Thursday, April 13, 2006
CSI: ICU
Mom's recovering better than we all expected. More entertainingly, too: there's a lot to be said for morphine. My sister and I stopped by yesterday morning and discovered our mother had turned into Jessica Fletcher:
I think I'm in the middle of a MURDER!
What makes you say that, Mom?
That nurse over there -- she was on the phone, fighting with her boyfriend, really loud. Then she had to leave and the phone kept ringing all night. I think the boyfriend may be DEAD! I think she killed him. (Conspiratorial whisper): I can't say too much now - they monitor everything. I'll tell you more later.
When we came back in the early evening, her murder mystery had relocated from Cabot Cove to Sin City. After a fairly lucid conversation about the doctor's visit, she gestured towards the wall to her left:
So what do you think of all this Las Vegas stuff?
Las Vegas stuff?
Yes, did they catch those guys? There's all that stuff from Vegas over there. The police were investigating.
Where's the stuff from Vegas, Mom?
In the next room.
Mom, the only thing we'll find over there is another patient hooked up to monitors.
OH, I DON'T THINK SO!
My sister peers around the corner. No neon, no slots, just another patient hooked up to monitors.
Mom...
I know you think I'm loony, but (again with the conspiratorial whisper) we'll talk later.
As we left, Mom gave my sister the evil eye for chatting with Sandy, the nurse who allegedly murdered her boyfriend. Turns out the Vegas hallucination is pretty common -- all the beeps and boops from the medical equipment sound like casino noises to the heavily sedated.
Mom's moving into a regular hospital room today, with a whole new set of nurses. I can't wait to hear who gets whacked next.
I think I'm in the middle of a MURDER!
What makes you say that, Mom?
That nurse over there -- she was on the phone, fighting with her boyfriend, really loud. Then she had to leave and the phone kept ringing all night. I think the boyfriend may be DEAD! I think she killed him. (Conspiratorial whisper): I can't say too much now - they monitor everything. I'll tell you more later.
When we came back in the early evening, her murder mystery had relocated from Cabot Cove to Sin City. After a fairly lucid conversation about the doctor's visit, she gestured towards the wall to her left:
So what do you think of all this Las Vegas stuff?
Las Vegas stuff?
Yes, did they catch those guys? There's all that stuff from Vegas over there. The police were investigating.
Where's the stuff from Vegas, Mom?
In the next room.
Mom, the only thing we'll find over there is another patient hooked up to monitors.
OH, I DON'T THINK SO!
My sister peers around the corner. No neon, no slots, just another patient hooked up to monitors.
Mom...
I know you think I'm loony, but (again with the conspiratorial whisper) we'll talk later.
As we left, Mom gave my sister the evil eye for chatting with Sandy, the nurse who allegedly murdered her boyfriend. Turns out the Vegas hallucination is pretty common -- all the beeps and boops from the medical equipment sound like casino noises to the heavily sedated.
Mom's moving into a regular hospital room today, with a whole new set of nurses. I can't wait to hear who gets whacked next.
# posted by Peggy @ 8:21 AM 
