Back From the Hospital

Seeing a strapping young man all trussed up and hooked to a ventilator, dialysis machine, with a blood transfusion pumping and about five IVs poked into him is quite sobering.
Turns out Robert had dual heart valve surgery, not a bypass, but I was right about the liver and kidney conditions.
He's in critical condition, in the transplant unit's ICU with 24 hour nursing, but he's not dead yet and he's even gotten slightly better since his surgery on Monday. He may pull out of it. Hard to say. He looked like hell, but who wouldn't in his shoes?
Mexican families are incredible in emergencies. His wife, mother, two sisters, a niece and an aunt were there. They maintain a vigil from morning 'till late at night. They had coolers, insulated bags, baked goods, sodas and all sorts of junk food snacks on hand.
I tried to make them laugh by doing astrological reports on all of them and their kids, then I started telling stories about Robert's and my adventures over the last 20 years.
Turns out macho man watches "Passions" so he can see that creepy little doll/kid Timmy doing evil things to people. Ha.
After everyone was tired from laughing and swapping stories, I got the hell out of there.
I found a cheap silver watch in the parking lot and turned it into the butchest old parking lot attendant I've ever seen. I bet she'd have kept it if it was a man's watch.
Handwashing after a visit to the ICU becomes ritualistic in its intensity. I shucked off all the clothes I wore and washed my hands up to elbows with anti bacterial soap, followed by some germ killing gel. I hate hospitals, but I bet Robert hates them more.