Shabbat, 28 February 2015

I felt very tired this morning and got up late even though I had gone to bed early and slept quite well. I went for my 45-minute walk AFTER breakfast.

I spent much of the day at the hospital with David. I was a little surprised to see him awake and sitting up in a chair when I got there mid-morning, since recently at home he has almost always slept all morning.

The doctor came by on rounds shortly after I got there, so I was glad I hadn't come later. I remember this doctor from David's previous hospitalizations, and he's very nice. He spoke to us in fluent English. After briefly talking with David, he told him that he was next going to talk to his spouse, referring to me. I'm telling you again, people here in Israel "get it" in spades, and this is just one more example. He confirmed what the nurse had told me earlier, that they believe David had a seizure, not a stroke. He also said that David has HIV dementia, which was a bit of a relief to hear, because his cognitive ability has been clearly declining steadily for some time now. However, it's also sobering, reminding us that even very-long-term survivors (like David is) are not free from the effects of the disease.

After the doctor's visit, David go back in the bed and fell very sound asleep, so much so that I wasn't able to wake him at all, not even to eat lunch. Finally, about an hour and a half after the food arrived, I ate it all myself rather than see it go to waste. It was delicious, by the way. :-)

I helped David get to the bathroom twice today, but the second time he almost didn't make it back to his bed. They're planning to send him home tomorrow, but if he isn't any stronger than this, there are going to be serious problems. The doctor said we can talk to the social worker there about getting more help for him at home. However, he also warned that it would take several weeks to get it set up. So, I'm a little worried. I definitely plan to address this issue with the social worker when we meet her tomorrow.

Both of the other patients in David's room are very old men whose children were there with them quite a bit today. In one case, his son was there during most of the day, and part of the time they were working a Hebrew crossword puzzle together. Later, his daughter and her grown daughter were there, and one of them was also working on the puzzle with him.

In the afternoon, while David was very sound asleep, the Chabad contingent came by, singing (very off-key) and offering misheberachs (prays for healing). When they asked me (in Hebrew) how I was connected to David, I told them I am his "ben zug", the Hebrew term for a male long-term partner, including even husbands. They were completely unfazed and very nice. I don't agree with their theology, but I can't fault their sincerity and good-heartedness one bit!

In the evening, David woke up a bit and managed to eat a fair amount of his supper. I ate most of the rest, except, of course, for the horrible white bread! Why do people even eat that stuff?!?