Here I am in my room at St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea Hospital writing letters home to my loved ones.

I have a spacious room, one once intended for two. It has a ton of space as a result. I have cozied it up with a sari quilt, a fuzzy leopard pillow, and a bouquet of peacock feathers from the feed supply in town. It will be my home for the next week or longer, so I wanted to make as home-like as possible.

Today I began the day with “rounds”. Unlike most hospitals, we go to our team in the lounge for rounds and meet with everyone at once. My team and I discussed treatment for the day and the week, and analyzed yesterday’s failures and successes. I was informed what doctors I would be meeting with, what medications I would be trying, etc.

As I walked back to my room Nurse Joan came and took me in to see the plastic surgeon. We discussed my last horrific experience with nerve blocks and he asked me to try again. So, I had occipital nerve blocks done. Six injections into the back of my skull, leaving me a numbskull. For the next six hours I track the result. So far, numb. Can’t quite tell if the headache is better or not. Can’t say the experience is pleasant. It is not, but it was not the horror show I experienced last time so whatever he did differently, I’ll take it.

Dad has been coming to see me every day. He sits in the comfy recliner by my side while I deal with treatments and headaches, reading a WWII book on his kindle. Sometimes he will tell me a bit about the book, a memory from my childhood, something about when he and mom met. It’s been a cozy time to get closer to him. I am beyond thankful for his presence.

I try to stay cheerful with silly touches like Ruby Slipper socks:

And letters from loved ones. Thank you to all who have sent them, they help a lot.

Today is a high pain day, but I managed to make my bed, eat some breakfast, and blog. My next mission is to take a walk and then I will come back and try the next medication on the list of hopefuls.