What is hospital time, exactly?

Mary was booked for her radiation treatment at 8AM sharp so she could then go upstairs for her 8:30 appointment to see the surgeon.

The technician came out and sweetly said, "We are running late and we'll get you in as soon as we can." Mary reminded her of the doctor visit scheduled for 8:30. In fact, it was radiation that set the appointment to be before the doctor. The tech then said she'd let them know it was their delay and call upstairs to inform them.

We did get upstairs about 8:50, or twenty minutes late. About 10:30AM, they moved us into an examination room. Let see, that is an hour and 40 minutes in the waiting room. I am glad she called so we didn't have to wait long.

A resident came in right away, asked questions, looked at Mary's incision and said she'd be back with the surgeon shortly. Fortunately, she set Mary up with a couple of blankets and as I am writing this, Mary is sound asleep on the examination table. That happens when there is nothing going on for over half an hour. Her body likes to sleep after radiation, no doubt about it.

Ah, its 11:06 and we can hear our surgeon's voice in the next examination room. Soon, we hope, soon!