him from taking care of me now that he’s home.
And that, of course, is the whole story. He has always taken his job (me) very seriously. But didja ever watch a handsome older man with a devastating smile try not to wince every time he moves? Not nice …
He hates everything about this hospital … and rehab … stay. He says he doesn’t think he ever “hab-ed” so how come he had to “rehab” … ? I, of course, just smile … what else can I do?
Having spent some time in a hospital myself, it’s kind of difficult to explain to the husband of Wonder Wench that this too shall pass. I know it will, even if he doesn’t quite believe that. There is never anything “nice” about a hospital.
I didn’t realize just how scared I was until I had to wait for Dr. M to come tell me the operation was over and a success. No, not that something would go wrong with the operation … of being in the darned hospital! I couldn’t stop shaking … and even when our daughter Kris came to hold my hand and have a smiling look at Dad, the insides were on a course to go bump in the night … so between worrying about DB and whether or not I could handle going every day to see him, believe me the nerves were flying every which way but calm. And I couldn’t let him see that (he did eventually ‘cause he knows me so well) … so I smiled and talked and took Kris around (until the snow put a crimp in that) and did an amazing job of pretending …
But he’s here now … and it is so wonderful … and I can really sleep tonight instead of worrying … although, Big Louie, if you are so smart come up with a good plan to take that stupid pain away!
Dickie Baby? Oh, well, when our niece Julie was little her grandmother showed her a picture of herself (Catherine the great) and my Dick as a baby and told Julie that it was “Dickie as a baby” … and being so little herself, the only thing Julie remembered is Dickie Baby … and she has called him that ever since, even though she’s in her thirties now. A lovely young lady with a very impish smile …
I am not afraid of much … hospitals, leaning out over empty spaces (unless I’m in an airplane), water over my head … being alone … I am good company for myself but I have to know that he is somewhere close so I can hold his hand sometimes and see his smile and hear him whisper my name …
glad to hear his home and doing well…. tell him to quit trying to play macho man…. let you pamper him for a bit so that he will heal faster and then can get back to hid #1 job of taking care of you. Please give him a gentle hug from me…..
WW,
Get well wishes to Dick from one who remembers Buzz, Juggs and Brooklynite….
Dave
Dear WW – Oh, how right you are about men and their inability to deal with pain and disability. Tell DB he’s in great company, though. Years ago, after a nasty car accident, I had to have a myelogram of my C5-6 and C6-7 vertebrae. It’s an interesting process. You get to watch on a screen as they inject dye into your spinal cord – then they tilt the table to watch how the dye flows or is impeded in the vertebrae and other areas. I can tell you that it really HURT!!! I was joking with the doc the whole time. He told me that he had NEVER had a woman faint during this procedure. However, he had had several big, tough, strappping members of the NJ Jets and NY Giants football teams pass out cold on the table from the pain! My response was that if men had to bear the children in this world, we would never have to worry about overpopulation!! DB, in his own inimitable style, has a point about rehab. Maybe, in his case, they should call it “pre-hab!!!” Anyway, tell him to hang in there. I’m sure he’ll be doing a whole lot of icing from now on. It’s going to be an interesting journey – the key is not to let it frustrate him.
You two are like Yin & Yang — integral parts of one another. So, do what you do best — calm him down. And, so glad that he’s there to comfort and love you. Sending lots of healing and positive vibes in your direction.
Carole with an “e”
WW — big hug to you! You made it through. I’m glad you and Dick are back side by each again where you belong. I could make a suggestion about how to quell the pain but you’re going to have to ask “Big Louie his own bad self” what he’d ‘a done!
Dick — let your lady take care of YOU for a change!!!!
Prayers for a quick and safe healing.
Thanks WW and Dave for filling in for the quarterback. Poor DB and that pain — it will get better soon! I knew he wouldn’t like rehab but hope he is doing what the “physical terrorists” tell him to. Sure glad the waiting and trips to the hospital are over for you WW. You are so right, there is not one “nice” thing about a hospital! Dave, enjoyed your podcast — the music you chose and your voice were both very relaxing. Dick, if you get tired of keeping up this macho act, consider that showing a little vulnerability can be endearing and quite sexy. 😉
Dave, when your proud dad replied to my post he told me that you wrote the music. I remember wondering on the “Christmas With Dave” podcast if that arrangement of “Noel” was yours. I guess it was! It was so cool — the intro and ending music after “Noel” and I especially liked the note on “say” and “sheep” and then how you went back to the better known arrangement when you went to the trumpet. Really enjoyed it.
Thanks Betsy. It was a pleasure to “sit in” on the podcast this week. If Dick ever has to have anything else replaced, I’ll be glad to return. 🙂
Dear LWW – Please forward my best wishes for a speedy recovery to Big Louie. Though I do not know his particular surgery, I can honestly say, I’ve had most out there and can empathize with the guy. From five surgeries on my left knee, to five back surgeries, two hernias and the implantation of a morphine pump, I’ve felt it all.
But I have also learned that when people feel pain, it is like water, each of our bodies adapts to the amount of pain that in can manage on its own. Take for example, going to the (no! not the “D” word!) dentist. Many of us prefer (sic. demand) Novocaine prior to drilling. Yet there are people who can undergo a root canal with nothing more than a headset and some music.
So to both of you, may the Great Power above smile down at you both and bring you full recoveries, relief from pains, and give you both the strength to return to full and happy life full of smiles.
Hi – I don’t know why you don’t like hospitals —— you get gourmet food, able to sleep all day, cable TV, radio, nurses & aides waiting on you hand and foot, you don’t have to limit your time in the shower, back rubs ……..
So what’s not to like?
Oh, I know — there are sick and dying people there ….
but there’s also new life, healing, and miracles.
It all depends on your perspective.
Hi LWW
I will try hard not to snicker at DB’s nick name as I am sure he would try equally hard not to snicker at mine, yea right! (Bobbie Babby) Yikes! Dick and I have shared lots of recovery time as I went through 4 surgeries in a span of 18 months not that long ago. One of the surgeries was to save my life do to a massive infection, I can totally relate to DB’s pain and not wanting to show it all the while cursing that fact that I too could not care for my loved ones. May the keeper of the stars above hold you both close and guide Dick’s recovery and grant you, dear lady, the peace you need to rest once again.