Hospital Chapter 63

We managed to get all our belongings out of the trailer. It wasn’t easy since both Jared and I were so sick.

Thursday, January 22, 1985

Richard found an apartment. He also met with the Bishop in the area. The Bishop gave him money to move into the apartment he had found. The Bishop also gave him a dresser, a food order, and a few other necessities.

After we had moved all our belongings into the new apartment, Richard took Jared and me back to the doctor to get more medicine. I dreaded every time I had to give Jared the medicine. I had to force it down his throat. Just like before, Jare cried, “No, no!” It would make me cry, too, because it was so hard for me to have to do it, but if he were to get better, I had no choice.

Since I was the one who gave Jared the medicine, he wanted nothing to do with me. He would lie by the front door and cry all day for his daddy. Once Richard got home from work, Jared would cling to him. I wanted so much for Jared to understand that I loved him. Hopefully, it won’t take long to gain his trust back.

Friday, January 23, 1987

After Richard went to work this morning, I took care of Jared. I felt weaker than I had before. I got dizzy, and I passed out. As I lay on the floor, I kept hearing a baby cry. I wondered why no one was taking care of the baby who was crying. When I finally came to, 4 hours had passed.

As I was slowly coming to, I realized the baby crying was mine! I was horrified to realize I had been out for so long and that anything could have happened to Jared while I was out.

I called Richard to let him know what had happened and that I was worried I would pass out again. He came home from work and brought me to the hospital.

At the hospital, they tried to hook me up to an IV. No matter what vein they tried, it would break. After many attempts, the nurse said she had found a vein that worked. I could clearly see the vein had broken. I told the nurse I was sure the vein didn’t work.

Instead of listening to me, she covered up my arm with a heavy, wet towel and said that it should help the IV stay in place.

I called the nurse again. When she finally came to my room, I asked her to check my arm to see if the vein was broken. She told me it was painful because the vein was weak. She said my arm was fine and to get some rest. I asked her to please remove the towel. Since it was wet, it was making my whole body cold. She said she would later and left.

I tried to remove the towel myself, but it was heavy, and I was too weak. I kept praying for strength, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not get the towel off my arm!

I still had the help button in my other hand. All night, I kept pressing it every so often, hoping someone would come and help me. I was sure that I was going to die.

Saturday, January 24, 1987

It had been a long night! When a nurse finally came in. I asked if she could take the towel off and look at my arm.

She pulled off the towel. She could see the vein was broken, and that the liquid was going into my arm. My arm was discolored and swollen. The nurse looked worried. But there was nothing that could be done about it now, except take the needle out of my arm.

Later, the doctor came in. He told me that since they couldn’t give me fluids in my veins, I had to make sure to drink a lot. I couldn’t eat anything since my stomach couldn’t digest it. It hurt just to breathe.

As I lay there, wondering if I would make it through, Richard walked in. His hair was newly permed. He had Jared in his stroller. His hair was one big afro. Because he looked so ridiculous, I burst out laughing. It was so painful to laugh! If everything I had been through hadn’t finished me off, I felt like laughing would! But I couldn’t stop laughing because of how dumb he looked.

When I got over the ridiculous-looking afro, I asked Richard how we could afford something like that. I knew a perm was expensive, and I couldn’t believe he had spent money on it! He justified it by saying that he has always wanted a perm. I asked who had watched Jared while he was at the beauty salon. Richard said he was in his stroller beside him while he got his hair done.

I knew that Jared was still not well, so this could not have been easy for Jared to sit through! I wanted to get up so that I could take care of Jared, but I wasn’t even strong enough to go to the bathroom. I felt so bad for Jared!

After Richard had left, his dad came to see me. He asked why I was in the hospital.

I knew the health department had contacted him, since the trailer was in his name. He already knew why Jared and I were sick, so I couldn’t believe he asked me this question.

After I had told Richard’s dad why I was in the hospital, he said, “Nonsense! There is nothing wrong with my trailer! I have lived in it with Richard’s mom, and after that, Richard’s sister lived in it, and we never got sick!” I tried my best to help him understand it was the sewer that leaked into the fresh water.

Then his dad said, “Yeah, that’s what you convinced the health department! Now it’s going to cost me a fortune to get it fixed! You brought this parasite with you from Denmark! Denmark is underdeveloped, and most Danish people are infested with parasites! I was hurt.

I assure him I had no parasites when I moved into the trailer. Then he said, “Richard doesn’t have it! And he lived in the trailer! You have brought this awful disease with you, and now you have given it to my grandson!”

I stopped saying anything to him because I could tell that he had made up his mind that it was all my fault.

Monday, January 26, 1987

I am still losing weight because I can’t eat anything. When I try to eat, my stomach hurts even worse than it already does. When mom came to see me in the hospital, she could tell I had lost more weight. She then asked to speak to the doctor.

After she had left, a nurse came in with a tray full of food. I couldn’t eat any of it. Besides, I knew if I did, my stomach would hurt even worse. Then the doctor came in and asked why I had not eaten anything. I told him that it was just too painful. The doctor got angry with me and asked how I expected to get better if I didn’t eat! Then he said my mom was very upset that I wasn’t gaining weight, and I had to eat so I could get better!

I didn’t want to upset the doctor, and even though I knew better, I did my best to eat some of the food. After eating, I felt pain like I had never felt before! I didn’t have the enzyme to digest it. I honestly thought my stomach was going to burst and I was going to die!

Tuesday, January 27, 1987

I woke up during the night because I was in pain. I prayed to Heavenly Father, asking Him to stop the pain because it was unbearable! A dark shadow came into the room. Not what I had expected! I was scared and prayed for it to go away.

It lay on top of me. I tried to get it off, but couldn’t. I felt like it was going to take over my body. I couldn’t move or scream. Finally, it left the room. Now I was not only in pain but scared out of my mind! I didn’t call the nurse. After all, what was I going to tell her? It felt like the longest night of my life!

The rest of the time that I was in the hospital, I would only drink fluids, and when they would bring in food, I would stir it around so that it looked like I had eaten some of it.