Seth’s fourth day in the hospital consisted of status quo with more fatigue than normal and a couple more mentions of “throbbing” pain than the past two days. But all in all, things are well here. We did receive at least one notable update from the doctor this afternoon, but I’ll wait to share that until tomorrow as we progress through Seth’s second surgery and removal of the gold radioactive plaque that’s been in his eye for five days.
Between now and tomorrow’s surgery, I thought I’d offer a few light-hearted random thoughts from the hospital. Because after the deep post from yesterday and a long week at the hospital, a lighter tone goes a long way.
Here goes nothing…
Random Thought #1
“When bad things happen, there’s always someone who asks “why me?” It’s easy for people to compare their lives to mine and feel really sad. But this is it. I accept it. It is what it is.” – Seth as he was eating breakfast in the hospital bed
Random Thought #2
FaceTime is awesome. We’ve used it every day this week to communicate with my mom and the kids. Surprisingly, it’s been a great way to expose the kids to Seth’s eye, the patch and shield before we come home. It’s helped maintain a bit of “normalcy” for our family during the hospitalization.
Random Thought #3
Hospital cafeteria food is actually quite good. Seth’s parents and I have eaten most of our meals here at the hospital. Today’s lunch was the best so far. Turkey. Yukon gold mashed potatoes. Gravy. Cooked carrots and snap peas. Yum.
Random Thought #4
When you’re in the hospital for a whole week, visitors are a great change of pace. Our flower girl came to visit again today, as did Seth’s dad’s cousin and wife who live locally. All three individuals were sweet and added joy to the end of our day. Fresh perspective is welcomed and necessary.
Random Thought #5 (yes, I know this is contrary to random thought #3)
Jimmy John’s is awesome. I told Seth I was going to order Jimmy John’s for dinner tonight for a change of pace. Let me tell you that the Jimmy John’s dude arrived at the hospital entrance on his BIKE. The temperatures out there today are SUB-zero! I was beyond impressed. And of course, the service was speedy and the food was delicious. HUGE fan of Jimmy John’s.
Random Thought #6
Facebook, Facebook messages, Twitter, emails, texts, blogs and blog comments are an awesome way to communicate with a caregiver (like me) who’s highly visual and prefers written communication. Thank you to everyone for your great support.
Random Thought #7
Facebook, Facebook messages, texts, blogs and blog comments are an awesome way to encourage a patient whose love language is words of affirmation. Seth has really enjoyed hearing us read the messages everyone has been leaving on Facebook and the blog. Thank you!
Random Thought #8
When you’re at the hospital long enough, you become somewhat accustomed to the scene. Wheelchairs, IVs, bandages, beeping machines, scrubs, head scarves, leg braces and the like become the norm. Sure, the sights catch you off guard once in a while, but all in all, you acclimate. I wonder what it would be like if ALL of our burdens and bruises were exposed so visibly to the world. Wouldn’t we be a lot more sensitive to fellow humans beings?
Random Thought #9
Being at the hospital for great lengths of time can occasionally make you delirious. After returning from the hospital tonight, we all got a little delirious on the elevator. We got in and all three of us forgot to press the number to go up. My father-in-law made sure to let the lady in the elevator know we weren’t intoxicated, we were just delirious, overly tired from a week at the hospital. And let me add, thank goodness for comedically inclined people like my father-in-law. Because some of us are so NOT comedically inclined.
Random Thought #10
If you want to do good for someone in the hospital, keep it sweet, but simple. Relatives took Seth’s parents out for dinner tonight. And they came back with some awesome coconut cake to-go for me. Oh my goodness. SCORE.
What a nice blog! Seth continues to be in our thoughts and prayers. All of your colleagues are hoping for a speedy and full recovery!
Praying for all of you and a full recovery for Seth! Keep up the amazing blog, Amy!
Loved the random thoughts! Random thought #5 made me salivate (I’m on Optifast now and any mention of good food does that) Random thought #9 made me smile Tomorrow will be a big day for Seth when he gets those “Select” pieces of gravel removed from his eye. Prayers and love to you all!
Sounds like your day was better, Amy!! So happy for you that you could enjoy all the sights and sounds around you. I have to say that the Facetime that we’ve been doing from your home has been really nice each day. The kids are excited to see you and tell you and Seth that they love you. They have been able to share their day, smiles, and sometimes loud, but excited expressions. They all miss you and are excited to have you both come home. The kids and I have had a wonderful week together!. Good luck to Seth tomorrow when they remove the gold bottle cap from his eye. We’ll be thinking of you!! Love you guys!! See you Saturday! XOXO Mom
Hello, Seth and Amy,
Seth, our family has been praying for you! I hope you remember the crazy Picconatto’s with the 6 kids….Mike, Jon, Sharon, Laura, Kay, David? I can’t remember if you were Mike or Sharon’s age…but somewhere in there. And Steven and Kay were good friends in Sunday School and even sang a cute duet together in church “I am a Promise, I am a Possibility”. Do you remember? Your mom will, no doubt.
