Sorry that I got a bit distracted from the tale. Onto the next part: me leaving
So I was in Freeport for about two months: June and July. I had some great roommates. I had a roommate who talked to himself at every part of the day. In his defence, he was very old and very crazy. Other than the very awkward conversation that I was not privy to join at any juncture, he was very friendly. I had two other gentlemen in the room with me. One of them tried to get me to join his religion, and it was very had to bite my tongue while he regurgitated a bunch of stuff that I knew was made up or one sided. It made him happy, so I was in no position to say anything.
The heads of the rehab facility would have these discharge meetings. It was basically an appraisal of what your status is, how much more the facility can help you, and if you are worth their time. There was the Occupational Therapist, Physio Therapist, head Nurse, Director of Faculty, Home care liaison, and some other woman who I had not seen before, I had no clue her role, but everyone was afraid of angering her.
To say it was intimidating to me was a bit of an understatement. However, I was just my usual, brash self. I made references to things no one got. I said things that made everyone uncomfortable. I asked questions that had clearly never been considered before. It was fun!
The end result of the meeting was that I would be discharged from rehab, finally, and I would be discharged soon. I was rather ecstatic. My father was understandably concerned. I was given one more week to just sort out whatever it was that a 25 year old man had to sort out after being in institutions for almost a year.
Saying goodbye to people for what was likely the last time was surprisingly easy to do. I was done with hospitals for the good part of my life. I was rather content with the amount of nurses who had pushed there way into my sphere of influence. If I never got another pill or needle again, I would be okay with it.
I kept my discharge date secret for all of a couple of days. Not from patients; that would just be rude! I mean from the internet. I was in a kind of disbelief, and was waiting for life the pull the rug out from under my feet at any moment.
So, let us do a recap of where I was physically at this moment! I was in the wheelchair still. I regained my ability to talk, to move my ligaments from the waist up, and I could raise both legs to the same height. At that point, I still did not have toe movement or glasses.
Time for the more fun count: NURSES AND NEEDLES!
Nurses that I remember: 30
Needles: 100 (ish)
Doctors that I remember: 10
Nasal Gastric Tubes: 2
X-Rays: 5
CAT Scans: 5
Pills: MILLIONS
Thank you for joining me on this journey. I know I have forgotten some things and I will write the following posts regarding those as I remember them. There was a video taken May seventh of my progress, and I will post that really soon. If you have a story regarding my stays in hospital, please share. I want to get other perspectives. I want to share a lot more if there is more to share. I also want to take a moment to thank every single person who came out to see me, or thought of me through this horrible time. I cannot prove your intentions helped me at all, but I know that they were far from ignored.
I also want to thank my family for supporting my pathetic ass though all of these hardships and trials. There is absolutely nothing I can do to show how much it has all meant to me. There is nothing I can do to pay you back. Just remember that I love you and I thank you.
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