Home, the longer version

So. We are home. Home sweet home…. Since June 7, I have been home 4.5 days. I really don’t want to leave again for a good long time, so it’s a good thing most of this month has been cancelled! We’d been saying we wanted a rainy weekend to curl up and burn through the shows saved on the DVR and even a few movies…well, now we have it.

Anyway. For the IBR, Ken had purchased insurance that would cover transport from an accident site to a hospital, as well as transport from that hospital to one near home. I pinged the insurance folks the day after I arrived in Reno to confirm what coverage Ken had, and on Tuesday (once Ken was stabilized and the holiday weekend was over), I called them. Turned out they contract with folks in London, and I was told I’d get a call from them in about 15 minutes. Didn’t happen. I called back the next day, which finally got the ball in motion. Sloooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy.

So slowly that by the time they got their I’s dotted and T’s crossed, no doctor at the local hospital would admit Ken, because he was well enough to be released. (Ironically, part of the delay was the insurance co’s concern that Ken wouldn’t be stable enough for air travel.) In other words, Epic Insurance Fail.

The hospital had an ICU full of patients recovering from the holiday weekend who really needed beds in the regular ward, and there was nothing else they could do for Ken. When we got the word on Friday that there was nowhere to transport Ken to, we booked a rental car, I picked it up, we packed our stuff and Ken into the car (with the hospital’s stellar help), and off we went.

I want to segue here to say we have nothing but gushing praise for Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. Every single person who worked with Ken was utterly amazing. From the great surgeons who removed his spleen and put his right hand back together, to the social worker who called to calmly tell me he’d been in an accident, to the nurses and assistants who cheerfully and efficiently cared for him every day, you have our undying gratitude. You rocked the house.

As I mentioned in the last post, what then transpired was a 9.5-hour drive home, with two brief stops for food and gas and whatnot. We debated stopping partway (since my night vision isn’t the best on the less-lit highways) but we really wanted to be home with the kitties, and it was the best decision. We debated the difference between a meadow and a lea and a pasture (not to be confused with the bog/marsh/fen deliberation), listened to various XM radio stations (hair metal, 80s in 8, vinyl classics), and discussed what bands/artists we want to see (both possible and “if I had a time machine/Holodeck”) and where in the world we still want to travel.

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Ken’s dad and his wife visited us today, bringing lunch with them, which was fantastic, because I’d used the last two eggs to make Ken’s breakfast and hadn’t had the chance to shop yet. (The milk was still good, praise the gods, so I was able to have tea. I don’t know if I would have survived on only 4 hours of sleep* without tea.) They brought my car (which had been rescued from the hotel in Ontario CA by our friends Nanci and Lenny—thank you again, awesome friends!) and went with me to return the rental car, at which point I was also able to do a good food shopping. Alas, by supper time I was so exhausted that I ordered pizza. I’ll get an earlier start on food tomorrow—plus a local friend has cooked some meals for us that will be delivered tomorrow.

I also managed to do laundry (but not yet put it away), unpack my suitcase, and sort mail. And Ken and I did watch episodes of Leverage, Covert Affairs, Graham Norton, and Craig Ferguson (the Neil Gaiman interview, which I saved because I thought Ken would be amused by it).

I have a bazillion and one things to do (I haven’t even mentioned the Short Story Workshop, or the latest stories that are available for sale, and I want to talk about my sister, and…) but I’m taking it one day at a time. Tomorrow Ken’s mom is coming to visit, so I’m going to do a Trader Joe’s run and fill our water bottles and maybe get a few other errands done.

And write. I’m sorely in need of the writing….

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*Remember when I said “If anyone wakes me up tomorrow morning (besides Ken) there will be hell to pay”?  ::laughs hollowly::  First one of the neighbors decided to start yipping, then the lawn guys showed up to mow, and then the neighbor kids started shrieking, and Grimmy really wanted attention/breakfast, and….  O.o