A week before surgery, Alan and I paid a visit to IKEA because for some reason looking at all the perfect show rooms makes us happy. Then, for the first time ever, we ate at the sorta restaurant. He had the chicken strips with fries and I had the mac n cheese. Who knew IKEA food could be so tasty! But ten minutes after finishing our meals, I could feel my mac n cheese and stolen fries making moves in my stomach. They were planning a rebellion, and I vowed never again to let them invade my body.

The morning of surgery we woke up at 5, put on sweatpants and checked in for surgery. No one told us that in between checking in and actually going in for surgery there would be a 4 hour wait. But it was okay. Sorta like waiting in an airport while on an extremely long, dull layover.

After the waiting and right before surgery, they have you change into a hospital gown, foot coverings and a hair cap. They seem to be going for the whole sterile surgery thing. After 15 minutes of laying here, Alan hopped off and went to use the bathroom. When he got back he told me someone had peed on the floor and that his right foot covering was wet.

Day 7 in the hospital. Every time I come see him he has some new apparatus stuck to him or flowing out of him. Today they put a heart monitor on him because his heart beats per minute have been out of control. Today they moved him to a special section of the hospital where they can better monitor his heart. It’s much quieter here than it was in the surgical unit where everyone cries and moans all day and into the night.