Let's Blow this Taco Stand!

Well, we've got 20 more minutes until they give him the Standing Test. Assuming he doesn't pass out or start bleeding, we'll be able to hit the highway--just in time for rush hour! Whoo-hoo! :)

They came in about three hours ago and put a pic line in his arm so that he doesn't have to have any more IV's or pokes for narcotics or blood draws. The docs have been hesitant to give him one for a variety of reasons, including the risk of infections and/or blood clots. And Mark is at a higher than normal risk of having "issues" if he gets air bubbles into his bloodstream. The doc said he was also wary because they generally don't give them to people when their future is as uncertain as Mark's is. Because you can't keep them in forever, they generally only give them to people who will be in a dramatically different situation within a year or so--either having passed on to the Other Side or having been cured and/or put into remission (in the case of cancer). But with Mark, no one knows when his train is going to pull into the station. Could be next week. Could be a couple years. Could be a decade! (That's doubtful, but then, he wasn't supposed to survive infancy, so ... who knows?) But they decided to go ahead with it since his veins are nearly shot and deal with later ... later!

One of the docs here came in with four of his students. He always likes to bring baby docs to inspect Mark and try to figure out what his condition is. They never can figure it out, but it gives this doctor/professor (whose name I can't remember and who wasn't wearing his name tag) a great teaching opportunity. And he's so gracious about it that Mark doesn't mind.

Besides, he gave me chocolate on his way out. Anyone who gives me chocolate can get away with pretty much anything! :)