Ah, Vineri…. (what language is that one?)

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Yep, Friday again at the HOSPITAL to volunteer. Woo Hoo!

Today… Today… Today… Well, what happened that was different from other Fridays?

Mmmmm… Oh, had several people throughout my time unable to find parking spots right there and had to park further away. That’s a bummer. Better to just to be lucky have a taxi that picks up at the door…like me. I wouldn’t be able to remember where I parked anyway… 😉

Another thing… Only had one wheelchair at my location. Uh, that’s not enough for me! So, I called another entryway and asked them if they had one I could have.

“Sure. Meet me half-way and I’ll give it to ya.”

Cool! So we both start trotting toward each other, split by two different buildings that are connected by a hallway. I meet-up with her real quick, grab the thing and quickly trot back entrance. Phew! Got that done.

I got all the wheelchairs lined up in my “entrance area” and sat to wave again. I don’t believe it was much more than 15 minutes, but I was down to just ONE wheelchair AGAIN. ok, ok, ok…. I wasn’t going to let this bother me any more. Soon, I had all of them back. How did I get them back? Who knows…?

One more thing while I was sitting there. I start hearing this alarm. I was sitting there and reading my magazine and an ALARM starts going off??? Oh, great. I’m first thinking that I need to start making calls, or something like that. Then it was…. ding, ding!! (in my brain…) I decide that I just should just go outside. I’m “very important” and do not want to be in a very dangerous position to get hurt. Yep, that’s it….

The alarms were shut off by the maintenance staff in just a short period. Went back inside and kept greeting and reading.

Ah… Visit the Psychologist guy

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No… not that Psych lady here in town (those are only on Monday), but today was Psychologist guy at the hospital (Thursday). You know, the Psychologist guy I’ve been seeing every 3 months.

“How are you doing, Darren?”

“Good. I’m feeling better and better all the time since the surgery.”

“You are SOUNDING GREAT since the surgery!”

La Da…. So, all is better.

This guy also had a “story” for ME.

“You are getting a new Psychologist. I’m, uh, not going to be around here any more after a month. Sooo, you’ll just get a new Psychologist to meet with you here.”

“Uh, okay. That’s cool.”

Handing me to someone else? That’s fine. Told me the name and everything too. Now I’ll be seeing someone new and have too much fun again. 😉

My Brain Surgeon Visit

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THIS IS WHAT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR, BOYS AND GIRLS.

Today is Wednesday and I did… wait, wait… YESTERDAY was Wednesday and I did one of those “check-in with the Neurosurgeon” appointments. (you know, that check-in that EVERYONE does for the SAME REASON as me on a regular basis…)

What did the surgeon say today? Well…

  • “Everything looks good that was done by the surgery that I did. I can see this by how well your scar looks on the side of your forehead.” (Hard Work done by Him)
  • “You are doing a good job by how your hair is growing back cover the rest of your scars.” (Hard Work done by Me)

Ok ok ok…. May have been several things talked about there, but those are the MAIN ones to brag about. 🙂

Several other things he talked about and how he was so proud of the work he finished. (Not those exact words, but you know what I mean) 😉

He asked what I’ve been doing lately…

“Oh…. I’ve been riding my bike all over the place to…”

“While wearing a helmet to thoroughly protect that WORK that I FINISHED UP THERE????!!!!”

“Uh… I guess I could, huh? I mean, I have one. When I first got out of the hospital after you doing the BRAIN FIXING SURGERY, I wore one. But.. I kinda just… Hmmm… Forget to?”

“No. No. No. No….. WEAR YOUR HELMET! You are not just going to fall off a bike and screw up all that work I did for you!”

“Ok…. “

“JUST MAKE SURE! DON’T FORGET!”

YES, I have a helmet. Do I enjoy wearing it? Not my favorite thing, but that’s true it needs to be done. :-/

When I came to my meeting, I “found out” that the party going there on was actually the Surgeon’s Birthday. Not really for me being there at all (ha ha). I bought a present to give him just for me to be a “nice guy” since it has been SO LONG since I had seen him. After learning about the Birthday, that’s exactly what my present becomes. A Birthday Present. 😉

This is a pretty nice present….

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Have we comforted ourselves with the repeats of Maandag (Dutch)?

Darren Long3 Comments

What happens on this day? …… Bueller? …… Bueller?

