The Dedicated Caregivers

Hey, how bout it? Two posts in two days (that's right don't miss the one below). The sad nerdy thing is, Ben and I spend more time than we like to admit talking about and planning our blog posts. So we always have an abundance of ideas and things we want to share but never the time to actually sit down and write it all out. For example, the last post I just gave up on finishing in the interest of getting something finally online for everyone to read. As far as we know, Allan did leave and Ben has cooled off. We even offered to rent a room to him for a month after talking to our Korean roomates. He declined and was probably left thinking 'the gall of them...'

Anyway, since it takes more time to write posts than think them up, ideas become quickly outdated, which is fine because many ideas are worth leaving behind anyway. Yet, the tidbits of news that they centered on can be quickly shared and that is the point of this potentially very disconnected post. So without further ado, here are some odds and ends from the past few weeks.

- The ambulance driver actually got lost on our way to the hospital. After spending several hours observing with horror the absolute lack of urgency on the part of everyone at the local hospital where Ben was first treated, I made the executive decision to take him to a private hospital in KL, where they had both the facilities and expertise to deal with an emergency if it were to occur. Still unsure if he was truly stable, I climbed into an ambulance with Ben and a nurse during rush hour and prayed for the best. Needless to say, the ride was scary as hell. I could not stop placing my hand beneath his nose to make sure he was still breathing and worrying at every bump that the clot in his brain would dislodge and he would start bleeding again (I now know that there was no reason to freak out but at the time, I had no idea). Well, no sooner do we arrive in KL and I start breathing easier when the driver starts to appear confused. He shuts the sirens off, makes a few uncertain turns and then, no joke, he pulls over alongside the road and gets out and asks for directions!!!

-We lost Ben's big pimpin' purple cane nearly the day after he got it. Yes, his three very dedicated caregivers managed to leave it in the back of a taxi cab and Ben is now pimp strolling with a bronze colored and rather sad looking cane. Joe those flames cannot come soon enough. He is also rockin' velcro shoes and is the proud owner of a heavy duty, industrial-looking wheelchair, which he is already requesting saddle bags for. He has gone from 'big pimpin' to 'geriatric gimpin'. Don't worry it is all temporary though. He will be ditching the wheelchair and cane before he even has a chance to break them in. The velcro shoes, on the other hand, well, its a style worth bringing back!

-Two of his dedicated caregivers also promptly ditched Ben the day after Big David left for home. That's right, the first chance Cindy and I had we left the SV in the hospital and went in search of some real fun (I mean seriously carting a guy in a wheelchair around really limits your fun options). So while Ben sat in the hospital alone, forgotten by the nurses and even his loved ones, Cindy and I had a blast playing with some super cool elephants. Check it out-

Don't worry every smile that day was dedicated to Ben, he was with us in spirit.

-We caregivers have discovered though that carting a guy around in a wheelchair is not always lame. For one, people are very helpful, sometimes even overly so. Between the constant advice - massage healed my dad, bury yourself in the sand at the beach, eat tons of peanuts, maybe someone put a curse on you, you should see a bomoh- and the potentially dangerous assistance in out of his wheelchair, Malaysians have proven themselves natural meddlers. Also, it means always having a lap in which to store things while you are out and about. Very handy, no?- Now handling the wheelchair is not always easy. Ben's dad certainly mastered this task, hurtling Ben over curbs, down dangerous busy KL streets, and even through the pouring rain. I have not faired so well, however. Although I managed to negotiate a gynormous hill with out spilling poor Ben onto the street, I promptly dumped him off a curb at the bottom. Some dude on crutches had to help me pull the wheelchair back up onto the sidewalk. I am getting better with practice I promise.

-Sven's two sense: Actually, my caregivers have been fantastic but some of the wheelchair incidents have freaked me out. So relieved to know that I will be out this thing in a week. There is something very discomforting about being hurtled through space without any control or notion of where you are going. Casey the speed freak, who once received three speeding tickets in two days, thinks its fun to zip around curves and come to screeching halts just before colliding with walls, people, and the like. There are handbrakes on this thing so maybe today I will take some control and start practicing some donuts.

Other than the stressful wheelchair journeys, I have few complaints really. In fact, it was with my strong encouragement that Casey and my mom went and spent the day with the elephants. I had to physically force Casey to leave, threatening to hold my breath until I popped another vessel if she did not go. My motivation was partly that I felt bad for my mom and Casey. I thought it was important that they had a little bit of fun and diversion. But I also wanted some peace and quiet and alone time with my team of nurses. Things worked out great. As you could see from the video Casey and my mom had a lot of fun with the elephants and I got a nap, a bath, and some food, no questions asked.

I am crushed about the loss of my purple pimp stick though. I am really not diggin' the bronze colored quad so I ordered another even sleaker purple pimp cane, which should arrive tomorrow. If I am gonna do this thing, I am doin' it right.

All right, until next time remember pimpin' ain't easy but it's necessary.
Later.