We Want to Live

See Appendix D, page 268. like to pick up some fertile eggs, papayas and bananas." "I don't know if they carry fertile eggs," Mom says apologetically. "Could we stop and see, please?" "Sure," Dad encourages. We do. They have fertile eggs and the fruit I need. Mom points out Mercy Hospital. It's a small modern four-story building alone near the top of a green rolling hill. We pull into the parking lot. In a matter of moments we will be facing Jeff. I seem to be ready for the battle before me. Surprisingly, I feel calm and strong. Maybe it is my years. And because I no longer see doctors as my enemy. Doctors have not had power over my mind and body for one and a half decades. But they see Jeff's body as a battle ground. They are attacking it. I will defend him. It dawns on me that Jeff is Mom and Dad's first grandchild. I look at them and they look rigid, like foot soldiers wearing armor. They are protecting their feelings. I wonder if my wisdom and strength are enough to protect mine. I leave my blender and food in the car and we walk toward the hospital. The smell of wet grass and drying pavement remind me of the damp day I entered a hospital for my first traumatic stay. A chill passes through me. It was early spring, the week before my twelfth birthday. I had had a near fatal reaction to my final polio vaccine. 5 The vaccine caused an acute intestinal infection, "deadly" peritonitis. The doctors misdiagnosed my condition as appendicitis. I underwent emergency surgery. The doctors found my appendix normal. They took it out anyway. "In case it would cause you problems in the future," the doctor said. Now was the second night after my appendectomy. The doctors hadn't properly diagnosed my problem. They never did. I still had fevers of 104-106°. They packed me in ice -an agonizing process -to bring down the fever and prevent brain damage. I was in tremendous pain from the shots I received every three hours for infection or pain. Already I had had six shots in each arm, seven high in the left gluteus maximus and eight high in the right. up healthfully with fresh food, raw dairy products and hard work. He is definitely healthier than his father, who was raised in Brooklyn in the mid 1800's when it was difficult to get fresh foods in large cities. v. 1. Out of the grips of disease and death (the story) v. 2. Healthfully (the facts)