The first week I went to work, Becky had surgery. I had always been able to “be there” for the kids….whatever!! This was one time I didn’t see how I could ask for time off. She had been ailing for days but she had a history of weird things going on and it always proved … nothing. She complained about something breaking in her head and it was filling up….she would wake me in the middle of the night and tell me she was afraid her head was going to “blow up.” This went on for some time. Of course we tried to figure what on earth was going on but when we went for a doctor’s appointment he could find nothing.

I sat straight up in bed one night after one of her spells. I thought, “Oh no!!! She’s on drugs!!! I couldn’t sleep the rest of the night. Of course it made sense. Why else would she continue to have things going on with never any medical results? It was in the years of ‘drug-o-phobia’ and I was a willing victim of my own thoughts. I quizzed her the next morning and she was indignant and accusing. “Why would you think THAT? I can’t help it if they can’t find out what my problem is…” I felt like a heel…but then, wasn’t that a good defense, putting the blame on me for being suspicious? I waffled back and forth with the idea and watched her like a hawk. I was going to save my daughter from drugs if it killed both of us.

When she came up with a pain in her side we were not too concerned. She complained for a couple of days and I was caught up with the new job so I sidelined it. Sunday night she went to Youth Fellowship at church and later was riding around with the kids who always paled around together. Her side kept hurting worse and worse and finally she had them bring her home. She remembers I said, “I think your jeans are too tight….” How’s that for a caring mother? I had her take some aspirin and she went to bed. In no time she was back in the living room and I knew then this was no imaginary thing……….George Sr. loaded her up and took her to the emergency room at Shawnee Mission Hospital, nearby, while I stayed at home with the boys.

After an exploratory exam they couldn’t find anything. Her white blood cells weren’t elevated enough to think it was appendicitis but she definitely had pain. They gave her pain killers and kept her overnight. The next day I had to appear for my first day of work and I felt terrible. Not the way I had hoped to begin a new job but George had taken the day off to check on things and hang around the hospital. A surgeon looked at her and told George he needed to go in and see what was up….exploratory surgery, but said he’d take her appendix while he was in there so it wouldn’t be wasted effort.

Once he had her opened up it was obvious her pain had been caused by a cist on an ovary which had ruptured. She was too young to remove the ovary so he repaired all he could and thought it would be sufficient. She was in the hospital until the following Saturday when she was released. She had been in a room with an elderly woman who had a Code Blue and died next to her. It was a shock for Becky to say the least. The kids from church came to see her regularly and brought flowers and cheer each time. Becky had a crush on one of the kids…who called for a date to take her to a play at his high school. She begged and begged and against our better judgment we let her go. It was hard for her to sit that long and the play was full of comedy so every time she laughed, it hurt. However, her dream of a date with Mark was paramount to anything else going on so she endured whatever it took to be in his company.

The first week of my new job was over, Becky’s surgery was over and I quit thinking about drugs. It was many years later we found out all the funny stuff going on in her head was a thing called “panic attacks.” Her heart coming up in her throat, her head feeling funny, her hands being wet and a feeling of impending doom. We also found she was allergic to some of her medication. It had been an eventful first week for all of us but ended on a high note.

Things settled down and George Jr.’s graduation from high school was in May. Mom and dad came and brought grandma Strain along with them to attend the event. It was a nice time to enjoy the moment and soon it would be time for George to decide whether to go on to college or enlist in the Navy. He didn’t want to be called in the draft and they were getting close to his number.

The summer went by without much fanfare. George Jr. began working full time at Lake View Village as a custodian. Becky and DiDi applied for and got jobs at the same place in the infirmary. Becky came home with stories that were both humorous and sad from people who had led very gifted lives and now were unable to care for themselves or have a clear thought in their heads. They had their favorites as some of the residents were old and very mean. Not their fault, it was just the process of their mind going places they couldn’t come back from. John had his paper route so our family was pretty mobile at the time.

Fall took George Jr. to a Junior College close by and Becky started her Sophomore year at Shawnee Mission North West. John was in his first year of Junior High at Trailridge and getting along just fine. Fall is a time of completion in Nature and adorns the world in gold and rich color. I could feel my life changng with the children growing older and more independent of their father and me. It was a time to think about the future…….something I had pushed back for a long time. I knew the time was coming when I had to make some choices and I wanted to make them right. Only time would tell…………..

Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther