Tim Samoff // Weblog (old)

November 09, 2007

How to survive laying in bed for two weeks (plus four more weeks and counting)...

Many people think it’s pretty amazing that I have been able to lay in bed for two weeks and not go out of my mind — especially knowing that I have 4 +/- weeks to go…

Honestly, if you read my last post, you’ll know that I’m not always in bed: I exercise twice a day, I get up to eat and go to the bathroom, I have random medical-related outings, I can sit and watch TV for short periods of time… So, it’s not all that bad.

But — especially with a newfound lack of concentration (whether it be pain induced or pain med induced) — it can get a little boring. I can’t really read more than a paragraph at a time without getting tired. Writing that last blog post took me all of three days. It is getting better, though. In fact, I’ve written all of this in one session so far!

Ok, I’ll admit it… I just took a fairly lengthy break to exercise, talk on the phone, ice my leg, and cuddle with my son. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?

I know I talk about my Nokia N800 Internet Tablet a lot, but I must tell you: It is a life-saver. (In fact, I’m blogging from it right now!) While in bed, I have internet, email, IM, games, FM radio, music, video, etc., all in the palm of my hand. If I had nothing else, my N800 would probably be quite sufficient.

Ever since the recent announcement of the new Nokia N810, I’ve been wishing that I had the money to purchase one. The slide-out Qwerty keyboard would have made tasks like emailing and blog posting a breeze (as opposed to typing on the virtual, on-screen keyboard that the N800 has). But, after having laid in bed for this long with my N800, I’m pretty sure that I’d sorely miss the FM radio, which was left out of the N810 (a very naive design choice, in my opinion).

In any case, the N800 has come in handy on a few hospital-related life-outages, and I sincerely thank Nokia for producing such a useful device. (That very bad photo is of my N800 on the bed-side tray while I was at the hospital.)

The other — and even more important than my silly Internet Tablet — reason for my sustained sanity are my friends and family (which, to tell you the truth, both groups are utterly interchangeable). We really have been blessed with a family who loves us dearly and unconditionally.

I was visited several times while in the hospital by friends and family. And, they don’t just stop by for a quick “hello” either — they sit down and stay a while. It is so nice. It’s reassuring to know that the pastor of my church is not just a pastor, but a good friend, who knows all about me. It blows me away to know that two friends whom I have breakfast with every other week are more like brothers who would gladly trade places with me. It’s awe inspiring how our other friends would bring us meals forever if we didn’t plead with them to stop. All the while, all of them are praying for us too… I mean, wow! All of these people — all family in my mind — really help me to remember that God is real when I might otherwise forget. The love that is bestowed upon my wife, my son, and me (whether it be through good company, delicious food, or the six-pack of 90 Shilling that a good friend brought over a couple of evenings ago) is all God’s wonderful and ever-present love, no doubt.

Of course, I couldn’t have done any of this without my blood family too. Having my mom here has been the biggest help we could have asked for. We will miss her after she leaves tomorrow. Seeing my dad for an extended weekend was great as well — he and I have talked on the phone every day since. Julianna’s mom and step-dad are local and always give us way too much. Of course, Julianna and Josiah (and even Indy) have been so supportive of me too.

So, you see… It’s not all that bad.

With the amazing love of my family and my trusty Nokia N800, I could lay in bed forever (but, hopefully, I won’t have too!). And, in all actuality, while my “out” time is about six weeks in total, I’ve been told that I can be up and around a lot more after the two-week mark — which is just over a weekend away.

I’m looking forward to it.

Posted at 11:24 am

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Haha! Thanks for the sentiment anyway, Roope. I appreciate it!

timsamoff () (URL) - November 09, 2007 at 2:15 pm

Antoine ~ Wow, I think your comment is great encouragement. Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time.

I’m glad you like my blog design too. It’s one of those things that took a couple of years to conceptualize and a few days to implement. And, I wish I waited even longer to do it, because I would even do it differently now!

Now, I must go check out your sites!

timsamoff () (URL) - November 19, 2007 at 3:51 pm

Alan ~ Ha! Maybe. Thanks for the idea.

And, thank you for the well wishes!

timsamoff () (URL) - November 29, 2007 at 11:13 am