Sandy Beardsley
Living with a Brain Tumor
Categories:

Archives:
Meta:
May 2006
S M T W T F S
« Apr   Jun »
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
05/18/06
Sandy is Out of the Hospital!
Filed under: General
Posted by: Dan @ 8:43 pm

Another great day… the best one yet. Sandy got her post-op MRI this morning at 8:00 and was released from the hospital about 1pm….

But first, a little story from yesterday….

I was walking back toward the hospital after getting a little fresh air in the late afternoon sunshine, turned a corner down a walkway lined with beautiful flowers and trees leading to one of the hospital entrances… when I started hearing, softly at first but getting louder as I got close to the building, the sound of a Native American flute. At first I thought I was hearing it in my mind, because it’s a sound that I and especially Sandy really love. I couldn’t tell where the flute song was coming from because it was echoing off the buildings on each side of me (sound familiar? I had a similar experience with Gregorian chants on the Stanford campus last October, somewhere in the October blog notes). For a second I thought I was hearing the CD we had in Sandy’s hospital room, but realized it couldn’t be because her room was on the other side of the building. I soon saw the source of the flute music - from a distance he looked like James Earl Jones in the movie Field of Dreams - sitting on a bench and playing a beautiful and haunting flute song. I stopped and listened, he looked up and smiled, a warm light in his eyes.

I went in to the hospital, up to her 3rd floor room, and told Sandy I had something very special to show her, but I didn’t tell her anything more. Luckily she was up for her first big adventurous walk and first trip outside. She held on to me as we walked slowly down the long halls, down two escalators, and out into the fresh air. I was afraid the flute player would be gone by that time, but he was still there. He was reading a book though, his flute in a leather case next to him on the bench. We walked up to him (Sandy no doubt wondering what I was doing) and I asked him if I could possibly impose on him to play again for Sandy because she loves the sound so much, and also told him she had just had brain surgery on Monday. He smiled warmly and said, “Certainly, sit on down here…” Sandy sat down next to him and he began to play a traditional-sounding Native American song on his beautiful cedar flute. After he finished, he asked Sandy, “Would you like to learn how to play?”  Well, with a little coaxing, he talked her into it. He taught her how to play a basic scale of notes, and she was able to do it after a few tries. She’s a natural (and quite possibly the first person to play a Native American flute wearing gnome pajamas!). What a special experience - Sandy was glowing with the magic of it. Harrison, we thank you.

See photos of Sandy and her flute teacher, and many other photos of her last day in the hospital. CLICK HERE

This morning, Sandy had her post-op MRI. It was a grueling and painful experience for her. She had to lay down on her back, and on the incision site on the back of her head - tender and very sore with 22 staples - while the MRI machine pounded and grinded its incredibly loud piercing noise for 40 minutes. She toughed it out, barely making it, since she also had to hold absolutely still the entire time.

Needless to say, getting out of the hospital was like being released from prison - the warm sunshine and soft breeze on our faces. And fresh air! Don’t ever take that for granted. Seeing her dressed in her colorful clothes and red cowboy  boots, walking outside and smiling that amazing smile of hers - what can I say - I was beside myself with joy. On our way toward the car, we had a funny and wonderful experience. A woman was approaching us walking a large dog. I could tell from her uniform that she worked at the hospital - I had seen these folks with dogs before, they take them into the children’s ward to help cheer the kids up. So we got to meet Liesl, an  Estrella Mountain Dog from Germany. Our friends in our hometown will laugh at the coincidence, and good sign of getting closer to home. [We live in a town built to look like a Bavarian village in the Alps; and a local theatre company performs the Sound of Music play, with the character Liesl, all summer on an outdoor stage in our mountain town]. So we patted Liesl the Mountain Dog, missing our own dogs back home (THANKS Amy for taking care of them and sending the great photos of the dogs hiking!)

Also a big thank you to everyone for the amazing notes, emails, letters and continuing love and support. And a thank you to Carol for sending the beautiful handmade quilt (Sandy is never without it). And thank you to Margaret and Greg for the Labyrinth - a very special and magical gift. And thanks to all the Orondo School students for the wonderful cards they made.

After that, we got a little more dose of reality when we walked over to the Cancer Center to pick up some of her medications for the next few days. But we got back to our hotel - this green quiet oasis of big trees and a creek running through it - and it felt like paradise. Sandy is laying peacefully on the bed while I write this. And we are so happy to be here. We’ll deal with tomorrow - with its trip back to the Cancer Center and the oncologist - tomorrow. Tonight we’re together in our little home away from home. We hope to be leaving here for our real home next Tuesday.

See photos of Sandy, her flute teacher, and many other photos of her last day in the hospital. CLICK HERE

Good Night,
Dan

12 comments