4/24/2012
A lot can happen in 3 months. Did you miss us?
After 42 days in three different hospitals, 5 days in Intensive Care, and 2 weeks at home doing the outpatient treatment thing 3 times a week, I think that I'm ready to spend some time writing and commentating. While I still don't have the time to support a full-fledged ClickJefferson.com at the moment, I still can use this platform to discuss issues, thoughts and ideas.
ClickJefferson.com will be back at some point in the near future, but, for now, I need to spend the bulk of my time getting healthy. Maintaining the site, selling advertising, writing, managing, and everything else are all too time consuming now. So, for the moment, writing only will have to do.
First, I need to thank the great men and women that work at Ochsner in Kenner and on Jefferson Highway, at Chabert Hospital in Houma, and those that work at the LSU Clinic on Poydras. The Doctors, Nurses, Nurse's Assistants, Housekeepers, Dietitians and staff were all incredibly patient with me. Their hard work and service made my hospital stay bearable. I'm sure if you asked them they would say that they were "just doing their job". But, trust me, these are some dedicated people, many of whom go unnoticed (unless you are a patient).
When I was admitted to the hospital, I thought that I would be in and out in about a week. Little did I know that I would have 9 surgeries and, hopefully, another one in the near future. I thought that I knew my body. Boy, was I mistaken.
42 days is a long time to lay in a hospital bed. You have, literally, nothing but time on your hands because you don't go to the hospital to rest or relax. It's not a vacation. For me, living on "Hospital Time" meant getting your blood pressure checked every 3 hours; getting your IV replaced at 4am; having an equipment alarm beeping at 2:48am. But you deal with it because you know that when you arrived at the hospital, you were so out of it that you don't even remember your first two days there. When your girlfriend tells you (days later) that a Doctor told her that you could be dead, you're happy to wake up at 4am. You're thankful to eat cold grits for breakfast.
You're thankful to be alive.
The good thing about being in the hospital, if there was a "good thing", is that you have that time on your hands. Time to read. Time to watch TV (who knew that I would get hooked on "Storage Wars"?). But, for me, the most important thing was time to think and reflect. Time to assess and reassess.
Last August, I turned 50. I used to joke that I would never see 50 years old (I won't be joking about that again).
Like most people, I've done somethings that I am proud of and somethings that I am not proud of. I have always tried to not dwell on negative things. The things that I've done that I am not proud of, I did and they can't be changed. I can only look at the here and now, and look to the future.
During my reflections in the hospital, I started to really look deep into myself. What do I really want to do with the rest of my life? What really makes me happy?
More about that later.
For now, I need to keep getting stronger so I can get on with the rest of my life; so I can bring back ClickJefferson.com; so I can continue being a watchdog in Jefferson Parish and Kenner (sorry Mike but, I'm not going anywhere); so I can continue living.
So, for the moment, this shell of ClickJefferson.com will have to do. Stay tuned though, we've got some great stuff coming.
Before I close the first edition of the "new" ClickJefferson.com, I want to thank my friends who have helped me get through this. Your calls, emails, texts, cards, visits, etc., have all helped immensely. I appreciate your thoughts and support more than I can say.
While "Thank You" isn't nearly enough, I need to thank Mignon. I doubt that I would have been able to get through this thus far without her being by my side. It surely hasn't been easy for her and, I'm sure, that there were many places she would have rather been than in a hospital room with me. She has sacrificed a lot and it's not over yet. But, together, I think we'll make it and, hopefully, this will have made us stronger.
More about that later too.
I still have a long road ahead of me and I'm not giving up. Like I said, stay tuned. There's a lot more to come.
Walt Bennetti
Publisher
ClickJefferson.com
