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They let me go home late Saturday. YEAH!!!
Four-and-a-half days in the hospital will make you miss a demanding four-year-old, a two-week-old who never sleeps more than a few hours at a time and a grumpy wife (who I love very much, and is not really that grumpy)
I didn't feel well and had to get up to pee about every hour because of all the fluids they pumped into me before I left, but home was fantastic. I mean, who cares if you're up all night. The baby was already awake. Every time he cried, I peed.

It's not that they are not nice to me at the hospital. The nurses and staff are great; very kind. And the food is not as bad as the stereotype.
It's the waiting. Ninety-six hours is a long transfusion. And when you add the pre and post-hydration, it's over 100 hours. I take books, crosswords, movies, etc. But that is a long time to kill. Work, of all things, is saving me! A co-worker loaned me a laptop, so I can help produce/write some news while I'm there. It makes the time move faster. And it makes me feel closer to normal.
Plus, the hospital constantly reminds me I am sick. They come in and ask every three hours if I am in pain, then check my vitals. And I spend the entire time tethered to the pump pushing poison/medicine into my body. And the medicines designed to heal me slowly make me feel worse during my stay.

Enough complaining. The good news is I'm probably the healthiest patient on the floor when I'm there.
I met a guy named Bill this time. His wife has lung cancer that has spread to her kidneys and back. She's in bad shape. There was nothing I could tell Bill to make him feel better, but we walked and talked for a while. And I hope he enjoyed the company, because I did, even if it was another reminder of mortality.
Anyway, if you guys could say a prayer for Bill and his wife tonight. If God cannot bring them a miracle, maybe he can give them strength and a little peace.