They won't let me stay :(

The Presby Dallas ICU has a strict visitation policy: 8:30 AM - 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM. I've tried to find a way to stay in Bryan's room, but they said no.  I told them I would stay close to the windowsill and they wouldn't even know I was there, but they won't make any exceptions, even for ME! I reviewed the policy with them again and told them that I assumed that rule was only for visitors. I'm not a visitor. Still...didn't work.

So, Darcy and I are sitting in the lobby catching up on emails, phone calls, text messages, and now, my little piece of therapy...Bryan's Blog.

So after the doctor gave us the good news we hung around in the surgery waiting room for about an hour. They sent us to the ICU waiting room around 4:00, I guess. We came up and he hadn't been moved to ICU yet. I talked to some administrative people to see what time he would be delivered. I guess I was so anxious to see his face and since he wasn't there yet, I just started crying. I HAD to SEE him! I tried to be strong and mature, but the tears wouldn't stop flowing. They told me that we could wait in a 'family lounge' on the inside of ICU and we would see him when they wheeled him by. Minutes later they told me he was coming. My heart was POUNDING out of my chest. They wheeled him by all of us, his head wrapped in gauze, and he looked great. His eyes were partially open and we all said Hi. I said, "Hi Honey, I'm right here," because I wasn't sure if he could see me. The nurses said for me to give them 20 minutes to get him settled and they would come get me. As they rolled him away, his weak voice whispered my name...and I wanted to follow, but they said I couldn't. My heart broke!

Soon, they let me go to his room. I walked in and he opened his eyes, smiled and said, "I love you, baby." I know he does. I told him I know and I love him too. (big sigh) What a RELIEF! I cannot explain how wonderful those words sounded. It's wonderful. He's wonderful. He's well, I mean, he's going to be well.
Right now he's extremely nauseated which is so hard to handle. I don't know if his head hurts because he feels so ill. It will pass, though.

He still has his sense of humor, though. The nurse was testing his vision and he has lost his left peripherial, but that will come back. She asked him if he could see this and see that, then she said, "how many fingers am I holding up?" Bryan said, "two fingers, and your glasses are dirty." What a clown!

Then, when I left the room for just a moment, Shawn and Doug were in there alone with him. They whispered, "Bryan, don't worry, we're here. We found a Sharpie and we're going to roll you on your side and put a tramp stamp on your lower back because you won't remember this." Bryan said, "Ugh, how did Gayla allow this to happen??"
God...thank you for a sense of humor.

Below is a card Bryan got from his good friend, Tige:

Thanks, Tige. Mr. Bryan loves you.

Gayla

3/8/10

8:30 PM