I started running an unexpected fever again today. They’ll never discharge me on Saturday if I have a fever!

THURSDAY, 1:58 P.M., 3/22/2018. A good and happy Thursday to y’all. I’m still hospitalized, day five. About half an hour ago they put me back on an oxygen cannula due to I was gasping to breathe for no apparent reason, (my oxygen level was 96; my saturation was excellent, too). I feel better wearing the cannula for the moment, however. This may be related to the fact that I had an elevated fever this morning (99.8°) that came out of nowhere, especially since I’ve been stuffed full of high-power intravenous antibiotics since Sunday. Please stay tuned for additional developments, okay? I suspect I’ll be taking breathing treatments later today ...

Sam was here this morning for a couple of hours and bought me lunch from the hospital cafeteria … a  FANTASTIC order of Szechwan garlic shrimp over brown rice. It was spicy, fabulous, saucy, loaded with shrimp and … did I say spicy? Wonderful! When my lunch tray arrived from food service I salvaged the vanilla yogurt for dessert and a couple of canned pears, and Sam left to run a few errands. He’ll be back this afternoon.

I’ve got a fabulous day of TV entertainment lined up, all on Turner Classic Movies. At the moment I’m watching An American in Paris (1951) starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. Next we’ve got: Shall We Dance (1937 starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; Ziegfeld Follies (1946) starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Ball and; last but not least, Sunset Blvd. (1950) starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson. An amazing lineup, right?

I have absolutely nothing else to do here. I get semi-daily visits from phlebotomists and pill pushers, an occasional phone call (my sister Robin called this morning) that kills maybe half an hour, and when Sam comes back later he’s bringing a few eyeglass cleaner towelettes … so I’ll be busy for five or six minutes cleaning the fingerprints off my spectacles. Then it’s back to gasping for air and watching old movies.

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THURSDAY, 4:46 P.M. So here’s the latest from room 204. I’M SICK. My temperature is still elevated, my feet are killing me, and about 15 minutes ago my pee started to burn like fuck, which is peculiar because I’m catheterized. Therefore this is probably an indication that my catheter could be infected. I’m not going to complain yet, just in case it was a one-time hoo-hah. I can’t wait for Sam to get here … and I want to go home already. Enough!

I’ve got another collection of Yiddish vocabulary words for you today. Kileh means hernia. Kish’m tuchas is kiss my ass. Kishkas refers to guts, intestines or a type of sausage.¹ A klutz is a clumsy person. Kneidlach are matzo balls. Kosher means cool, good, legitimate. And finally, kvetch means to complain excessively.² Keep an eye out for our next session!

¹ This is a damn tasty “modern” sausage that’s made with seasoned potato filling.
² As in The Kvetch Report here in the Howdygram.

THURSDAY, 7:37 P.M. Sam is here ... but probably not for very long. He’s stretched out on the sofa here in my hospital room, and I’m watching Sunset Blvd. on TCM. A few other fine films coming up later tonight include: Gone with the Wind (1939) starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh; Casablanca (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid; and Citizen Kane (1941) starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead. It’s very likely that I’ll be unconscious halfway through Gone with the Wind, however. I’ll never stay awake long enough to see the rest of them!

THURSDAY, 10:15 P.M. So here’s what’s happening. Sam went home, the nursing night shift came on duty around 8, I’m nearly half-blind with exhaustion and there’s zero motivation to keep my eyes open any longer than absolutely necessary. Sleep is delicious, isn’t it? To be honest with you, though, I’m very worried about this unexpected fever I’ve got, because they’ll never send me home on Saturday if I still have a fever. Shit …

Wishing you a pleasant Thursday evening from Baylor Hospital. Thank you for reading this!