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The aide in same day surgery was certified as a paramedic and had worked on life flight helicopters. He is also a funeral director and working on his RN degree.  The nurse had lap band surgery lost a bunch of weight then had bilateral knee replacements and had only been back to work for 2 weeks.  The PACU nurse had been there for 6 years. She loves it. I think I would too.  The guy next door wouldn't keep his oxygen on. Garry! Jeez. The unit coordinator in same day surgery suggested that Mike bring a wheelchair to the room at discharge. This is a GREAT idea because it eliminates need to wait for transport. Martha and Mercy in the short stay unit were so beautiful (Kenyan, I think) and competent.  The rooms are so small that they have a cabinet door one opens and out swings a toilet! Felicia, my night nurse on 51 (not short stay unit, as stay was extended) has the tiniest piercing, the size of a baby tick, but it is a diamond and it is on the right corner of her right lower lip. She is from another country too, but she sort of seems Jamaican or similar. She is older and efficient. She did not screw around with getting everything set up so I could sleep through the night and she always came into the room with a fresh cup of ice water. Kristen, the 51 day nurse, just had a baby 4 months ago. She doesn't have one extra bit of flab anywhere. She has a 7 year old named Zach and a 3 year old too.  Dr. Dunleavy is finishing his residency at KU in about 6 months and then heading to Minneapolis to do a fellowship in sports medicine. He grew up in Waterloo. He also operated until midnight on Saturday night, was in to see me before 10 a.m. on Sunday and on the day of my surgery he did not scrub in to a procedure so he could follow me up to my first room and get my wound vac fixed. The housekeeper got a Kindle Fire for Christmas. She says luuuuuuvs to read. She has everything on it from "Christianity to exotic, you know like bad girl stuff." Her family had a youngster who was the baby, and they nicknamed her Was. I think that is so artful. Nina offered to come get me and take me home, but Mike decided he wanted to help.  He and Zach had to wait for 9 + hours at the hospital with me on Friday. Zach had a BM blowout and the same-day staff went and got him a diaper and wipes from the pediatric unit. Poor Mike, that was a really bad day.

I'm not sure what will happen with my foot.  It seems to be collecting more fluid without the wound vac.