Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at 2319

I hope you haven't lost faith in me. Yesterday was a totally lazy day and today was hoppin' all day long.

David is doing great and has a new address:

SSGT Lyon, David B.
C/O Ward 57
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20307

And he has a new phone number: 202-782-1557
And his new room number is 5732

His room is half the size, so no large screen TV and no room for 10 chairs. We accidentally left his fans and his water bottle in his room and by the time we got back to his room they had thrown them away in the "biological hazard" container.

His wheelchair hasn't caught up just yet but should be delivered tomorrow. If they threw that in biological hazard container we will be paying about $20,000.

The drive over was a bit eventful as the ambulance bed they used was pretty darn thin for a big man like David. When they took the first turn he slid over a little on the bed and pushed his legs closer together, so, David said it felt like his X-fix was stabbing him in the gut. Catherine was riding with him and they quickly remedied the problem but now before the pain was well under way. Since returning to his room, the new Doctor seems to think that the pain meds that did not work in Bethesda will now work in Walter Reed. About every 10 to 1 5 seconds David will be hit with a bolt of pain that just hits his whole body and we were doing anything we could to distract him or to get the nurses and Doctors to understand that his particular medication has not, does not, and will not take care of the pain that is shooting through him.

David is able to order food over the phone now and he is quite excited about getting food that he may actually like. Those of you who have had hospital food in recycled cardboard containers will know what I am talking about.

The hospital requires that the doors stay closed and, I'm assuming, it because they want them to do everything they can to get out of those rooms. It feels a little like a dungeon to me.

I drove around for hours trying to find another water bottle just like the one David had. It was given to him by a great friend whom I will not mention in regards to the bottle because I found out that he got a bit of a, self imposed, discount when he bought a water bottle that had, in some miraculous manner, received the top of another water bottle in order to make it "just the right" bottle.

It's going on midnight and I promise to write more tomorrow when it isn't 102 degrees at 8 PM.

Goodnight,

Gordon