back in the cath lab

well, here i am again - the cardiac cath lab waiting room. today i am family once again, not a nurse. my dad is getting a new and improved defibrillator/pacemaker combo placed in hopes of improving his cardiac output and congestive heart failure symptoms. i just love spending my days off from nursing hanging out in the same hospital i work at! i can't get enough of this place!

would it be weird to admit that i might actually enjoy spending time here? if my father has to be a patient, i feel privileged to be a part of his care. i feel important having the role of family nurse and patient advocate. and although i would much rather my father be healthy, i enjoy spending the time with him in the hospital during vulnerable moments. my mom, sister, and i spend some of our most quality time together in waiting rooms.

hanging out at the hospital can sometimes actually be comical. my dad is a bit of a celebrity here, i think. he knows people all over the hospital. the phlebotomy techs know him from his frequent visits for blood draw. the entire cardiac clinic knows him from his years and most recently, his weekly, visits to his cardiologist. the nurses in the procedure suite know my dad from his numerous catheterization procedures. even the EKG tech came to wish my dad good luck this morning (and there was no EKG ordered).

my dad, with his infamous swiss accent and occasional ridiculous english and/or grammatical errors, is almost a comedian. to entertain himself and his audience, he tells off-color jokes; he laughs hysterically at himself while the rest of us are uncomfortable. and to our embarrassment, he even dances around in his hospital gown, showing off his chicken legs and tighty whities. thankfully, he makes these anxiety-provoking situations kind of entertaining. he walks in and out of the offices here as if he owns the place; he must feel that his years of care here give him special privileges. and they do! he gets royal treatment and exceptional care.