Not done yet

Thanks for all your comments, everyone. Mum is tuckered out right now. She got up super early and dressed in a bright pink and white striped cardigan and pink flip-flops. What a day she's had, and the most important part isn't over yet.

She's sleeping on a big lofty green chair looking out on the Minnesota sunshine here on the 9th floor of the Gonda Building. So far, we know where the best sleeping seats are in this big clinic house, and we're taking advantage of my never-failing press pass and the shameless New York method of taking a seat whenever one can.

We listen and hear many, many languages and see a myriad of ethnicity and illness -- the latter is still present in this sunshiney aura, so it's not very depressing.

Her catheter was removed this morning (big plus, but a big hole!) and she munched down a roast beef and gouda sandwich for lunch. We've decided that if we must be here for this godawful amount of time, we'll eat at every single dive restaurant in our own foodie way. So far, we've been fairly limited to desserts and pastries, but once this upcoming surgeon meeting is over in the next hour or so, we're going on a bender and getting fresh grapefruit and lemon gelato and enjoying the breezy evening -- no matter what news we get.