Sunday March 18, 2007 8:42 PM

Jim woke me up this morning at 7 a.m. by calling me. "You KNOW it's only 7 o'clock, right?" I asked him. But that's o.k. I'll talk to him anytime. I got up, stomach killing me from the corned beef and cabbage I ate yesterday. They have this really nice supermarket in town...kind of like a Whole Foods or a Kings (how Kings USED to be years ago) that sells ready-made meals, so I've been living off those because the selection at the restaurant here is a little slim. But every year I make corned beef and cabbage and every year I forget how my stomach feels after I EAT the corned beef and cabbage, so I did it again.

I got myself together and went down to the front desk to tell the guys that Jim might be getting out this week...because we're all friends now...and an elderly lady came down to the desk looking for the shuttle to take her to Lahey Clinic. I told her to come on with me...that's where I'm going. Her story is pretty sad. Her husband had bladder and prostate cancer and now has to wear an ostomy bag. They're from Rhode Island. Her husband had told her to go home for awhile and she said that she couldn't go home. What would she do if something happened to him and she was gone? Gee, where I have heard THOSE words before? This couple is in their 80's. To her I was young. Hell, I probably won't even live that long.

When I got to the hospital the nurse told me that Dr. Tannas had been in and had discontinued Jim's tube feedings, but she didn't know why, so I paged Dr. Tannas. I told the doctor, "You're scaring me, Dr. Tannas. What's wrong?" He told me that Jim seemed to have a lot of reflux so they didn't want him to aspirate anything. They're just going to do the COLLAGEN treatment tomorrow. (I said cortisone in my last post, but that was the other "C" thing. He told me they don't know what time they're doing it, but I can call the ENT desk at 8:30 a.m. to find out, and I'm welcome to come along. Jim will be given a swallowing assessment right afterwards and if he passes may be able to go home mid-week. Everyone needs to send out their prayers and cross their fingers that Jim passes and this thing works. They say they're extremely successful in cases like this.

Jimmy and grandparents arrived in the early afternoon, so I met Jimmy down in the lobby. "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" he yelled as he crossed the street without even looking and ran through the front doors of the hospital and gave me a big hug. So I took him up to see Daddy. He was a little scared at first, but then he warmed up. He had to wear a yellow gown to go in so I played it up like he was a doctor. He took a liking to the nursing student, probably because she was cute. Jimmy has an eye for the ladies already. He and Jim visited for about an hour. I explained the best I could why Daddy didn't sound the same because of his vocal chords. I don't know if he 100 percent got it. But he kept repeating, "I really missed you Daddy. I haven't seen you in a week." It's great how kids have no sense of time. After awhile Jim started having some pain in his face where the teeth got pulled, so we left so he could get some rest.

Afterwards Jimmy and the grandparents and I went for an early dinner/late lunch before they hit the road again. They asked Jimmy what the best part of his day was and he said, "Seeing my Daddy." He really misses both of us.

I went back to see Jim again tonight. He's so antsy and just wants to get the hell out of here. He's starting to look gaunt. The nurse showed me how to zero out the scale in the bed, then use it to weigh Jim. She said they're not the most accurate, but according to that scale Jim has lost 25 pounds. But people, don't go on the Jim Primiani diet. I don't recommend it. And have you ever noticed that on EVERY commercial break on t.v. there's a FOOD commercial? Every single one. Pay attention the next time you watch t.v. It's got to be torture for the poor guy. Plus he still can't swallow his own spit so he has to suck it out of his mouth with a suction wand. You also never realize just how much of your own spit you swallow in a given day. I can see it in Jim's suction container so I know....it's a LOT.

So please Lord, let the collagen thing work tomorrow. I know my step-sister in Idaho would say, "It WILL work...you have to practice positive thinking."