On the way to the hospital this morning I told Marjorie how many people were going to be thinking and praying for her today and she was very thankful.

Paul picked me up at 9:00 am and then we picked up Marjorie. We arrived at the hospital just before 10:00 which was way early because Marjorie's surgery was not scheduled until 12:30. We waited in the Day Surgery waiting room with many other patients and family. Marjorie had been called into change her clothes and then we waited and waited. She ended up getting called in just after 1:30 pm. Marjorie was calm but a little out of it - seemed a bit confused so I was concerned when I left her.

I went to the other waiting room where the Doctor will come out and talk to you after the surgery is over. The nice volunteer gave me a cell phone and said I could leave the building if I wanted and they would call me or I could wait there but I chose to go to the cafeteria for something to eat.

On the way out of the waiting room I ran into my old friend Alan from my political days. He has worked at the hospital since we were teenagers. He was filling the vending machine with scrubs for the Doctors and Nurses. I asked him if he had spoken to our friend Gerry and he told me Gerry was in the fracture clinic as we spoke. LOL I went down there but he must have been in with the Doctor. Earlier I had run into my neighbour Freda who is an Ultrasound Tech at the hospital and we were going to meet for lunch at noon but I was still with Marjorie at the time so I missed out.

The cafeteria at the hospital had such a calming atmosphere and the food was really good.

After I ate I went back to the waiting room and watched 2 Thin Man movies while I waited. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud a few times. I love those old Nick and Nora movies and the one had their baby in it.

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OMG did you all just here me scream. LOLOLOL A huge centipede just ran up my arm. Aaack. I keep repeating "I like centipedes, I like centipedes - they eat spiders, they eat spiders" LOL I got my vacuum and sucked the thing up to join the spiders already inside. LOL Oh my!

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While in the waiting room the CBC National News station was on and they said the temp in Windsor was 41C. No way. 31, 32 maybe still hot and humid but not 41C! I laughed because when I was reading the paper earlier Marjorie asked me what the temp in New Delhi, India was and I said 41C. One of the guys told me thatthe temp on the news was correct but I new it was wrong. LOL If it was 41C it would have been big news. LOL 92 degrees F was bad enough.

I was actually chilly waiting for Marjorie but it was better than the alternative. LOL Finally the Doctor came out just after 4:00 and said Marjorie was okay and came through the surgery fine. I was so relieved but I knew she would. I had told him how scared she was and how she really felt she would not make it through the surgery.

I waited another 2 1/2 while Marjorie was in recovery and waiting for a bed to open up. Some of us women who were waiting started joking about all the men carrying their wives and girlfriend's purses. One was an older Italian gentleman and we teased him about his beautiful handbag. He strutted his stuff for us and modeled that purse. LOLOL We had a good time and it relieved the tension somewhat. The volunteer would get up from her desk every 20 minutes and pass around a bowl of candy which was a treat.

A nurse came and got me as they were bringing Marjorie up to the elevator to go to the 8th floor. She was fine and laughing and was in better condition than she had been in the morning or the weeks leading up to this. If I hadn't seen the bandages and drains you would never have thought she just had surgery.

We went up the the 8th floor and Marjorie was put in a ward with 2 other men on one side and men on the other side of the desk. I thought it was a little funny but was happy they were keeping her even if it was just for overnight. Normally you are released the same day but because of her Pacemaker they were keeping her in.

The nurse came in to hook up a bag of fluid and told Marjorie there was no way she was 70 years old. I forget what Marjorie said but it made the nurse laugh.

Marjorie asked if she could eat because she was starving and she really wanted a glass of water which the nurse brought her. I have never seen an IV bag of fluid go into someone's body as fast as this bag of fluid did. Marjorie then drank 2 glasses of water, the nurse brought her 2 bowls of jello, 2 popsicles, apple juice and a can of ginger ale. I have never seen anything consumed as fast as Marjorie consumed those items. She then asked me to go downstairs to get her a decaf coffee and she even drank that fast. LOL

I just couldn't believe how well Marjorie was doing. She said her pain level was at 3 out of 5 but tolerable. I told her before her surgery she would have drains and she said she wouldn't but she had 2 of them which surprised her. She was doing so well she asked for her makeup bag and then proceeded to put on her makeup. LOL

I asked her if she had known it would have been this easy wouldn't she have now liked to have been put out during her other surgeries. I don't know how she could have stood to hear the surgeons drilling and sawing into her bones and removing her hips. No way!

Now we wait for the tissue results to see if the cancer has spread or if her lymph nodes were removed. She says she believes the cancer has spread but I told her not to think that way.

Marjorie wishes she was staying a few more days in the hospital. She was given a menu and you can order as much food as you want between the hours of 6 am to 6 pm by calling Food Service. It might take 45 minutes to be delivered just like normal take out would. The menu seems pretty extensive too. If you have a guest they can buy a voucher in the cafeteria for $7.00 and they can order an entree with 3 sides which includes dessert. We were both imnpressed with the Food service and one of the patients said the food was really good.

One of the guys in Marjorie's ward didn't have anyone with him so I helped him out a bit by picking up his crutches a few times and chatting with him. He just had his second knee replaced. I offered to go downstairs to get something from Tim Horton's for him since he had no one to do it for him. We had seen him earlier in the waiting room snoring away while he was waiting to be called in. LOL Marjorie felt bad that he didn't have anyone with him and I told him maybe his wife had to stay home with the kids or something like that. He seemed fine.

I left Marjorie at 8:00 pm and she was getting settled in to read a book. Paul picked me up and I stopped at Subway to get a sub and Paul asked me if I wanted to go watch the annual Target fireworks at the Ford Test Track. The fireworks are let off from 3 barges in the the middle of the Detroit River to celebrate both our nation's birthdays but it is hectic to get downtown to watch them as millions from both sides of the border go to the riverfront parks and the test track gives us a perfect view without having to deal with all the traffic and it only takes us minutes to get home. The view was perfect. We were the first car there and while we waited until just after 10:00 pm for the fireworks to start we watched a CD of Corner Gas on the dashboard cd player.

We were home before 10:45 and boy it sure was hot in my house. Paul had been there most of the afternoon with the animals and I had left the fan on. My house doesn't normally get hot until the afternoon when the sun comes around to the front of the house. I wasn't planning on turning on the AC until August but it needed to be turned on today. Loki was stressed out not so much because of the heat - my bedroom was cool and he could have gone in there on his bed but he was stressed out because of the fireworks which heavily echos against my house. Loki hates the sound of any kind of fireworks. LOL

House is cooling off nicely, and I am exhausted. Most likely Marjorie will discharged at 11:00 am unless they keep her another day which I doubt and then she goes right to Central Park Lodge which is a retirement condo for respite care for 4 days. I will go to see her everyday until she comes to my house on Sunday and hopefully she only stays on my couch for a week. LOL I have a bbq-graduation party tomorrow night so I told Marjorie I would have to leave early.

Again, thank you for all your good thoughts and prayers. The KT power comes through again!

Anne