Wednesday, day 4

Surgeries and clinic again today. Every day the medical team bites off more than they can chew and ends up working late. The need is so great that it would be difficult to do otherwise. And ENT clinic employees end up staying late as well. And they do so without complaint.

I was with the surgeons today when the work was done and it was time to leave. It was about 8pm. Dinner hours at IU House were long over. IU has rules for safety that include NOT walking back to IU House after dark. So we were standing outside the hospital at the road. We decided we would call a cab or cabs and pick up the others of our group and go to dinner. Then Sophie, the main nurse of the ENT clinic shows up with a driver in a rickety old hospital van. They had just given someone else a late ride home and she had the van stop to see if we wanted a ride.

So Sophie talked the driver into stopping at IU House for the others and then taking us to dinner. I invited them both to have dinner with us but Sophie wanted to get home and the driver couldn't be away that long. But he did offer to come back for us. I told him to come back in an hour and a half. He said he would do so and call me on my cell when he was back.

Well, dinner was slow to start and ran long. Shortly after our food arrived my phone rang. It was the driver. Time flies. I told him we had just gotten our food and we had too much and would he come in and join us. So he did. He ended up with all kinds of good food on his plate. We enjoyed having him. Hard telling what he thought of us. These things just happen here.

I gave him a generous tip when he dropped us at the restaurant. When he picked us up to take us back to IU House, he told me that he was assigned to us by the hospital and if we need a ride tomorrow night to just call him. I tipped him again. I have no idea if he's really assigned to us or what. But I have his name and number...

Sent from Kyle's AT&T iPhone