Visitor Fatigue

My dear friends Janet and Jon visited me from Pittsburgh. It was fantastic to see them and catch up. Janet is a music therapist and I enjoy hearing her discuss her sessions with children on the autistic spectrum. About an hour after they arrived, my parents joined us, talking of Bunky's attempts at cuddles last night.  A few hours later, I was pleasantly surprised to see my friends Liberty and Monica.  We were a little short on chairs, but I enjoyed how everyone was getting along with each other, telling hilarious stories to get me to laugh.

After dinner, Ken arrived, also. I was so exhausted that the nurses were concerned, but everyone, besides Ken left. Honestly, I felt a little bad about not continuing to visit with my parents, but they insisted on heading out. I fell asleep fitfully after all the goodbyes, even though it was barely 7pm. I soon got some good rest.

One of my pain medications somehow makes me perceive sound as louder; I sometimes have trouble following conversation over the sound of my chewing. During these points of hypersensitivity, I tend to find loud voices painful or overwhelming. I also tend to take everything super literally, ver concretely and seem baffled by conversation that no one else finds confusing.

Please check-in with me before visiting. I sometimes meet with doctors, have tests (or recovery from tests), am in "extra" pain, or am already expecting visitors. I also struggle with sleep and have had ongoing nightmares, which can make me nappish all day. I genuinely enjoy connecting with friends and family. I feel so grateful that folks want to share their time with me. On the other hand, 7+ hours of visiting (and 7 visitors) might be too much for me.  I can sleep if I have 1 or 2 visitors, but I get too excited about connecting with folks if there are more. 

I had so much fun today. Thank you to everyone who visited today, during this hospitalization, and during other hospitalizations.  Thank you to everyone who visited after the surgeries, after chemotherapy sessions, and days of testing.