ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE ROLLER COASTER DAYS

Hello Kast Family,

Just when I think I can’t get any more surprises it happens again! Yesterday started out like the usual Saturday, pick up the place, throw a load in the washer, etc. My friend Cheryl had asked me to go to an open house at the new Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield. Just the way I wanted to spend my day off, touring a hospital, and especially a Henry Ford Hospital, even if it isn’t downtown. But ok, I said, I’ll go along.

We had to park off site and take a shuttle to the building, it was a pretty busy place. The first thing we saw when we got on the bus was one of our former co-workers from NOMC coming aboard with her family. She is working at the new HFH now and was going to show her kids. We had a chance to catch up on the ride over. And then we pulled up to what looks like an entrance to a luxury hotel. We went inside to what looks like the lobby of a luxury hotel, and turned around to see the former Chief Nursing Officer from NOMC. She also now works there. After a few minutes of chatting we moved on to see the sights……this building is very impressive. For those of you locals who have seen the tv spots, it really is what they show. Gift shops you’d find in a big hotel, high atrium ceilings, tile, wood, etc, etc. We kept moving along checking out everything.

We were standing in line waiting for an elevator when I looked over and there stood three of Kerrie’s good friends from NOMC. Two of them are already working at HFH, and trying to talk the third, Ker’s good buddy Donna to check it out. It was so good to see them, it had been a long time as they had all moved on when their unit was closed before Kerrie left us. We only talked for a few minutes, but oh, it was so nice (and bittersweet to ) to see them. I tried to find them again later, but it was so crowded it was a lost cause.

Cheryl and I moved on to the OR area where we ran in to another old friend who is the new manager of the Recovery Room. We kept running in to doctors, and nurses, and people that we have known either in old jobs, from other associations and for me, familiar faces from HFH, even a couple of the security guards. We ended our tour in the ER where the manager turned out to be a nurse I worked with in ER at NOMC when she was ‘just a kid’.

Before we left we decided to check out the new patient rooms. And that is where the biggest surprise of the day took place. The rooms there are all nice, but after the unit that Kerrie was on, in the downtown hospital, with wood floors, refrig, sleep chair, TV with VCR etc., other than being brand new, these rooms were no surprise to me. The surprise was the nurse who was talking to the visitors. Jenn was a student when Ker was in HF. She took care of her a lot the last two admissions and was with us that last day. There she stood, little tiny thing, with a big badge saying RN. We couldn’t stop hugging, it was so good to see her. She will be working in the Oncology wing at the new hospital, she just left P2 last week and we talked about who is still there and how they are all doing. She promised to say hi for me when she sees them again. And then we hugged and hugged and hugged.

I left there with a lot of mixed feelings, not knowing if I wanted to laugh or cry. Not knowing if I was happy or sad……. Seeing my old friends from NOMC, seeing Kerrie’s old friends, and then seeing one of her special caregivers. I kept looking for sunflowers but I didn’t see a one….. Guess Kerrie was telling me she was there in lots of other ways and didn’t need the flowers yesterday to do that.

So that’s my latest story and that’s all for now. Waiting for Jenn to get home from her latest trip. She’s in Turkey right now and then heading for Greece. So, hopefully, she’ll have some adventures to share with us.
In the meantime, take care all……….
I think of you all so often…….Happy almost spring!! and Welcome back sunshine……
Joan