Retro Post

7/3/2006
The roommate, humor in the hospital...
Jim's roommate this hospital stay was a retired environmental psychology professor from the U of I. He was a great guy. His nationality was Japanese. He was on his 10th day in the hospital for pneumonia. When we left to come home yesterday he was still there.

Saturday evening I left the hospital to come home about 8:00PM. Yesterday morning when I arrived back at the hospital the professor was dead serious when he told me that Jim saved his life and he owed him one. I thought what in the world was he talking about.

The professor had been trying over and over for 45 minutes around 11:00 PM the night before to get some help to get him to the bathroom. No one answered his call light. Finally Jim got up, unhooked his own IV drip, went over to the professor's bed, unhooked his different IV drips and helped him into the bathroom. The professor made it just in time. Jim said he heard a big splat the minute he got sat down in the bathroom. I can't help it, I have to laugh when I tell this. Here are these two sick fellows waiting for someone to answer the professor's call light. When no one shows up after 45 minutes, Jim takes matters in his own hands and helps the professor into the bathroom. Just picture it.

When someone finally showed up about 1/2 hour later Jim asked her where she had been. She said the shift was changing. Big deal? Would they have liked to have cleaned up kaka? Anyway, both guys are planning to write about this on the survery that the hospital sends out. Not that it will make one bit of difference.