flower_cat update: *double* reverse

So, the Cat has been unable to keep food and drink down; she put in a call yesterday that was never answered, nor was her call this morning, so she finally called our personal physician, who gave her the number of the surgery clinic (who we evidently should have called first, only nobody told us that). They said to go in to emergency for a two-hour hydration procedure.

Fifty dollars and 11 hours later, she's still there, and will almost certainly be staying the night home as of 1:20 -- they only sent me home an hour ago. It seems that her bowels are still on strike after the surgery, a condition called ileus (although the Wikipedia article doesn't seem to exactly match the Cat's condition). Nobody mentioned it, of course, but the fact that she was throwing up everything they fed her after the surgery should have been a strong clue. I went in to Patient Relations and raised some minor hell, but apparently a formal "grievance" (as opposed to a mere gripe, which is easier to shrug off) has to go through Member Services. I will go there tomorrow morning when I either pick her up or visit her.

flower_cat update: thump!

Well, she's home! It feels indescribably nice to have her back in our own bed where she belongs. For the next couple of days she'll be on the BRAT diet: Bananas, Rice, Apples, and Toast.

The Cat slipped and fell on the way out of bed to the bathroom this morning, at about 5:30am; thank goodness for:

• adult-sized diapers (which make pretty good padding when you slip and fall on your butt)
• rounded corners on furniture
• windex
• paper towels
• baking soda

Only two scrapes, one on her side and one on my foot (don't know how I got it; I think I was out of bed before I fully woke up). The incision held up perfectly; I think she'll be ok on that front. Cleanup will take a while but we'll manage.

Baycon schedule

Filk 101 Friday 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. San Jose
Learn about filk singing, including the history of filk and how to appreciate the genre.
   Steve Savitzky
   Loren Davidson (Moderator)
   Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
   Jeff Bohnhoff

Meet the Guests Friday 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Pine/Fir/Oak
Grab your fedora and hurry over to the Ink and Paint Club to meet our Guests of Honor. Sadly, due to previous contractual obligations, Jessica Rabbit can't make it. In a display of overcompensation the lovely Chase Masterson (from Star Trek Deep Space 9) will be there and we may be able to persuade her to sing for us! Our other wonderful guests will also be there for you to meet and mingle with. Immediately following the reception we'll break out the chips for the annual Charity Casino.

A Brief History of Computers Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Fir/Oak
Panelists discuss a brief history of computing.
   Christopher Garcia (Moderator)
   Brett Glass
   Philip Gust
   Steve Savitzky
   Berry Kercheval

The Art of Filk Parody Sunday 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. San Carlos
Filk composers discuss the joys of writing parodies.
   Jane Mailander
   Steve Savitzky (Moderator)
   Bob Kanefsky
   Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
   Jeff Bohnhoff

Concert: Steve Savitzky Sunday 10:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. San Juan/San Carlos
Computers, sentient spacecraft, and things better left unmentioned.
   Steve Savitzky

flower_cat update: ...

The little scrape turned into a huge hematoma (often called a "goose egg", only this one is more like ostrich) and a lot of pain. I took her in to the ER at about 8am; currently waiting for a CAT scan (seems appropriate) and lab results. Meanwhile I'm grabbing a fast brunch (PB/chutney sandwitch) before going out for the Wednesday shopping. I'm expecting to be home most of this evening; not entirely clear whether the Cat will be but I'm hopeful.

Not how I was planning to spend my week.

flower_cat update: 4:30pm

When I left her at about 4:30 this afternoon, the Cat was waiting for a hospital room -- they want to keep her overnight to make sure things have stabilized. So I get to: order pizza, visit the Cat (bringing her the flowers that my Mom asked me to get her), then go to the airport to meet cflute. By now she probably does have a room; visiting hours run until 8:30.

Meanwhile I get to clean the bedroom, run some laundry, and post one more update sometime around 11pm.

When something like this comes up you just have to do whatever you have to, and worry about such unimportant details as food, sleep, and paying for it when you have time.

flower_cat update: 8:30...

... which is when visiting hours are over. She's now in a room -- I arrived at the hospital just as she was getting moved in, which resulted in a merry chase because she wasn't in the hospital database yet, and wasn't in her room in the ER either. By the time I found out where she was, the flower shop had already closed (an hour early -- grumble).

Why do they have to ask the same damned questions off a piece of paper, every time they admit someone to a hospital room? When you check in to emergency, they're already there on the screen in front of the triage nurse. We won't go into why the triage nurse goes through the same checklist as the one you answered 18 hours before.

Why, when two different doctors in ER supposedly ordered her a gastroenteritis meal, did they show up in her room with a regular meal never having heard of the BRAT diet.

Here's what I'm hoping will have happened when/if I pick up the Cat tomorrow:

• She will have been able to get out of bed and over to the bathroom and back under her own power.
• She will have eaten, with the correct diet, and not thrown up.
• Somebody will have leaned out her wound and changed the band-aid I put on it at 6am this morning.
• She will have gotten a sponge bath. We've told everyone that she had an episode of explosive diarrhoea just before her fall...
• A doctor will have looked at her injury and her blood work and OK'ed it.
• She will have received information on the care and feeding of her injury.
• She will have received information on what could go wrong, what to watch out for, and what to do about it.

And if they try to discharge her without all of those things having been done, I will raise all holy hell.