Chapter 11

Who's The Man...

Even though I knew that there were male nurses, it still was a little surprising when a guy showed up at my door.  "Hey what's up man?" the male nurse said.  He walked in the door and it was different seeing a goatee peeking out of the bottom of the facial mask.  Hmm, let's see how this goes.  "Good morning man," I said.  "My name is Ron and I will be your nurse this morning.  My assistant should be by soon to check your vitals.  Are you in pain right now or anything new going on?" Ron asked.  "Nope I am not in any pain.  I was talking to my mom on the phone last night and I got a shortness of breath," I explained.  "Okay I will make sure I leave a note for your doctor.  Now do you have any chest pains?" the nurse asked.  "No Ron I don't have any chest pains.  I do still have some tingling in my lower legs and feet,"  I told him.  He removed the covers from my legs and checked for a pulse in my feet.  He shook his head yes as if to say it was good.  "Hey can you do me a favor and sit up so I can listen to your chest?" he asked.  I sat up and he put his stethoscope against my back and had me take some deep breaths as he listened.  He repeated this on my chest.  "It sounds good; however, I can tell that your right lung is not filling up to its capacity.  That's because your right one has the most infection," Ron said.  We talked about where we were from, what our favorite sports teams were, and how long we were at the hospital.  "Why do you still have this catheter in?  Do you think you would be able to make it to the pot to pee?"  Ron asked.  Now I have a million and one things to think about daily so why add one more?  Although having this tube in my pee hole is not progressing in the right direction, I had gotten comfortable not worrying about trying to make it to use the bathroom.  I didn't appreciate this new guy trying to shake things up.  "Yeah I am gonna recommend to your doctor that I remove it," he said.  No sleep, it's cold as fuck, I can't walk, I have to fight to get barely warm food, and nurse John Wayne here thinks he can just disrupt shit.  What an asshole!  "Cool," I uttered.  "Okay well I am gonna be back with your morning pills and see if I can take this thing out so you can start becoming more independent," he gloated.  Yeah fuck you pal!  If you hadn't noticed I am becoming a little bitter.  Not only that but OUCH!!!  I hate to stereotype, but guys aren't known for being delicate and graceful.  As he turned to leave my room, I had to ask...  "Hey Ron, are you ex-military?" I asked.  "Yes I am.  I was in the U.S. Air Force for 15 years," he replied.  Ha, I knew it!