A Little Excitement On The Sixth Floor

     This will be brief as I am doing it on the tablet. The surgery went well and I will be going home today (I think). I have to tell you about a bit of turmoil at 0200, but first I'll start at 1845 yesterday. I was beginning to notice that my pain meds were starting to wear off. Then I realized that I hadn't had any since morning. I called the nurse and got the meds, but they would take a while to kick in. For the next two hours the call button failed and the pain became more and more of a problem. I became increasingly uncomfortable and frustrated. I eventually fell asleep, but I was wrapped up in a tangle blankets and pillows. Around two AM I had to use the urinal. To avoid any spillage, I decided to sit up on the edge of the bed. Lately, at home, I have been doing that so as to avoid a night time trip to the John with the walker. At any rate, I dragged my legs over to the edge of the bed, sat up and proceeded to use the urinal. 

     Then all Hell broke loose as nurses and techs came rushing through the four foot door like a SWAT team in mufti! I had forgotten that the beds in such wards are alarmed so that patients MUST NOT get out of bed unassisted. Even sitting up on the edge of the bed triggered the alarm. At that hour everything is quiet, and the staff is lounging around the nurse's station visiting and drinking coffee. The response was impressive and even startling. As they came through the door, one of them was yelling, "What are you doing???" I said, "What does it look like?,"