Saturday Update For Ben

I got to the hospital very early this morning because I had received a phone call from Ben last night at 9:00 PM (the nurse helped him make the collect call) and he was very depressed and very confused. He was telling me that the hospital had promised he could go home yesterday and that they told him later he couldn't and that they were "playing games" with him. It broke my heart and I could not sleep much last night. He was very alert today, but still pretty depressed. I exercised with him and talked with him about how it's going to take him several weeks and possibly months to get strong enough and well enough to come home. He was not able to talk today, so I had to try to read his lips. Sometimes I could, sometimes I couldn't. I finally got him to once again promise me that he would get well and NEVER give up. I spoke with the doctor about Ben's depression, but he said he could not give him any antidepressants because they are all pill form and Ben cannot take anything by mouth. The doctor asked me a very strange question today. He wanted to know if Ben or I had ever set a time limit on how long it should take Ben to get well. What kind of a question is that? Especially when the doctor had just told me that he thinks Ben can get well, but that it will probably take months. I told the doctor that I have never even thought about anything like that and that I will not even consider that he won't get better. Ben's belly is still large and it did feel a little harder to me again today, even though they just did the paracentesis yesterday. I was there for 5 hours today and I am exhausted.