Friday, February 15, 2013

Waiting Room Knitting

As far as knitting productivity goes, nothing beats nervous hospital waiting room knitting.

My husband has an infection – a complication of his diabetes – that we've been treating since he left work early on Tuesday and went into Urgent Care. Thankfully, I was able to join him; and we've been at the hospital every day since, culminating tonight in a routine surgical procedure to drain the abscess. He's been in a lot of pain, and we've spent a lot of time waiting. Waiting for his regular doctor, waiting for the specialist, for the pharmacist, for lab work, for ultrasounds, for the procedure... He's in very good hands. And he's hardly the first person to have medical issues and who is loved by a Knitter.

By coincidence, the onset of his infection coincided with the beginning of 12 inches of reverse stockinette stitch on the cardigan I'm knitting (Cerisara by Bonnie Marie Burns). My mind was so occupied that I barely noticed the knit-boredom. And it helped that nerves made me knit a bit faster than usual. Now that we're home, all I have left are a few rows on the bottom hem, and the sleeves.

Post-procedure, Ben is feeling well. He's on pain meds and will be for a couple days; he has a follow up visit on Monday but we're optimistic that the worst is over. His doctors have been wonderful; cautious but aggressive.

My supervisors have been wonderful all week, they've done everything in their power so that I can be with Ben as much as possible.

My in-laws have been wonderful as well. My mother-in-law has accompanied us on many appointments, even though she was relegated to the waiting rooms even more than we were. My father-in-law is a Radiologist at the same hospital, he's been able to review the scans and stop in periodically. They looked after our dog last night and are doing the same tonight as well.

My mom has been extremely supportive as well, though she is further away and could not be here in person. I've cried to her on the phone more than once this week.

Of course, given the choice, I would much rather not finish Cerisara this weekend if it means we don't have to back to the hospital.