Mike is a missionary in Germany now. He has been there 2 1/2 years with his beautiful wife, Elissa, and their 3 wonderful children. Al and I went over to see him this summer and stayed for three weeks. It was a great trip! Kay and Sharon were able to fly over there for 10 days to see the brother they missed so much. It was in honor of Sharon’s 40th birthday. They just got back home today!
Jon is married and lives in Kansas. He has 3 children, but they live in Minot, ND with their Mom.
Sharon is happily married to Ron and lives in Prior Lake. She is a homeschooling Mom of 4 great boys, the youngest of whom has Down Syndrome, and is 9 years old. The Lord has taken them on quite a journey these past 9 years with him, but he is now a walking miracle.
Laura is in Minot, ND. She is a survivor of a very abusive marriage, and has 2 sons with her who both also have some serious cognitive and behavioral disabilities. There were several years when we were not able to be in contact with her due to her abusive husband, but now that they are divorced, our relationship has been on the mend, for which we are thankful.
Kay lives in Coon Rapids and is married to a great guy, Sean, and homeschools 3 beautiful children. Did you know that she was Miss North Dakota 2000, so she was in the Miss America pageant? Now, she teaches her kids, sings on the worship team at church, and helps out with pageants from time to time. She was just a judge for the Miss Rochester pageant!
David lives in Waite Park, which is also where we live. He suffered the pain of an unfaithful wife, but is now remarried to a wonderful Christian woman who is a great Mom to the 2 kids his wife left him with when she abandoned her marriage. God definitely can restore the years the locusts have eaten.
Al and I are still parenting, as we have adopted 2 of Laura’s children, who were victims of the abusive environment of her home.(Yes, that makes us the parents of 8 altogether!) Blake has been with us since he was 10 months old (now 16), and Becca since she was 10 years old (now almost 18). Other than that, we are generally well and active, although the usual aches and pains of getting older can slow us down from time to time.
I just thought you might like to catch up a little on some of the kids who were childhood playmates and friends from church.
You have several of them praying for you and your family during this time.
Over they years, we have seen God’s hand of healing on 4 separate occasions in our family – miraculous, supernatural healing! Once for my mom, once for me, once for Kay, and once for Sharon’s youngest son. We are now experiencing God’s healing for Al who has been diagnosed with prostrate cancer, but is responding so well to alternative medicine that his doctor is both amazed and supportive. I only say that to encourage you and Amy to hold on to the fact that God is definitely still in the healing business!! All of our healings were nothing short of miraculous! We are fervently praying for God to completely heal you of your cancer! Our daughter, Becca, has a 17-year-old friend who has struggled with cancer off and on since she was 5, and most recently experienced another miracle, when the tumor they were unable to treat was completely gone on her latest MRI. Be encouraged!
Amy….I am so enjoying reading your blogs. You are a gifted writer, and I am sure God has used your talent in the past, but He is using it to reach people on a whole new level – and a whole new group of people – as you blog about the journey you are on and the experiences you are having at this point in your life. Thank you for sharing your heart and thoughts so beautifully.(And Al and I have both enjoyed Jim’s crazy sense of humor on many occasions, so I can just see him making those comments on the elevator and Dianne laughing at him! We had so many good times with them!)
Well, I have rambled on long enough. Many prayers and much affection are coming your way from the crazy Picconatto clan.
Love in Christ, Darlene (for the group)
Hi Darlene: Thank you for sharing the family updates and kind words with me and Seth. I read every word of your comment aloud to Seth. He appreciated hearing the updates and wishes you and your family well. He sang the song “I am a promise, I am a possibility,” so clearly he remembers that well! Jim & Dianne also appreciated your updates and spoke with me about how much they have enjoyed you and your family through the years. Best wishes to you, and may God bless each one of you. Thank you for reading, for your kind words, and for your prayers. Amy
I bet it’s Bunny Cake from Honkers!that was my comfort food when we were down there
Melissa, yes it was Bunny Cake from Honkers! It was so delicious…I’d stop by at least once a month for some of that cake if I lived in Rochester. Love that it was your comfort food when you were down there. I’ll have to get some again next month when we’re there. 🙂