HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Apr. 5, 2005 Earl knew while he was lying in the hospital bed, all trussed up like a Thanksgiving Turkey, that maybe he should have thought things out a little better. As the nurse mumbled and tightened the trapeze that hung both his legs, and the Urologist adjusted his truss, the thoughts of the previous day just kept playing, over and over again in his mind. Pain medication seemed to make the events muddled and a bit blurry. But his wife and silent giggles of those passers by brought him to a level of consciousness that just rubbed in the stupidity of the previous few hours. To make matters even more humiliating, when his eyes actually did focus on his surroundings he realized, little zoo animals decorated the walls, silently laughing mocking him, especially the Hyena. Chapter 2 Earl laid there… boredom was setting in. He had played with the up and down controls of the bed, seeing just how far he could get the bed to fold, Not easy with both legs in trapezes. The latex glove box was now empty. The scattered, inflated and water filled hands littered the floor, the bed, and stuck out from the bedpan, He thought it would be fun to see just how big the BP cuff was and now it was wrapped around his neck. A “good joke” he thought as his hand began to pump it up. “Enough to scare the nurses” he silently laughed to himself. Chapter 3 “ And just why do you feel the Hyena was mocking you?” the psychiatrist asked. The noise of his chair sounded too much like something else and Earl snickered. “ Look, see for yourself. That Hyena has a mocking grin”. “ Mr. Butts”. “ Please, call me Earl” ‘ Ok, Earl, These are just images that we put on paper. They have no feelings, and they are not mocking you.” “ So you often put mocking images on children’s wall paper? That’s just sick”. And the sound of the chair erupted again. “Now Mr. Butts, excuse me, Earl. What made you think to do this?” “ Why are you asking? You think I have a complex? You think I’m a Nut” “ No, its just unusual for a person to put a BP cuff around their neck and pump it up to see how far their eyeballs will go?” “ Oh that…. I was bored.” “ So why not take it off?” “ It goes well with the backless gown” Chapter 4 Day four. The itch was beginning to set in under all three casts. As he reached for the oxygen hose to push down the cast, thoughts began to slowly emerge. Reaching over to turn up the oxygen flow he pushed the tube down the cast. The edge scratching back and forth felt good, and the cool air eased the itch. As the nurse came in she noticed the hose snaking its way under the blankets. Not wanting to know what he was doing, she silently closed the door and left. Only to have Helga, the head Nurse push in room door and demand in a heavy Bulgarian accent, that was tinted with the aroma of Borscht, “Mr. Butts Vhat are you do ink mit de Hose?” Startled he flipped back the blanket. The head nurse shrieked, fearful she would be exposed to something…. There it was stuck down the cast.. only one leg relieved of its itch and heat. “ Could you please do the other leg?” he asked sheepishly.” Or could I get another hose?” Day 5… The room was getting to be more dull and close as this day weighed on. The Mocking hyena was now being joined by the laughing Monkey and the jovial Otter made it no better. The news earlier that morning that he’d be stuck there for another few days until the hernia surgery could be performed was just to much time to lay there. The T V was boring. Earl popped through channel after channel…Only to have more fun playing with the alarm on the medication pump. Lucky for him there was no pain medication in it. But he would fix that. Day 6 Looking at his lunch cart, the food created a sort of bland grayish gravy landscape. The mashed potatoes refused to be created into Devils Mountain and the peas refused to go near the gravy. It was a standoff. The soda slowly fizzed in the small clear cup. An intriguing neon yellow color and slow rise of bubbles hypnotized Earl. After lunch the nurse came in to do a routine check. “Look” he pointed to the collection bag, “it fizzes” She grabbed the small catheter bag and looked. “ It fizzes?” she answered back” The neon color sparkled and the small carbon bubbles slid up the smooth vinyl side. Earl grinned back to the hyena. The figure in the Dark bathrobe stood next to his bed. A cod clammy hand touched his arm. The room began to swim, A garbled vice told him to count backwards. As he counted he felt a slowness drift over him. The Hyena looked at him, and he swore that it gave him an obscene gesture. When he awoke, the Mocking Hyena looked down at him with a look of dismay and shock. The otter simply turned on his side, and the monkey hid behind the palm leaves. Earl felt his side. They felt like Swingline Industrial Staples, he thought as he ran his fingers over the surgical site. He felt something less too…. ------------ About the author: Julia Sherman is now a BA student at SNL@ DePaul University. Extensivly published and is currently author of the month at lionsongpublications.com. I have 10 dogs puppies, 7 of which are Black Mouth Curr and adorable. Anyone want a puppy? Email: jimmysdevoted2@bellsouth.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
