Doing My Rounds

Just like a doctor or nurse, I was doing my medical rounds today. About 525 miles in 12 hours.

Left at 8 a.m. and headed north and west to Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Thankfully I was fueled by a Taco John's breakfast burrito to concentrate on 4 hours of driving in the rain. Yuck. Thankfully I wasn't hypnotized watching the wipers. As far as I know, that is.

I walked into the Grantsburg hospital – where I haven't been for at least a decade – and walked up to the registration desk and said "I was born in this hospital but I have no idea where I'm going." Thankfully they pointed me in the right direction.

I just happened to pass by this little tribute to Dr. Hartzell, who delivered 6 of the 8 R's (including my twin and me). Our names probably should've been on the plaque!

Got to Mom's room and of course, was just not prepared to see her tiny, fragile frame in a hospital gown and oxygen tubes in her nose. But she wasn't acting as frail as she looked. Lunch was just delivered so we chatted while she was eating – and I made sure she ate some of her chocolate cake for dessert.

She had quite a tale about her fall and the many hours until they found her. She admits she was dreaming alot of it, but she still had the details in her head 6 days after the event. Since she still has her wits about her 100% she said she's convinced the night nurses to play cards with her.

"That first night, I beat her pretty good," she said. That's so my mom. And also why her 8 R's are pretty competitive!

Speaking of R's... I found out that the reason I was named Robyn was because her sister Violet liked the name and after having her own Roger, Ronda, and Renae, she couldn't use it. And, by mere coincidence, one of those R's showed up as I was leaving. 

Since Mom is 92, she'll likely be under observation for awhile, but she's definitely not ready to give up! Thank the Lord.

After a 2-hour visit with her, I headed for the Twin Cities. It was sort of like the Medical Triangle... Northwest to Grantsburg then southwest to St. Paul then east to Wisconsin Rapids.

In Rachel's 2 1/2 weeks, she received a lot of notes, cards, and gifts of support. Today I found her in a regular surgical care room instead of ICU. 

A friend of mine who went through a similar trauma said it was so important for Rachel and her caregivers to see her as she really was before the accident. And one of my co-workers gave me the BELIEVE sign to add to her collection. I love that people who've never met my sister still support her and pray for her even if you haven't met her.

THANK YOU!

I was able to visit her for about 2 hours since she's not in ICU and no one was awaiting their turn. She has been through so much and has so many surgeries, we just marveled at how God must have a plan for her. But let's not worry about figuring that out right now.

If you didn't know, the state capitol is within view of the hospital. Pretty cool.

When I left Regions, I had to deal with rush hour traffic but didn't want to drive in the dark. The way it was, the last 2 hours were that stupid "deer like to play in the street" hours. I braked so hard once – around tripodometer mile 488 – that everything in the back and front seat flew forward.

Grateful for a safe arrival home and precious time with family.

Hug your loved ones!!