Monday January 4 - Channel Surfing with Three Channels

It’s an early morning start. I got the children up and ready to go to school, got you ready for the hospital and me ready for work. Once the children are off to school, we eat breakfast. As you eat, you wonder aloud about your left side. With a tone of disbelief, you ask “What did I do with my left leg and my left hand? Did I catch with my left? Could I kick a ball?” You don’t believe you were born with them. You have no physical memory of your left side doing anything for you. It’s a hard concept for me to understand.

We get you to the hospital and I had to get to work. It’s easier saying good bye now. This is the third time I’ve taken you back to the hospital and left you there. Maybe it’s just practice that makes it easier, or maybe it’s because, slowly, I can see a path of recovery opening up for you to explore.

After work, I come in to visit. You are not happy. You have had only three TV channels all day. Channels 3, 13 and something else … I can’t remember … I’ll bet you would remember. The TV channel surfing lessons that I gave you last weekend has spoiled you. It’s hard to surf with only three channels. You recite the channels in ascending and descending order and then again in a random order. Surfing with three is not fun.

You and your roommate, are getting to know each other. He thinks he saw the ‘TV lady’. “She wears red coveralls.” He says. Every person who walks into the room who is a stranger to you, you ask “Are you the TV lady.” I think you are having TV withdrawal issues.

You continue to believe that your left side must be an addition since birth. “Do I have a left shoe for my left foot?” “Where does the left shoe go?” “I thought I had two left feet.” I try to explain. “I don’t understand but it makes sense right now because you just pointed right at it but it doesn’t seem like mine.”

I’m on-call tonight. Since Bill is still in NS, he stays with us incase I have to go to work tonight. The children have loved having Bill about. He is big and can wrestle with them both at the same time. We will sorry to see him leave tomorrow but He must head back to Montreal. Despite the fact I’m on-call, there are no calls. This is not unusual for the time of year.

Chris and Terry G have good news to share with you. Every year there are more teams who want to enter the Cabot Tail Relay race then there are spaces. So in December, there is a draw to determine the lucky 65-70 teams. The Tidal Boars have been lucky to be picked every year. This year is no exception. The Tidal Boars are in the race. The best news is that the teams are numbered. This year the Tidal Boars are team number 29.

You are very happy about this.