Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength, and Spirit by Martinez J.R

Author:Martinez, J.R. [Martinez, J.R.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2012-10-29T16:00:00+00:00

PHOTO SECTION

CHAPTER TEN

Burn Paradise

I had a long road ahead of me before I could seriously think about parties and cocktails. For now, I set my sights on something much more local: getting transferred from the ICU to 4E, the step-down wing of the burn unit.

I’d been hearing people talk about that place like it was burn paradise. Although it was just down the hall, it seemed a world away. The nurses told me that once I made it over there, the care wouldn’t be as intense. I’d have a phone line in my room, so friends could call me. I’d have a TV right by my bed and be able to watch whatever, whenever. I already planned to have the hospital chow hall on speed dial.

The best part, though, was that I’d be able to get out of my room and walk around the ward. No matter how much pain you’re in, no matter how much you worry about permanent disabilities or disfigurement, being left to stare at the same four walls day in, day out, week in, week out—that was the worst torture of all.

The dangling carrot of even that limited freedom turned into a daily question: “Is today the day?”

“Not yet, J.R. Soon.”

And then, forty-one days after I’d arrived in ICU, the time finally arrived. Hallelujah.

I could never have imagined how the sight of an orderly steering a wheelchair toward me would fill me with such profound joy. I said my goodbyes to the ICU staff. Even though I’d blamed Nurse Mike for all the physical pain I’d felt in debridement and for the psychic pain of seeing my face for the first time (although I knew neither was his fault), I was going to miss him.

Once I arrived in my new room I got to my feet and walked around, testing out everything. I checked out the bathroom, picked up the phone to hear the dial tone. My first order of business was to call the kitchen and order a Gatorade and a PBJ sandwich, my favorite hospital meal.

That said, while Unit 4E was better than ICU, it wasn’t any nirvana. For starters, I contracted some kind of a bug, so I wasn’t permitted to leave my room. The best I could do was stand inside the door, toeing an invisible line, calling out to the hallway traffic like I was some kind of Walmart greeter. The nurses’ station was right in front of my room, so I entertained myself for hours watching the nurses come and go and visitors entering and exiting the ward. Other patients strolled the corridors, getting their exercise or heading to the gym for therapy.

Over time, other patients’ families became familiar to me, and we’d say hello to one another.

“Hi, J.R. How are you doing today, baby?” someone would ask.

“Great,” I’d reply, trying to keep them lingering with me as long as possible.

My mom spent about twelve hours a day, every day, at my bedside. One of our daily pastimes was looking at the mail that came into the hospital for me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.