TGIF

Several highlights today. First of all, a dietician came in, looked at me and said, "Are you staying here? I think I've seen you on the stairs." Told you, stairs culture is a real thing. Saw someone huffing and puffing their way up. I tried to be encouraging.

Second, and far bigger, we got out of the ICU and into a regular room. It's a huge step forward on our 11th day at the hospital. At first, it was into a semi-private room, which I guess is a nice way of saying you're not just out in the middle of an open floor, but there ain't nothing private about it. Two beds right next to each other with a curtain in between. It's a double, like what you get if you pick late in the rooming lottery in college.

But we've enjoyed occasional perks since being here on account of our foundation supporting research and providing fellowships. One perk is some super soft non-skid socks with the hospital logo on them. Another is access to the office of the dean, which so far has gotten me access to the employee fitness center, a couple of days of free parking (a $36.00 value) and a way of asking someone (as opposed to asking a bureaucracy) if it would be possible to get a single room. I really don't like asking for favors, but we have had people coming by our room every day asking if they could do anything for us, so after a while they wore me down.

So I asked if we could get on the list for a single room. I did it as gently as I could, but I asked for the favor. The lovely and helpful woman I've been dealing with explained that there were no single rooms available, but if one opened up that we would get it. No lie, half an hour later, a single room suddenly opened up. I presume they didn't boot someone out to make room for us, so I guess it was just right place, right time. Anyway, Ronnie is in a single room and we're happy about it.

Now it's just a slow build to discharge. Hopefully just a few more days. I wonder how deep in the lot my car's gotten buried. Oh well, that's a problem for another day