Flashback Friday: The Perils of Publishing!

Jan 2003:
I neglected to mention an important event in my life Dec 31, 2002:  I became a published author!  Yes, my husbands then-medical concerns were a bit of a distraction, lol....

Story thus far:  Hubby hit a 9000-volt powerline with his excavator while on the job.  Two months later, his BP readings were wonky.  Heart cath revealed his aortic valve was in shreds where it meets the heart.  Surgery was scheduled for Jan 10, 2003.

Our kids went to their grandparents for the night, while we spent Jan 9th filling out paperwork and doing all of his hospital intake stuff.  The hospital put us up in their hotel overnight, free of charge, and paid for a nice meal in their restaurant.  In the morning, we had a brief moment of prayer before heading over to the hospital.  I was allowed to stay with him until it was time for him to be wheeled into surgery.  I kissed him and told him I'd see him in about 8 hours.  I then went to the quiet waiting room.

I found a nice empty space for myself and settled down with my notebook and reading book.  I first tried to read, but was too restless.  So out came the notebook and pen, and I spent the next several hours writing what is now called Love Weighs In, or book #7.  Around lunchtime, my SIL, MIL, parents, and kids showed up.  Dad took us all downstairs to lunch, and when we came back to the waiting room, I was a little upset because 'my spot' was taken.  We ended up crowded in another section, but it was noisy, and more people were talking, watching TV, and while I was happy for my support group, I really missed my privacy.

When the surgeon came to talk to me, he said he had replaced my spouse's aortic valve with the largest artificial one possible, and he'd be good as new.  We were able to go back and see him while still on the respirator; I held back and let his mom go first.

Another several hours went by.  We were able to see him again right before dinner, and he was off the respirator and still woozy.  Against the nurses advice, I let 11-y/o K go back and see his dad.  D held his hand, told him he loved him and repeated the phrase 'You are my #1 Favorite son', a private joke between the two of them.  Then Dad paid for all of us to spend another night in the hotel, and took us out for a nice meal.

Two days later, my author copies of the now-rereleased Love Is Sober arrived.  I took three copies to the hospital with me; one for my mom, one for my SIL, and one to show off to anyone interested.  D was already astounding the nurses by demanding to get out of bed!  He discovered where the coffee pot was, so as soon as he could walk w/o help, he would unplug his IV, walk down and get his morning coffee, then order breakfast.  He hated being in bed and spent most of the day in a chair.  I  would give him sponge baths every evening when the kids and I would visit after school.  And the nurses were soon passing my book around the ward:)

When he was moved to Cardiac Care, my grandmother came up to see him and bought the 1st copy of my book:)  By now, I'd noticed a glaring mistake in my print baby and emailed my Author Assistant, who said she would see what could be done.

Two weeks later, D came home with the help of my parents.  They took him to the house and got him settled, while I took his 17 new prescriptions to the pharmacy to have them filled.

And then we began planning our Super Bowl party.

Next Month:  Another trip to the hospital, bad weather, and kids' activities!