I visited my nephew in the hospital today, for the first time since the day of the accident. Frankly, I kind of wish I hadn’t, because what I saw was very concerning. He looked awful and he didn’t really acknowledge my presence. He was tossing restlessly on the bed, but didn’t move his left arm or leg at all, and his mother said he couldn’t see well on his left side — which may be why he didn’t acknowledge me, since I was sitting on his left side.
The important thing is he’s still alive. He’s incredibly lucky; he’s doing as well as a person can be in his situation. I keep telling myself that. But it was distressing to see him flat on his back and looking so terrible.
I didn’t stay long; a gaggle of his friends showed up and it got pretty crowded. Once he gets out of the hospital they’ll begin rehab.
And Michael and I are going to be getting a new kitten. We already have a much-loved cat, Carmen, but we had been in the process of maybe thinking of getting her a kitty companion for quite awhile. Remember Michael’s friend Ellen who died? Well, Ellen and her husband Ron had gotten a kitten shortly before her accident and now her husband doesn’t want it anymore. He can’t stand to look at it because it reminds him of Ellen. It’s just the kind of cat we were in the market for: it’s female, it’s black (I wanted a black cat because they’re less adoptable than other cats due to the superstition, and Michael wants one because his first-ever cat was black and he has a soft spot for black cats) and it qualifies as a rescue cat because it needs a new home. We’ll get supplies and kitten-proof the house and then collect the kitten in the coming week. Ron has agreed to pay for the last of its shots, and the neutering.
The kitten is ten weeks old. We have decided to call it Aria. Michael wanted a name associated with Ohio State University — Carmen is named after Carmen Ohio, the OSU song — and I suggested Violet, after Violet Meek, the former dean of Ohio State’s Lima campus. Michael didn’t like that name and suggested Brutus, after Brutus Buckeye, the mascot. I said Brutus was completely unacceptable for a female cat. We decided Aria would be a good name, though, because it goes well with Carmen. I mean, Carmen is a song, and an aria is a type of song, so…
When Aria arrives I’m sure I’ll post loads of adorable pictures of her.
The Charley Project Blog 