Picking it up

I last left you in a hardware store in Claremont, CA. That was my introduction to the Sundown Syndrom. I was there. I've done hallucinogens and they're nowhere as realistic as this. The mind does strange things when disconnected from reality. I can look back on the 4-5 episodes I encountered and realize how I accepted suggestions from the environment. The cats in ICU were because when I was sedated, Deb came in every day and reminded me that the house was OK the cats were OK and I would be better soon. Little did I realize how shaken Deb was by my condition. But I picked up on the cats. The Philapino reunion was prompted by the preponderance of Philapino staff there were at the hospital. Each instance, real as they all were, were clearly prompted by my environment.
At the rehab center I was in a three bed room and I had the bed next to the door. I saw a slice of life through the door. Staff, patients and visitors... 24 hour, 7 days. It was difficult sleeping in a strange bed, a strange room and wearing the hard collar. Thanks to old friend Kathy for driving down from So. Lake Tahoe to sleep in a chair next to me holding my hand. Vicodin helped but old friends are better.
Soomone came into the room every 4 hours to take blood pressure info, day and night. The blood pressure was consistently 120 -125 over something. One night while I was meditating on the damage GWB has caused this country, the nurse came in to take my blood pressure. Even in the dream state GWB had raised my blood pressure 10 POINTS! In my sleep!
But it was great in the All Saints rehab center. Each morning came the soft call ri-CHARD. So I'd roll over and look into the beautiful brown Philipina eyes. Time to start the day.
While I was enjoying myself for the first few days, little did I realize that most of the patients here were not quick in and out like myself, but children a year old who would never know what child hood should be and stroke and accident victims who were unaware of their surroundings. I couldn't go there again.
But I did suggest a kazoo band for the kids. The supervisor suggested that probably wouldn't work since most of the mobile kids had a trach in their throat. I'll bet the kids would have seen the humor in 10 kids marching down the hall with kazoos stuck in the trachs.
Any way, I'll never forget the time spent at the All Saints Rehab Center.
Tomorrow... the Fire Department brings me to Deb's housel