How Many Pollocks Does it Take.....

Okay, maybe that was a bad title to this post, but I couldn't resist! Here are the pictures from our Poland Adventure 2009. It's a LONG post, so take a deep breath and get ready....because here----we-----go! (Said like the little boy in Polar Express):

Here's where it all went down....the hospital in Gorlice, Poland. Roy was very fortunate that there was a hospital in this town because it was in the middle of nowhere!!

The view from Roy's hospital window. This is basically what we saw each and every day we were there.

This is the room he was in. He was very blessed to have his own room. All the other rooms had at least 3-6 patients in them. Here's a funny story about this picture...I took it when Roy was getting his first shower. I was aiming my camera to take the picture when a nurse walked in (who didn't speak any English). I pointed to Roy in the bathroom and she smiled and left. She probably thought we were some kinky couple with him in the shower and me with my camera out. Why else would I be taking a picture????
Bless Roy's heart, he was SO bored in that place. There was NOTHING to do. He said he looked at this corner in his room just about all day long and studied the different angles of the sheet rock. The yellow walls drove him crazy, too, and he now hates the color yellow. The yellow on those walls was a mixture between a scrambled egg color and a mint green. It was interesting.

I brought plenty of entertainment for him, though.

I even snuck him some Gatorade. We had to hide this from our translator because he was extremely strict on us giving Roy food. He thought we were going to kill him!

Here is Roy with the translator, Aleksander. He let Deanna and I know everything that Poland was famous for, including breads, soups, and cheesecake (inside joke).

Each and every time we went to see Roy, we had to wear these blue shoe guards on our feet. Here is Deanna, modeling them. By the way, I will travel any where at any time with Deanna. This girl knew where she was going and was about 10 steps ahead of everything the entire time! She was a godsend and I am so glad that we got to bond in Poland. Who would've thought?! I can't say enough good things about her....she is a saint and is so down to earth and real.

This nurse was one of Roy's favorites. She is obviously a nun, and she removed Roy's catheter. We were wondering if that was even legal?

These are some of Roy's other favorites. The girl on the left was the nurse who changed all of Roy's bandages and gauze strips. She was so sweet and timid and when I asked to get her picture with Roy, she got so nervous! The girl on the right was Roy's physical therapist and she was also very kind to Roy. She spoke enough English to be dangerous. The morning that Roy was released, she brought him this little ornament from her own personal Christmas tree:




This is the head nurse of the surgical unit. She, too, was SO sweet and she said it was a privilege to take care of Roy! She was always smiling. She kind of reminded me of a Polish version of my Aunt Sharon (anyone agree?).

Here is an example of Polish hospital food. Rice, some type of carrot mush and a ball of some mystery mush. Roy ate a few bites of rice. Yummy looking, huh?

The man of the hour---Let's hear if for Dr. Kapinski! This is the doctor who performed Roy's surgery and he did a great job checking up on him daily.

Deanna's and my Home Sweet Home for the week...the Hotel Margot. We were so happy when we first drove up and saw that they had decorated for Christmas!

Each day we ate at this little table because it was near a Christmas tree. We ate many pieces of grilled cheese and chicken broth here and listened to classic American pop songs:)

"See ya!" Is it just me or does someone look a little happy to be getting released?! Here he is waving goodbye to all of his new friends.

Here we are in the Krakow airport waiting for our long plane ride to begin. I think Roy was a little nervous to get on a plane for 10 hours. No turning back:)

Cue "In My Mind I'm Going to Carolina". The next day we boarded the plane for NC and needless to say, Roy was happy. I looked like I had been to Poland and back, but doesn't Roy look handsome? I think gall bladder surgery agrees with him:)

This whole ordeal will be something we will never forget. It was not the way we would have wanted it--especially the timing of it all, but we are so thankful that Roy has recovered and we are all home as a family again! Thank you, again, for praying for Roy and our family during this time. We could definitely feel the peace and the prayers and we will never forget that!