MILTON DRAMA

CAST OF CHARACTERS
Kevin - our son
Beth - his wife
Taylor and Brittney - Beth's daughters
Susanna - our daughter
Jamie - her husband
Matt and Danielle - their children
Grammy - my mother
Russ - my husband

SCENE 1 - ACT 1
Time - Friday
Russ and I are still waiting for a call from the heart surgeon to set an appointment to see if he is willing to undertake this newest procedure on Russ.

SCENE 2 - ACT 1 and 2
Time - Saturday
After a day of trying to catch up on all chores that have been neglected the past week, I settle down to watch a little TV before going to bed. Just as I am relaxing, the phone rings. Picking it up I hear Kevin's voice. "How's dad? How's things going?" During the ensuing call lasting about 20 minutes, I learn Kevin and Beth have already separated and he's okay with this. He explains it has been talked about and planned for the last several weeks. In fact, papers have already been drawn up dividing property and such. He did not want to "worry" us because of his dad's health problems. Beth and Taylor have moved into Brittney's apartment with her. Taylor is okay because she gets to live with "Sissy" again and besides - there is a swimming pool. I know Kevin loves these girls as if they are his own and they love him just as much. I ask about how Taylor is. I am told she is okay and will continue to go to school at her old school because she will spend a couple of nights a week with Kevin and show that as her residence. Knowing that Beth is schizophrenic, I ask about her and how she is handling this. Since this is her 4th - yes, fourth - divorce, she is fine and it is her idea. She wants a husband who will stay at home and spend time with her. On the other hand, Kevin is like his dad - a workaholic. In addition to his more than full time job, he has a lawn mowing business with 19 yards to care for every week. The call ends with Kevin telling me to "share the news tomorrow. I haven't told anyone about this until now."

I learned I had a meeting at 1:00 PM Sunday to pick up my packet for this years bowling league duties as secretary. I want to drive separately so Russ doesn't have to hurry and eat and then wait for however long the meeting takes. He rejects this idea because of the cost of gas. I think this is a bad idea, but he won't budge.

SCENE 3 - ACT 1, 2, 3 ----
Time - Sunday
Waiting until after church service is over to tell about Kevin, I walk down the hallway to get in the car. Mother is headed for the restroom as usual. This time Danielle goes with her - odd! Just as I reach the hallway which houses the restrooms, Danielle appears in the doorway and matter-of-factly says "Grammy fell again. She's hurt. She's bleeding" then disappears back into the restroom. This is a familiar scene for me, so I turn and set down my Bible and purse and head in to see what's happened. Susanna follows behind. As I open the interior door, I see Mother laying on the floor in a pool of blood and rolling around trying to get up. I turn to Susanna and say "Call an ambulance." Then I proceed to get paper towels and wet them to wipe her forehead and determine the injury. It is a gash just above the eyebrow where her glasses frames have dug into the flesh as she fell. No other injuries are apparent. She keeps saying "I'm okay. I'm not hurt" as she tries to get up. I keep telling her to lay still she has a cut on her head. I'm not sure whether she wasn't listening to me or didn't believe me. Susanna goes outside and gets Jamie to help us. Thankfully, no other women were in the restroom at that point. Jamie helps hold her down and talks with her as Susanna exchanges clean paper towels for the bloody ones. I truly thought at one point Jamie was going to sit on her to keep her down! On one of my trips out the two doorways to check on the ambulance, I finally find Russ and tell him what's going on. He is talking and doesn't listen to me. I notice Matt backed up against the wall. No other family members were with this 8 year old, and his eyes are wide open, but he's not moving a muscle. He is straight as a stick and uncommonly quiet. (I later checked on him and he was okay, just staying out of the way.)

When the ambulance arrives, we learn quickly the women's restroom was not designed for a stretcher to gain entrance. The two doors are at a 90 degree angle to each other. The attendants did a good job of getting into the area, got Mother on a backboard and put a neck brace on her. Because she was still trying to get up, they also strapped the neck brace down. Upon trying to exit, a larger problem developed - getting the stretcher out with her on it. They had tilted it to enter; when they tilted it to leave, this caused her to slide and the neck brace started choking her. He dentures were coming out of her mouth. One of the attendants cut the tape holding the brace in place, but the problem of exiting still existed. After several frustrating minutes and a few scratches on the door frames, they managed to get out. I rode with them to the hospital. Russ followed in his car. Since I did not have any other transportation, he had to sit around the ER with us and wait. This is definitely a new experience for him and not one he wants to repeat!

CT scans, blood work, and X-rays provide the information no bones are broken, her blood is too thin, and a slight "wetness" around the heart - indicating congestive heart failure. The doctors and nurses are amazed and continue asking "did she get dizzy or pass out?" I answer no to both questions. I explain she is prone to falls. Danielle said she just walked through the door and "fell face forward - flat out." This is the first major injury she has ever received that way. In the past she has gotten bumps on the head, but never a cut. The doctor places three stitches inside the wound and then has to use six stitches to close the wound. Though not broken, her glasses are twisted a little. I straighten them up to where she can put them on, but her nose is swelling and they begin to hurt. Because of the blood being too thin, the decision is made to keep her overnight and do another CT scan in the morning. She is given a injection of Lasix to get rid of the fluid; she is then sit into a transport chair to wait for a nurse to move her to a room. After about 30 minutes, she is needing to go to the bathroom - badly. When the nurse arrives, she is about to burst. We decide that is bad timing. In the morning, if there is no change in the CT scan, she is to be dismissed from the hospital.

THE END???