A Tour of the New Digs!

It's a long one y'all, but there's lots of pictures! Grab some sweet tea, sit down, and get ready to read.......

A few weeks ago, the new Shands Cancer Hospital and Trauma Center opened. Because Cecil's Dad was one of the head people in charge of this new project we got the "hot" tour of the new digs! The hospital did tours for the public, but very few people got to see and go where we did!



First of all, let me tell you that this place is GORGEOUS! Just gorgeous. It seemed to me that the focus was really on the patient and making him/her comfortable.

For example, the roof in the elevator (I believe in the Trauma unit) has a beautiful picture of hot pink flowers on it, rather than the cold, hard, lighting. This is so when you're laying on a stretcher and looking up, you don't see the lights, you see a nice picture of flowers (I'm kind of hoping that I never have to be in that position, but if I were, I'm sure I wouldn't really be thinking about the roof of the elevator and sending in a complaint after I was released from the hospital, but whatever).

Here's the top of the elevator; is this awesome or what? Beautiful.


Also, the patient controls the lighting in his/her room by a button on the bed (or the remote control thingy...) That's great for when the nurses bug you death throughout the night. You know how the nurses come in at like, 2AM and flip on the lights just to take your vitals or something.....I've been in that position before and their sign that I'm okay should be when I sit UPRIGHT in the bed when you flip the lights on at 2AM! DUH! The patient also controls the window shades by remote control. Sweet!

Here's Nolan adjusting some poor unsuspecting soul's shades.....lordy be, they'll come in and have full sun at the noonday if they don't watch out! ha!

Grandaddy and Nolan adjusting a patient bed in the ICU

Anyhow, we rode the elevator up to the very tip top of the building to the helipad--this is where ShandsCair lands with trauma patients. My kids were totally awed by the view from the helipad! You can see Ben Hill Griffin Stadium behind us....yes, that's how high in the air we were...I was a little spooked, but did good. We all had TIGHT holds on the boys hands! The boys kept saying "I want to ride in the helicopter" and "Wow--I want to come here!" and I repeated over and over again...NO YOU DO NOT. If you are at this hospital, you are VERY sick, or a trauma patient, and trust me, you do NOT want that. It's a beautiful place, but I don't want to be a patient there!

Walking out to the heli-pad

See those metal "cage" looking things to the left and right of the walkway? There's nothing under them but earth and sky! It's just a metal cage thing......I was sure hoping no gusty wind came up and blew us around....not that any kind of hurricane-force winds could move fatty here, but still. I was nervous.

Cecil, our boys, and his daddy (Grandaddy)

Our family on top of the heli-pad--see how tight we have the boys' hands?

And while the heli-pad was the highlight of our day--THIS sight just makes me bleed orange and blue! That's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium!! GO GATORS!


After we came down off the roof (literally) Grandaddy (Cecil's dad) took us in a few of the OR's. They are amazing! This hospital has some of the most current technology there is and it's all in one room! There are x-ray machines, tv screens, and all sorts of gadgets and gizmos that I have no idea what their names are.

See how bright the OR light is? We turned it on and put Nolan's arm underneath it!

Here's the OR x-ray machine jackets. In classic orange and blue!

How's this for an air vent? Can you imagine paying their electricity bill? I complain about my $200 bill and I can't imagine theirs.

We had a great time touring the new Critical Care Center, Trauma Center, and Cancer Hospital. It's beautiful, but again...I sure don't want to be a patient there. But if I am, I sure know I'll be taken care of!

Until next time........

~CB