And the wait goes on

Our slight set back is growing quite tiresome, mostly for Jerry. The treatment for this nasty RSV is two 3 hour stints alone in his room with this ghastly mask on inhaling this riboviron that is supposed to kill the virus. His spirit has taken a beating, but he's a champ and he keeps bouncing back.

I am learning the odd realities of hospital time. When we've been told 5 or 10 minutes, it's never been less than half an hour. When they say half an hour, bet on at least a full hour. "Coming right down" to get Jerry for tests is typically "sometime" within the hour, if we're lucky. I realize that Jerry is not the only patient (though of course he's the most important one!) but it amazes me that anything manages to get done on hospital time.

We've met quite a number of terrific nurses, but there are two who have proven to be true angels: Ida and Carrie. Ida works on 7E, the bone marrow transplant ward. She has come down to visit Jerry several times on her break or on the shift change since he was moved. She brightens his spirit just by showing how she truly cares. Carrie works on the ward where Jerry is currently staying. She is unfailingly pleasant and cheerful and has consistently been promptly responsive to any requests we've made. She has paged people to make sure they respond during the time windows between Jerry's tent treatments and always follows up to make certain the people who need to show up do so. We both feel so well cared for when she is there.

When I go back this evening, I am going to attempt to get Jerry back on line by using old fashioned phone line. He really does need his window into the world. Let's hope it works!

I deeply appreciate the notes and phone calls. Sometimes it can feel like I'm trying to take care of Jerry all alone, but you wonderful friends have perfect timing and reach out just when I/we need it most.

We need 36 hours without a fever to bring Jerry home. He had a fever today around 2; let's hope that is the last one!