Thursday, May 27, 2010

Out Like A Light

I am just one member of a family full of fainters.  Everyone in my family (with the exception of me) has a problem staying conscious in hospitals. One sniff of the hospital air and out they go.  Unfortunately I have had more than my fair share of surgeries over the years and each of my family members has attempted to be my support team. 

When I gave birth to my twins it was my father who went down for the count.  One minute he was sitting in a chair, holding my hand,timing my contractions and the next he had slid out of the chair to the floor and was out cold.  Poor dad was trying to fill in for my husband who was in the service at the time but was quickly ushered from the room as soon as he woke up.

A few years later my oldest brother (an L.A. undercover police officer no less) tried to fill in as my support during my hysterectomy.  He did fine until the nurse came in to check my bandage and that is when my big brother fainted falling over the bed rail on top of me!  The nurse had him wheeled out on a gurney straight to the ER where they performed all sorts of tests and presented him with an $1,800.00 bill for services.


My daughter Jamie was the brave soul who accompanied through a hand surgery.  I was barely waking up in my room when I heard the nurse asking me, "Is that your daughter?" pointing to the unconscious figure who had just taken the Nestle Tea plunge into the hallway.  My surgery cost her $1,300.00 in ER fees.


The next one to go down was my other daughter.  This time Ron was with me as well as my daughter.  Again, things went well until I came out of surgery.  It was an outpatient eye surgery so I was sitting in a chair in the recovery room.  I had stitches around my eyes and as my daughter describes it blood tears running down my face.  I was unable to see but heard the commotion as Julie hit the floor.  Poor Ron was tending to me while trying to hold Julie up by the collar of her shirt.  He really had his hands full.


Thank goodness Ron came into my life.  He has helped me take every member of my family to the hospital ER for one thing or another.  He has been with me through two surgeries relieving the fainters from their duty.  And he has remained conscious through all of it!!!!!!

4 comments:

Linda said...

What an absolutely wonderful story! I love it. Just the greatest. What a hoot.

kenju said...

I know it isn't funny to them, but it is to me!!

I have fainted 3 times in my life, and on two of those occasions I was pregnant. The other one? I was 11 years old and fainted off the top row of bleachers during a class concert in sixth grade!!

Arkansas Patti said...

Your family needs to invest in medical bracelets that state that you are prone harmless fainting and not to run tests.
Glad you picked out a non-fainting boyfriend. He is priceless.
Very funny story.

marciamayo said...

I laughed all the way through this. My favorite part was when you undercover brother fainted on top of you.
Thanks for making my afternoon!