First and Second Stay at Baptist

 

            All I knew about hospitals I learned from my cousin who had her tonsils removed. She said that she got as much ice cream as she wanted! Cool, I thought. I wasn’t quite prepared for what was to come.

            The first stay at the hospital lasted a few days, maybe a week. I must not have been very bad then, because I recall my roommate pretty well. She was a young African American girl, and the four of us became friends. Her mother was single and had to work but hated leaving her child. Mom told her that she would look after her child like she was her own.

            The second trip to Winston was different. This time I was there for a month. I had gone downhill, and they had to check for everything else before I had surgery. I know this distressed my parents terribly. What parent thinks of brain surgery and feels great? Mom told me she was crying as much as I was when Dr. Alexander took her from my room and told her something like, “You either get your emotions under control, or I will ban you from the hospital. You are not helping her at all. It is your choice.” At first this made mom angry, but it was the best thing anyone could say to her. I was picking up on her distress. Mom hardly ever cried in front of people again. That can be a very bad thing, holding your emotions so tight. But at the time, it helped me.

            I was put in a ward with three other girls; one had third degree burns. If you’ve ever burned yourself on the stove or from grease spatter, you know it hurts. Well, imagine how much pain this young girl was in. I think that must be one of the worst pains there is. She screamed when they came to debride her wounds, which seemed like every five minutes but really were maybe five hours. It hurt terribly; I know now. But then, I couldn’t stand noise. Any sudden noise and my movements would begin again.

            My mother and father had gone to the nurse’s station numerous times to see if they could get another room; no, the hospital was full. One evening, my dad went out and was talking about moving me and another patient overheard him. Bobby offered his private room to me. A true blessing from an angel!

            I was in that room for the remainder of my stay. Bobby stayed in touch with us for years until his death.

            As I said, I went through all kinds of tests. From brain waves, which left my long hair a knotted mess, to a spinal test. I have no idea what they were looking for in the spinal test, I only know it was extremely, extremely painful.

            Mom came home that day. The doctors assured her the test would be the next day, but they moved it up. Hazel, my aunt, was with me. Mom needed to see Dale and get back to normal for one day.

            They had me in a surgical suite with everyone masked and gloved. They placed me face down on a table and told me to hold still. (Yeah, like that was happening.) Hazel was outside, but could see me. The first needle hurt so much, I screamed and cried. Every fifteen minutes they would let Hazel in to calm me, then out she went, and I was back to screaming and hurting. Afterwards, I was supposed to lay on my stomach without moving. Again, not happening.

            Mom was going to surprise Dale, but didn’t get that far. Hazel called her hysterical and crying herself. Mom and Dad came to be with me. Hazel told mom, her sister, that she cried all night that night.

            Looking back though, I am glad mom wasn’t there. I don’ think she could have stood it. For Hazel, it was one day; for mom, it might have been the one thing that broke her. That test is one I’ll never forget.

            With all the bad, there was occasional bright spots. An intern bought me a bright green bunny rabbit! I had that rabbit for years. Thank you, Dr. Boone.

And I remember lying between my mom and my dad. Dad talking softly to soothe me. I was a daddy’s girl, after all!