Day 171 in the hospital

During evenings when the sky is littered with stars and the hospital is silent, nurses come into the rooms without notice. While I'm sound asleep they'd slip inside like vampires, their feet sweeping the floor without sound and they'd suck blood out of me.

But not the way real vampires do with fangs or hypnosis or whatever. Though it would surely sound more exciting. But instead, nurses come in their pristine white uniform, holding their kits they would insert needle and extract blood.

Or sometimes, instead of extracting they would insert fluids in my skin, testing medicines to make sure I won't have allergic reactions. Sometimes I'd wake up, sat on the bed half sleep while they do their thing. Most of the time, I'd just sleep away with no care of what's happening and when I wake up in the morning I'd have several shots on my skin.

I also have a morning routine. Not just like those vloggers on the internet or anything. My routine was mostly composed of these, and trust me, routine means habitual or repetition and I sure do the same thing everyday.

I would wake up around six in the morning and I would push the button above my head to ring the nurse. He or she would come inside, all pleasant and cheerful, and greet me good morning before releasing me from the IV.

I'd go to the bathroom, do my business, brush my teeth with my extra super soft bristle to prevent my gums from bleeding. If I'm in the mood, I'd brush my hair, extra careful, in front of the bathroom mirror.

There were moments I didn't have to. You know, the brushing of the hair, specially in chemotherapy when the hair ends up in the comb or falling on the floor instead of my head.

But my short hair is in better state than my first course of chemo. I look forward to a longer hair once I recover so I can find another hair color that would suit me.

Back to my routine, once I look like a decent human again I'd sneak out of my room.

You see, there's a protocol in the hospital that all patients must be in wheelchairs if they decide to go out of their rooms, especially patients who have to climb up or down different floors.

But heck I feel like an old person in a wheelchair and you must be accompanied by the staff or nurse, while there's freedom in walking and it's quicker.

I usually go down the ground floor where the lobby, cafeteria, the chapel, and the garden are all located. I would buy a can of cold coffee from the vending machine and walk in the garden like a boss. I'd do some stretching or just sit on a bench and drink my coffee in peace, while watching the rays of the rising sun slipping in between the surrounding buildings.

By eight in the morning most people in the hospital are now awake. I'd go back to my room and my breakfast would be served then on a table with wheels. I'd eat my breakfast while watching the chatty host of random morning shows on TV. Then I'd brush my teeth again, ring the nurse and have my IV back.

On mid-mornings, if I don't have a visitor to entertain I usually edit different medias on my laptop- videos, short clips, photographs. I also write sometimes- poems, random scripts, and dialogues.

I have all the things I needed in my room. Dozens of notebooks, stationary, and pens. I also have my laptop with me, my camera, and disposable films. I'm a very busy person.

Then around eleven thirty, the staff would bring lunch inside which usually composed of beef or pork, a vegetable dish, and a fruit. Then, they would be back after an hour to get the dirty plates.

Then I'd ring the nurse again because, yes, hygiene. By afternoon, I already took a bath, change fresh clothes, and now I had to face my film list. I usually watch movies on Netflix and make reviews. I also love taking short online courses on films and watching movie reviews on Youtube.

When I wasn't watching, I'm mostly reading. In the past five months, I think I may have brought fifty or so books. Usually Shane or my brother would bring a new one whenever I requested. They're everywhere in the room. Under the bed, stacked clumsily at the corner, inside drawers, on top of tables.

And that's usually my daytime routine. Quite impressive, huh?

On evenings, it's when I usually check what's happening on the outside world through social media. I'd logged in and like certain post I'd see on my timeline.

That night, I scrolled through a post by someone I wasn't friends with, but had Shane tagged in the photos. He's with four more people, all wearing hard hats while visiting a construction sight. Shane passed his civil engineering board exam this year and now he's in training.

I tapped the like button of his tagged picture and scrolled some more. Posts about people graduating, hired in a new job, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries with their love ones, or got engaged, travelling to places, smiling faces, selfies. They all seem to look like they're living their best lives.

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