GOODBYE CLEVELAND! (well, for one of us)

Howdys and hello folks out there, it's Darin here, and as Mom and I finished lunch we came back to find a still-sleeping Dad looking somewhat relaxed with his Ipod (you know the one his favorite son bought him last Christmas) playing and his sleeping mask firmly in place. Mom and I aren't sure, but we think that he is now pushing his pain-relief button subconsciously in his sleep; I mean what other explanation could there be for him not acknowledging our presence in the room? I will say that he looks so much better now that he has that tube out of his nose (I was lucky enough to see it being removed and it was pretty awesome, although Dad said that it was a pain equal to, if not greater than his first catheter experience). So that's one tube down, like 18 more to go.

In a few moments I'll be heading up to see Dad one more time before I leave Cleveland for Chicago (but not to worry, I'll be back in a short while to further help out). Before today I had a heavy heart about being with Mom and Dad for such a short time, but now I leave with the confidence that he IS getting the best care he possibly could, both from staff here and my Mom, who has constantly surprised me with her level of awareness as to Dad's progression...she really knows her shit. There's still a lot of road to travel, but Mom clearly knows the route.

I've been writing this from the main waiting area of the surgery center (Internet access is free here), and as I occasionally look up from my work I see a lot of people who are now in the same boat that Mom and I, and Todd (via the phone) were in. We were trying as hard as we could to make ourselves comfortable while we waited for any news as to how Dad was doing. It was a day of heavy sighs, temple rubbing, small talk, passing humor and endless people watching that eventually climaxed in the news that everything had gone smoothly, and Dad was doing okay. The waiting area for me is now just a place for free internet, but for the people who are here now, just waiting for news or the chance to see their loved ones, it still has that forboding air to it. It is my hope that a long day spent waiting and worrying will turn out as well as it has for my dad...if they're here, it likely will.

Now, in the spirit of levity, I'd just like to mention some of the things that have brought smiles to my face while I've been here:

• There's nothing funnier than seeing an elevator door open and a group of Amish people pouring out
• NASCAR fans are very, very easy to identify
• Asian people saying words with a lot of L's in them is comedy gold, i.e. umbrella
• There are people who still have mullets in America
• Even nurses snicker when a patient lets an audible (and in this case loud and wet) fart go
• Thanks to a relaxed hospital dress code, the fantasy of sacking a "sexy nurse" is now completely gone from the male sex-drive (although there are still an ungodly amount of hot chicks prowling the hospital)
• Thanks to Gray's Anatomy, every male doctor, no matter how gawky-looking he is, thinks that he is the real-life equivalent to Dr. McDreamy, and walks the hospital with that kind of cocky swagger. Sorry to rain on your parade Dr Stolvitis.

Well, that's all for now, but in the coming days, look for an update in which I tell everybody about a group of people known as THE STOMA NURSES.

Bye fer now,

-DG-