I don’t have a lot to say tonight. I spent significant portions of the day asleep or so foggy with fatigue that it was hard to even think. This, they tell me, is normal. (For whatever “normal” means in this very abnormal context.) It’s very unsettling to fall asleep entirely unexpectedly. It’s like when you ignore the message from your MacBook that “Your computer will sleep soon if not connected to power.” Within a minute or two, it shuts down. That was me all day!

The big excitement came near the end of the day. The nurses brought in a small recliner for me to sit in so I don’t have to be in bed all the time. (My back will thank them.)

I haven’t really written about how small my room is. It’s tiny with a lot of stuff packed into the space. In the room is the IV, the bed, a window with a bench below it for visitors, a small closet, a sink, one of those rolling trays, and a chair. There were, until today, two of those rolling trays. One of them had to go to try to squeeze a recliner in beside the bed.

This was a project. First, I had all kinds of stuff on the tray beside the bed. Much of this was either for charging my various devices or items I need to have always within reach, since I can’t currently get up without a nurse present. (Partly because of some rules that are a bit too extreme, and partly because I’m tethered to the IV machine.)

To get the recliner in the room, they moved the bed and then still didn’t have enough room. So they shortened the bed—while I was still in it! I had to fold up my tall frame for this procedure, and let me tell you, it was the most fun I’ve had in a while!

They got the recliner into position, but then couldn’t figure out how to return the bed to the proper length while I was still in it. Oh, and through much of this an alarm was blaring that they had inadvertently set off moving the bed.

At this point, the now retired tray table with my chargers and personal possessions was still wired up and in the way of me relocating to the recliner so that I was out of the bed while they tried to fix it.

My brother-in-law and sister to the rescue!

I’d brought a lap table here which has now been repurposed into a portable nightstand of sorts that can sit on the recliner beside the bed while I’m not using the recliner. Where there is a will, there is a way.

I’m told that the next three days—give or take—will be the roughest. If today was any indication, I believe it.

That said, I’m faring better than many people do at this stage.