Monday, September 10, 2012

Cooking has been put on hold ...

My husband didn't pick up the milk yesterday.

That's because he's in the hospital, in the ICU.

The good news is that he's out of immediate danger, and I've had a great many people tell me how lucky he is to be alive. You see, he had an aneurysm on an artery on his spleen, and it ruptured. Most people bleed out in a matter of minutes. He was bleeding internally for a long time. Maybe a month. Maybe more.

"He has nine lives," one nurse told me.

"I should be talking to a dead man," a doctor told him.

It's a miracle he is still here, but we're still not out of the woods. It will take some time before he's back home again where he belongs.

So what does this have to do with food? Nothing, really. Less than nothing. But I thought that my regular blog readers might want to know why things at this blog might be a little .... different for a while.

I won't be blogging about my husband's hospital meals. He's allowed clear liquids, so today's breakfast tray included coffee, cranberry juice, beef broth, and a Popsicle. I don't think we'll be doing reviews on that.

As for me, I went grocery shopping the day before he went into the hospital, and I've got a beautiful array of fresh fruits and vegetables that are starting to glare at me accusingly every time I open the refrigerator. I also have a few foods I need to review. Some jars of sauces from Dave's Gourmet are high on the list because all I need to do is cook some pasta.

But I don't really have the brain power to write about food right now.

This is a very scary time for me. I met my husband exactly one week after my 22nd birthday, and we've been nearly inseparable ever since. We were married in spirit long before we filed joint taxes. We've weathered some hard times and laughed ourselves silly during the good times.

But no matter what was going on around us, it's almost always good times between us. He even said something today that made me laugh. Because that's what he's like.

Besides making me laugh at stupid jokes, Bob has been my support during every crisis. When my father was struck by a car and died suddenly, he was there to support me. When my mother broke her hip, needed home care, and lingered in a nursing home, he was with me every step of the way.

We eat dinner together, at the dinner table, every night. And we talk. Often, about nothing. It's one of the highlights of my day.

He is so proud of my little successes with this blog, it's adorable. He tells everyone about it. He prints copies and sends links, and tells everyone about posts that get linked to elsewhere. He picks up copies of the newspaper when I'm published. He's my biggest fan. He's my best friend.

And he eats whatever I cook. Except cantaloupe. But that's not on the menu very often.

So now he's in the hospital, drinking clear fluids and I'm huddled in a corner using hospital wifi and gnawing granola bars and drinking cranberry juice.

Eventually, I will get back to cooking. Not because I'm hungry, and not because I want to blog about it, but because cooking relaxes me. It comforts me. I might not eat much of what I make, but making it will help me feel better.

As far as this blog, I have a few posts that were written previously that I'll be posting, and I'm lining up some guest posters to fill in as well. I have to say that the food blogger community and my Facebook friends have been a huge comfort. I've gotten hundreds of messages and emails and comments. I feel loved and supported.

I may post a few updates here about his progress, but this is not about to become a medical blog. I'll be posting updates on my personal Facebook page and I might post on my fan page as well, when it's appropriate, and of course you can comment or email me. I'm not hard to find.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the guests who will be helping me out. Please support them all, visit their blogs, and know that I appreciate each and every one of you who reads this blog. I might be quiet for a while, but I'll be around.
Yum