Post-Anesthesia Care Unit

A clue in Jeopardy came up the other day about PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) but more commonly known as the recovery room, where patients wake up after recovering from surgery. I actually haven't been in this room per se, at least to my knowledge. My mom's various surgeries were all done without me, or I was at the hospital but was waiting in the reception area, not in the recovery room itself, just on call to go back into the recovery room. I've never had that movie moment of being there at that exact moment when a loved one wakes up, which has a lot of importance because it shows you were there waiting the whole time, and the patient is waking up realizing they survived surgery. When MJ did a C-section to deliver Baby Girl Yan (Thanks!) she had an epidural that localized the anesthesia so that she didn't feel anything to her stomach, but she was able to stay awake, and pretty much met the baby at the same time I did. I did see baby first though in her first few minutes in this world, so maybe I was there for baby's recovery room experience? The whole birthing experience still resonates strongly in my memory banks, luckily even more than my Jeopardy experience, which felt like it was over in a flash. Baby delivery was also kind of a flash, although I didn't feel much pressure, I was more a spectator watching MJ do one of the most seminal moments of our lives. I hope to never have to be in another PACU for a loved one, but as with most health-related issues, you never know. If I were to have surgery,I wouldn't insist on having any loved ones in the room, but the knowledge of their presence nearby would be enough. Also I can only imagine waking up after surgery would be groggy, wondering what happened, confusion, and probably some pain or discomfort at whatever area was operated on, I can understand why patients want a familiar face in the room as a sort of "constant" (idea from Lost TV series, which apparently has a cult among younger generation who didn't know what it was. I'm getting good practice now as to what I'd do if I did have to experience a lengthy hospital stay: not the staying in bed part, but being confined in one room, with TV, not getting out much. Right now it's not just having a baby keeping me at home, but also the extreme heat: I would hate to be playing soccer even in the World Cup when outdoor temps are high 90s. These World Cup fans are pretty dedicated to the cause. I think long hospital stays would be the best friend of Netflix, Peacock, and all the streaming services. I could stream many many episodes of Jeopardy of course, but this week I watched Roofman (cool story with Channing Tatum based on a real "Roofman" who robbed McDonalds restaurants) and Sheep Detectives, and maybe my senses were dulled from only studying trivia and not watching a real movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed both and kept me sane through the whole not-going-outside thing. Mike and Molly is also my new "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" comedy show I watch bits of, set in Chicago and Melissa McCarthy in a role she's not just off the walls like you imagine her in Bridesmaids or Identity Thief. Did you know she's Jenny McCarthy's cousin?