For the past few weeks our little family has been struggling with some health issues that resulted in 10 days in the hospital for my spouse. He’s back home now and the specific issue he went in for has been resolved, at least for now.

But ten days away from home is a lot. Ten days sleeping in a lumpy hospital bed, being woke every few hours by staff to check how he was doing, choosing meals from the same limited menu. Being stuck in one room. It was a lot.

Ten days of tests and pokes and jabs and the endless, repetitive questions from a steady stream of doctors and residents and students and nurses and aids and social workers and nutritionists and physical therapists.

It was a lot for him and a lot for me too, sitting on the room’s plastic sofa that turns into a narrow bed if you decide to sleep over. I didn’t though maybe I should have a night or two.

My view out his window was of another wing of the hospital, the original parts of a building that was originally built in the 1920s. It’s been added on and added on and added on. Finding anything within it’s winding halls is a crap shoot.

But the windows in the part we were in were big and I could watch the sky. Some days were particularly interesting as the Michigan spring changed by the hour.

Other days the sky was a basic boring blue.

I told him I should have studied weather in school, I am so fascinated, and always have been, in watching the sky as it and the light changed.

Hours of waiting between tests take a toll on everyone. And by the end of the stay I was seeing ducks where there were none.

It was all a lesson, I suppose, in finding something interesting to photograph no matter where you are. And even if you only have a cell phone camera.

But as photogenic as the experience turned out to be, we’d rather not visit this destination again.
April 24, 2026 at 1:50 pm
I hope the results make up for the tedium! xxxooo
>
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April 24, 2026 at 1:53 pm
We hope so too.
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April 24, 2026 at 2:33 pm
I’m sorry you both had to go through this (and I trust Penny didn’t protest too much about being boarded/neglected). Hospitals are no fun, whether you’re the patient or the person who loves the patient. I’m glad you were able to occupy your thoughts so you didn’t make yourself sick with worry. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery and back to full health!
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April 25, 2026 at 10:46 am
I’m hoping for that too. Neither one of us wants to go back there any time soon.
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April 24, 2026 at 3:49 pm
I think you did very well! Hope you don’t have to repeat the experience. Best to yourself husband. And to you.
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April 25, 2026 at 10:47 am
Thank you Laurie. We just do the best we can do, each day, not looking to far into the future.
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April 24, 2026 at 4:16 pm
Ugh, 10 days is a LONG time. Leo Buscaghlia once claimed that ‘hospitals are no place to get well!’ I must agree, poor sleep and unpalatable food make healing a challenge. I hope the issues are totally resolved and won’t return. 🤞🏼
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April 25, 2026 at 10:48 am
I loved reading Leo Buscaghlia back in the day. What a wonderful man. I was so sad when he died.
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April 25, 2026 at 6:03 pm
Indeed. I still have his books. 🙂
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April 24, 2026 at 7:03 pm
Hope all is well now, Dawn – sending hugs ❤
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April 25, 2026 at 10:48 am
Thank you Ruth!
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April 24, 2026 at 7:03 pm
It is always interesting to find beauty where none exists, Dawn! I hope all is well and this ordeal is over and the healing can begin!
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April 25, 2026 at 10:49 am
I hope it’s over too, Terri, but something tells me maybe not.
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April 24, 2026 at 8:18 pm
Whoa! That is a lot! Glad you’re both tucked in at home again. . .
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April 25, 2026 at 10:50 am
We’re glad to be home too.
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April 24, 2026 at 9:12 pm
Happy to hear you are both back home. I like the creativity you found!
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April 25, 2026 at 10:51 am
It’s good he got discharged, because I was running out of things to photograph! 🙂 I was lucky with one day where the sky was amazing and changed all day. But I felt like I was missing spring.
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April 24, 2026 at 10:15 pm
That’s good you are both home – what an ordeal for both of you. The ability to make lemonade from lemons is a good trait. I did a double take with the duck at well. Hopefully life will be treating you kindly going forward.
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April 25, 2026 at 10:52 am
I hope he can catch a break. He’s been fighting this for almost 4 years and there’s never been a moment in all that time that we thought we were free of it.
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April 25, 2026 at 8:37 pm
I’m sorry to hear that Dawn. I hope he catches a break too. Too many people I know right now are battling illnesses. My good friend Ann Marie’s husband had been hospitalized for a month, then into a nursing home for a month, due to congestive heart failure (since the beginning of March). I know she was there all visiting hours, but not overnight as you were doing.
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April 24, 2026 at 10:36 pm
Been praying for you and your family…. your last post hinted at your need. I think we all need some down time and time away from the blog to take care of what matters most, it happens for me, too. Take care of your spouse and be your best you. Peace.
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April 25, 2026 at 10:53 am
Thank you Clay. I’m looking forward to your summer escapades. More baseball?
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April 24, 2026 at 11:05 pm
I was worried that it might be something like this that kept you away from us. I’m so glad that things are better. Still not perfect again, yet, but better. Hugs and love to both of you (all three of you).
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April 25, 2026 at 10:54 am
Yes, it was no fun. And things ARE better, he’s at home, but he’s not 100% yet and maybe we won’t get all the way there. I’d be satisfied with 95%! 🙂 Penny has been away but hopefully she’ll be home tomorrow.
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April 25, 2026 at 6:01 am
Oh Dawn. 10 days is an excruciating amount to be on “hospital time”, where the clocks seem to move backwards.
Someone told me recently that being a caregiver to someone with a serious illness is like a roller coaster, but the views from the top are still beautiful. Looks like you were able to find some of those views while in the industrial complex. Well done.
You will probably need 20 days to recover from the emotional toll of those 10 days. Take care of yourself Dawn – rest, rest, rest and treat yourself to things that makes you smile.
Sending all my love. ❤️
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April 25, 2026 at 10:59 am
Thank you Sara! Yes it’s definitely a roller coaster. We’d like to experience a nice lazy river float for awhile. Just to get our strength back you know.
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April 26, 2026 at 7:58 am
I have been thinking about you guys. Hope these views are in your rear view mirror for a very long time. Take care.
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April 26, 2026 at 6:35 pm
Thank you. We hope so too.
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April 27, 2026 at 8:23 am
Ten days is an awfully long time to be cooped up in the hospital. Happy to hear your spouse is back home and recuperating. Best wishes to both of you!
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