Waiting ___________?

I have spent most of the last week waiting to hear results for my dad’s pneumonia. I have become a hermit in my dad’s hospital room at St. Joe’s. They have this nice chair that is just comfortable enough to sit and watch hours of Netflix, read on my ipad or write. I haven’t paid much attention to the time. Yes, there is a clock on the wall but it isn’t in my range of vision. I have been able to meet probably 10 different nurses and cnas and a handful of doctors during the last week. I know that waiting for results from a test can become annoying, especially if you are free to leave if the test comes back negative.

I also now that today I waited from 8am till 2pm to hear from the team of doctors that they were going to officially discharge my dad. Sure I had already talked with the Case Manager about the logistics and time frame, yet, without the attending physician signing some papers it wouldn’t happen.  I know that there isn’t any quick way to help someone recover from a serious illness so you discover that waiting is a normal part of life.

I know that waiting in a hospital is a rather normal situation. Yet, I detest waiting while my wife or daughters are shopping. I would be looking at my iPhone to catch the time. I would always be wondering what could take them so long to look for just one thing. Yet, I know that patience is an incredible virtue and gift from God. Not everyone is able to be patient in the midst of stress or struggles. I will always waiting in line for an hour to get Flippi’s Pizza. I was asked the question too often, “Is it really worth the wait?” and all would respond, “YES!!” Yet, when it comes to waiting for my wife to show up with food while I’ve starved all day I usually am ready to lose it.

I know I had ordered a rubberized plastic shell for my MacBook pro and got annoyed that it hadn’t come when it was supposed to be delivered. It turned out that it got stuck in some overseas supplier’s warehouse and was a week late. I was then totally bummed when what arrived wasn’t the same as the picture that I had seen on Amazon. The color was totally different and then it wasn’t rubberized at all but totally plastic. So what happened? I was shocked that my complaint e-mail came back in minutes.

I’m waiting for the transport for my dad to take him to a rehab center that is very close to my house. The Case Manager gave the impression that it could arrive between 6pm to 7pm or a little later. My nurse told me to be ready at 5:50. Yet, grandpa is still sleeping and hasn’t eaten yet. He is supposed to keep his strength up and maintain or gain weight.  I know that I can count on my wife to show up soon so grandpa has clothes to wear.

I will always remember both as an adult and a kid how difficult it was to sleep the night before a trip or big event. I assumed that by not going to bed that the time would fly and before I knew it the event would be upon us. Nah – this usually doesn’t happen. I end up becoming a clock-watcher and it seems like an eternity before anything actually happens.

So here I am waiting for my dad’s dinner to show and just found out that it hadn’t been ordered. I’m also waiting for Anne to show with his clothes and also hoping that the transport will now be later than sooner.