What could be worse than trying to sleep while squeezed into a coach seat on an overseas flight? How about trying to sleep in the fold out chair in your child's hospital room. I know I shouldn't complain. After all, I'm not the one with three incisions and a metal rod in my chest. And in all truthfullness, the poor patient didn't get any sleep either. Let's face it. Hospitals are not a place for rest and sleep.

The doors to the room are sliding glass patio doors. Privacy is obtained by closing the curtains that only go 3/4 of the way to the floor. The room is never dark due to the floorlight that's always on and a similar light installed right into the bottom of the bed. Monitors are continually going "ding dong." The sounds you are barely aware of in the bustle of the day become continuous distractions during the long hours of the night.

The care here at Children's is amazing. If you have ever experienced a hospital stay where you feel like there are no nurses when you need them, here there are nurses everywhere. They check on Freddie at least every half hour. He is monitored by the nursing staff, the pain management team, and this morning (at 5:30) the entire surgical team came in to check on him. I estimate there were about ten of them crowded in the room!

The really nice thing about being in this hospital, and how lucky we are to have Cincinnati Childrens' right here in our own town, is that every doctor we know comes to visit. We feel so well cared for. I even feel like Freddie would be fine if I didn't sleep here tonight. Of course, I have to let Scott have the experience of sleeping here at least one night. ;)