Day 1 Continued

On Monday February 20th 2017 I lay helpless on a table in the ER....doctors and nurses buzzing all around me, my eyelids heavy, my hearing amplified, the sound in the great room hit a monotone. Occasional cries of pain, pleas for God, and the phrase "you're doing so well" echoed through the room. I was still thirsty. I reached out towards the scrubs but no response. Not even a look. Doctors came in to put me out, my lower right leg needed a setting. I went out, then woke up and sat up, wide eyed and screamed about trees, I was in a forest! I told them all! And then right back down and out again.

Water...I had been running in the sun and dehydrated from Sunday Funday, if only I had water I could be comfortable here. MRI and CT scan, my internal body did well, just broken bones. I continue to lie on the table listening to the room.

A group of scrubs began to gather...I couldn't really see, I could only hear. A new patient was emitted. A young man was run over by a tractor. He had been crushed. They worked and worked trying to save his life. He died. A time of death recorded, a small prayer recited...amen. The scrubs scatter and returned to buzzing all around the room.

It was time to move, I was taken to a private room, my family waiting and I was greeted with flowers and balloons, smiles and tears and a viscous feeling of concern and worry. I was placed, through a most uncomfortable transition, into a soft wide hospital bed. Surgery for my lower right leg is scheduled for 5 am. I settle into my wires and oxygen. Wine sneaks in and my family settles into emotional balance. And then... a beam of light moves towards me... an ORMC mug full of liquid. I sip it and my body smiles. Water.

An example of a healthy lower right leg: