Although relatives of patients in the ICU are supposed to leave at night, when they found that I was going to sleep in the waiting room they let me stay next to Eliza in the special chairs that recline into a lying down position (almost).
We admired the nurses in the ICU as much as than the doctors, and came to know them personally and to deeply appreciate the care they took with Eliza, especially a young woman with five children named Teresa. We knew their shifts, and looked forward to seeing them again, as Eliza’s stay in the ICU was ten days long.
The nurses also welcomed us for a sad reason; they said it was so seldom that a patient in the ICU had an intact family to care for them.
I can’t remember when Eliza was brought out of her induced coma, but it was fairly quickly. Less quickly she reverted to her normal size and her face became recognizable. However she was still on a strong dosage of morphine and spent much of the time asleep.
Once Eliza was out of danger, my nephew and his wife, who live in Charlottesville, set up a comfy spot for us in their attic. It was such a welcoming feeling, after a long day at the hospital, to be with them instead of in a hotel.
Fred had to prepare for a new job teaching at Princeton, so my lifelong friend, Rosalie, came down from Boston and settled into my routine with me.
It was a great day when Eliza was moved out of the ICU and onto the orthopedic floor, where she stayed another ten days. One day while there, an officious intern came making rounds and declared that Eliza must be fitted with a sling (in addition to all her other medical “outfits”) to make her collarbone heal correctly. The nurse objected that it was unnecessary and would be uncomfortable but he persisted, had it brought in and adjusted it on Eliza. He had not been out of the room a minute before the nurse, a seasoned veteran, took it off and threw it in the closet!
Taking Eliza home to a family place on Afton Mountain was terrifying, even though it was done in an ambulance with great care. Her hospital bed took the place of the dining room table. She was still on morphine, which helped with pain but had the downside of bringing on a negative attitude and nightmares. Plus, the halo she wore was both painful and restricting.
Eliza was having a tough time when into her life came Agnes Schrider, assigned to be Eliza’s physical therapist. Relentlessly positive, funny and tough, Agnes picked up immediately that Eliza had hit bottom. Over the next three months Agnes brought her back to the land of the living; first coming to us, and then with us coming to her at her office right off of Rte. 151 on the road to Wintergreen in Nelson County.