(Ok, if you refuse to look up the definition of that word in the title, then that’s just….. sad.)

I arose this morning and really had to intellectualize about the day and remember what was going on.

FIRST: Opening my eyes, and thinking (is that ACTUALLY what I do?)…

What day is this? ….. (this took awhile to think about. Let me think other thoughts to answer that one.)

I have a company of people coming to stay at my house tomorrow (my breathing heavily…).  (this is true, but what is today and what do I need to do now…. like, this morning?)

Oh, oh…. it’s that… that Moonday lady. That Psych-ee Person.

Ms. Psych Lady was EVEN MORE in the need of going to eat lunch than LAST WEEK. I showed up about 20 minutes early and picked up the waiting-room phone to “check in”. (This “usually” consists of me dialing her office, leaving a message and then her questioning in her head if it’s actually necessary for her to get rid of the current patient). BUT TODAY WAS DIFFERENT! I absolutely dial the phone to delightfully inform her machine, but this phone was actually answered automatically! (Gasp!)

She asks, “Are we ready to go? Have you decided where we are going??“

“My answers to those questions are…. YES and YESSS…”

Out the door. On our way… To WHOLE FOODS for the “first time” this week. Did she easily convince me that eating at this location (like last week) was a good idea? I guess so because I had no argumentative way of riding in the passenger seat this week. Nicely turned the corner from the beginning location and arrived after a very short commute.

SECOND: What was chosen to eat today? (Let me look at my pictures I took with my phone I will describe them in detail….)

NOW. The Very First Thing that I want to bring to your attention is that I had chosen an area within the store and was unable leave quickly for one of two reasons. It would either be my inability to choose from the large selection, or just enjoying the conversation between myself and this lady helping me. Could be both, but never the less, lets move forward with food chosen from that area…

  • First Selection:  I had a tuna sandwich on a French Bread bun. Very tasty and many “pieces” of things that appear in tuna sandwiched together. Delightfully tasteful. (those are so good, usable words…. Uh, yeah…)
  • Second Selection:  Broccoli Crunch. Tasty Broccoli in a clear and plastic bowl. Broccoli. Yep. That’s about it, folks. Broccoli. Not bad. Not bad at all. Eaten and enjoyed.
  • Third Selection:  Tiramisu. Ahhhh.. Good and tasty. Good enough to remember what the heck it was just because after finding the picture on Google Images, it brought back memories. The image I had taken with my phone was only the label, not the food itself. Hmmmm….

What was I Drinking?… “Chameleon Cold-Brew Mexican Coffee” (in a cold glass jar). That was very tasty. Get it next time? Mmmmm, No. Too many OTHER selections that I need to try.

So, this Maandog was a good day. Is the next entry here only going to be about a Friday, or will there be one of those other days? Lets just wait and see, Mr. Boy and Ms. Girl (those may be the only two people who read this blog? I have no idea).

Fri-day and My Presence is at the Hospital

Darren Long1 Comment

Yesss….

It’s Friday again! What do we do on Friday, boys and girls? It is volunteering time at the local hospital!

Set my alarm at a sufficient time this morning and arose just fine to leap into my hospital volunteering outfit. Went to the kitchen, ate my cereal while drinking my Starbucks coffee from my machine and was then ready to go. Look outside and expected my taxi would be there like last week. Uh… No….

After waiting… The taxi got there was there quickly and I got to the hospital in a snap!

Good Day Today. But, then again, what is the definition of a “bad day”?

Couple things to mention about today…

1.  Had an older guy that was brought back in by another person. This other person was saying the guy had been searching for his car and was unable to find it. Uh, ok. Got on the phone for some help, but by the time help arrived, the guy was missing. I don’t know where he went.

2. Had a younger guy come to me asking how to get some place because he was a new volunteer. (Ah! I’m not the newest anymore!) Needed to find another place in the building. I knew… Told him right where it was.

3. Then, every time I have gotten done with lunch, I have the guy to do that job for the afternoon. He’s pretty relaxed. Many for Friday afternoon hospital appointments? Uh, not too many people. Asked him today if he’d help me out one time coming up that I need off and cover me.

“No problem, unless something comes up for me. Then I’ll just leave out the sign telling people to go to the desk around the corner.”

Cool!

When people come to me with a question that’s beyond me knowing, I point them around the corner and say…

“See those people over there? Go ask them.”

It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. 🙂