The Adventures of Grover and Tylene: Grover Takes on New Mowasat Hospital

Hello Everyone,

It's Grover again. Tylene is busy recovering from surgery and so she thought it better that I write this week's posting. Okay, maybe she's sleeping and I stole her laptop, but she was drugged most of last week, let's be honest...I'll have a better understanding of the last seven days.

Sunday, May 10th was Mother's Day. Tylene had the pleasure of spending the day with her mom. Sadly, Tylene was so pre-occupied that it was half way through the day before she realized that it was indeed Mother's Day. Her mom is pretty forgiving, if it were my mother, I'm sure she would have been so angry she'd turn blue. Anyway, it's not about the holiday, it's about the adventure that was about to be played out.

Sunday morning was the day of the taxi...first to New Mowasat hospital to meet with the anesthesiologist, then to the International Clinic to see the surgeon, get x-rays done and all the last minute pre-op surgery things completed. I must say that I was glad to have stayed at home for those trips. I HATE riding in taxis. It's not that I don't like getting out and seeing things, it's just that, well, don't think I'm a snob, but they are beneath me. My tastes are slightly more extravagant. I guess that's one thing I admire about Tylene, she doesn't get caught up on all that fancy schmancy stuff!

So Sunday's doctor adventures took up a huge chunk of the day. The other part of the day was dealing with Insurance. To all those who have never had the displeasure of preparing for surgery and dealing with insurance, count your blessings. As it turned out, Tylene was checked into the hospital, wearing a gown and being pumped full of drugs before she knew whether surgery would go on as planned on Monday.

But back to the adventures of Grover. So Sunday was pretty much just a day for me to chill out at home and ensure that all the plans were set for Monday. It takes a lot of planning to be a blue muppet who seeks out the grand adventures of the rich and famous in Kuwait. Back on the homefront, Tylene and Patricia spent Sunday together, a few pop in visitors and trying to keep calm...okay, Tylene was trying to keep calm, but, to give her credit, that's not an easy task when you're not sure if the surgery you're scheduled for the next day is going to happen or not.

As a little blue muppet, I get to see things that others might not observe, but one thing I know is that I don't think Tylene would have made it through this surgery if her mom hadn't been there with her. Tylene is a control freak...I don't say that in a mean way, but she likes to have all her little ducks in a row. It would appear that in the weeks leading up to surgery, there was duck hunter on the loose ducking up all of her plans. Patricia was a great support to Tylene...it's a "mom thing"...that's what I've been told.

At any rate, Monday morning Tylene headed to the hospital. Patricia went for her very important blood work at the public clinic. You might ask why, in the days prior to surgery did Patricia not get this done earlier, or why couldn't she get the blood work done at the private clinic out of which Tylene's surgeon works...at least those are the questions that this little muppet has...but the fact is that they tried, over and over. I guess, despite the fact that the paper from the ministry said to get the blood work done within 72 hours of arriving in Kuwait, it really meant to drop in any time you had a chance, after 72 hours. Be sure to drop in only in the morning. Oh, and also, private clinics are private and therefore, in the eyes of the ministry can't be trusted...public clinic only!

So the plan was this, Angela would take Tylene to the hospital while Jenny took Patricia to the clinic for this very important blood work. I guess as any good narrator would do, I should back up a little and explain the blood work thing. It would appear that, upon arriving in Kuwait from any country that has confirmed cases of Swine Flu, all new arrivals must get blood work done to ensure that said disease is not being spread. Before being let out of the secure area, all passengers had their temperature taken, and if there was no sign of fever, they were released to the public! They were then to report to a public health facility within 72 hours...or so said the paper.

Back to the adventure...Tylene checked into the hospital and was taken to her room. Patricia went to the clinic with Jenny, and while there had a chat with Russ, Tylene's boss, as to whether or not there was word on insurance...there wasn't...we just needed to wait and see. While Patricia was on the phone, Jenny took her paper to the clerk at the window who asked if Patricia had a fever. Jenny replied, "NO" and the clerk signed the sheet and without any sort of blood work, released Patricia back in the general population! Now that's one way to prepare for a pandemic.

Meanwhile, Tylene was resting comfortably in her private room at New Mowasat hospital in Kuwait. I was "out of the bag"...it would appear that when we travel, Tylene feels she must shove me into the corner of her purse, or her suitcase until we reach the desired destination...I mean, is there anything more humiliating.

Surgery was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. At 10:30, the mood in the room was relatively positive. And then, at 10:45, like some sort of magic, after sending a rather glib text to all her friends stating that they were holding out on the good drugs, Tylene literally snapped her fingers and said, "Let's get this show on the road" and the gurney was rolled into her room.

This is where the fun started. What you might not know about private hospitals in Kuwait is that there are private rooms, like the one Tylene had, VIP suites for important people, executive suites for just a little bit more important people and then the Royal suites for, well the Royal family. The reality is that when there is time to pass and Royal suites, there is no place that I, Grover G. Muppet, would not boldly go. While Tylene was in surgery I visited the fancy schmancy suites...including perhaps, the Royal suite. I also had an i.v. of my own, spent some time on a gurney, hid out in some dude's (or dudette's) flowers, had a ride in a wheel chair and a few other adventures. It was a wild time. I know you'd never believe that Patricia was a part of the shenanigans, but she was. There will be pictures to show at a later date.

Tylene came out of surgery and had to spend the night in I.C.U. The good news is that surgery was a success. After four and a half hours of surgery, the doctor was able to spare the nerve to her vocal cords. Tylene woke up able to speak. She sounded just like herself. Now, a week later, she sounds more like a phone sex operator, but the doctor says that is just a part of the healing. Oh, I should clarify...sounding like a phone sex operator is part of the healing...not actually being one!

We were in the hospital until Thursday. Tylene arrived home around 11:00 on Thursday morning. She spent most of the day sleeping. They did eventually give her the good drugs. Friday was spent, believe it or not, making a pink elephant birthday cake with Patricia for a very special four year old. The cake was a huge success. Tylene was stoned the whole time, but claims to remember the process. She was glad to have her mom there for extra support, but was very sad to see her leave on Friday night.

In the end, Ty is at home resting comfortably. Upon her doctor's recommendation, she is probably done teaching for the year, although there is much to do before the end of June, but any teacher would understand that. Because subbing here is a little different than back home (for example, you don't actually need a degree), Tylene will spend a few days next week wrapping things up. Report card marks are due May 31st, so after that, there won't be anything really crucial to finish up. Student led conferences are the beginning of June. A few more things to do in preparation for those and all will be taken care of!

Tylene is grateful to have her voice back, although somewhat impatient at the length of time it will take before she sounds like herself again. Singing is still a long way off, but if all goes well, she'll be able to return to Kuwait in the fall to continue her teaching career.

And on that note, I should probably sign off for a while. We're getting fairly tired on this end. I don't know what it is, but when Tylene feels like sleeping, so do I. It's a crazy adventure the two of us are on.

I hope you have a terrific week and we'll be in touch early next week.

Much love to you from me (Grover) and Tylene.

Tylene