Out of the hospital

Well, I got here just in time! I arrived on Wednesday night and Robb was released from the hospital on Thursday, November 9. He improved so much overnight. I think some of that would have happened anyway, but I like to think his desire to be awake and to get well increased dramatically when I arrived. The hospital was very good, part of an Adventist mission. There were Christian brochures on his table, but other than that no sign of proselytising. The nursing staff were very kind and attentive and his doctor seems very good. The hospital is very clean. On his bed table was a no caffeine menu with lots of asian vegetarian selections that looked delicious, but Robb is craving more familiar, bland foods.

Dr. Kwan is away at a conference in the U.S. (ironic, since I left my U.S. conference to come here) so we saw Robb's surgeon, Dr. Yu. After the exam, Dr. Yu asked if Robb lived in Hong Kong, or did he have friends that he could stay with. Once he understood our situation better, he said Robb could leave the hospital today and go back to the hotel with me. That was a pleasant surprise. The not so pleasant surprise was that this doctor said it may be 2 months before Robb can fly!! Another disappointment - Robb was hoping for 100% of his (already crappy) vision restored. Dr. Yu said the surgery went very well, the retina appears to be attached and in the right position, so Robb can expect 70-80% of vision to be restored. For now, he sees "junk" through his right eye and has no depth perception.

We came back to the hotel, ate lunch, then planned to read in bed. We woke up 5 hours later. So, now it is 6 pm here (5 am for my east coast friends). We are drinking jasmine tea in our hotel robes and I am learning the instructions for 2 different kinds of eye drops 4 times a day. I am trying to take the attitude that this is ultimately all a good experience. But 2 months in Hong Kong! I am organizing my laptop folders for work and repeating my new mantra from Marica, "this is totally possible."

No photos today.