Waitingish; and GOOD NEWS

The picture is of the Lobby Cafe and the gentleman at the next table who was asking about my netbook, and his son (I think)
Greetings -
I'm in the Lobby Cafe, a place I frequented quite a lot when Rick was here the first week in October. They have a shrimp salad that is not great cuisine, but gets the job done.
Rick got taken in for surgery around 1. Hospitals have become compulsive and zealous about making sure they're doing the right procedure for the right patient. He was asked at least four times for his name, birth date, and why he was here. They had the answers on a chart right in front of them. They just were makin' sure he was the right guy in the right place.
This is the fourth time he's had a surgical procedure this year.
Medical technology is always on the move, and today they tucked him in with a "Bair Hugger." This is an air blanket that is filled with warm air from a shop vac looking thing, which ten seeps out of tiny little holes in the paper blanket bottom, keeping the patient roasty toasty warm. This is wonderful for Rick, but the hospital's concern is that his core temperature shouldn't drop.
So now I'm waiting. They said it would be "twoish hours, maybe threeish," so I am waiting-ish. From the cafe I'll shlep over to the surgery family waiting area, a large area just off the main lobby with couches and chairs. It has become familiar territory for me this year. I'm hoping to nab a couch where I can stretch out and nap while waiting to be paged by Rick's surgeon, Dr. Pham.
The surgery he's having today: he's having a PD catheter put in to his abdomen. This is a port for peritoneal dialysis (hence the PD), which he will be able to do at home. Yay. He's also having a fistula installed in his arm. That will be his backup if and when he needs to do hemodialysis.
Both of these ports will need to "mature" for a while before they can be used, so we'll be going to the Kidney Center three days a week for a while yet.
Now, for the GOOD NEWS: Rick received a call from Johnny at the urologist's office yesterday. All the bladder biopsies taken the day before Thanksgiving were NEGATIVE. So Rick's bladder is clean of cancer at this point, as near as we can tell. He goes back for a check up in February.
So that's the news from here as of this afternoon. If you don't hear anything more soon, assume everything's OK.
Blessings!