Hospital Visits

I had an odd propensity for getting hurt and needing to go to the emergency room at Central General Hospital.  About half the time this would happen while my parents were on vacation (without the 4 kids, of course) and we were being watched by one of our grandma’s.  In no particular order these things happened between 4 and 14.

·     Hernia at age 2. (Yes, that is why my outie belly button looks so funny)

·     Tonsils out at age 3.

·     Broken Thigh (playing aforementioned “Tag Around the Block”).

·     Stitches in my thumb from trimming excess plastic of model airplane.

·     Multiple broken fingers playing catcher in little league.  I even broke fingers inside the glove.

·     Bug stuck in my ear (my brother’s favorite). It sounded bigger than it was.

·     Injured hip in 5^th grade gymnasium swinging on chin-up bar, requiring an ambulance ride to the hospital right across the street.  Kids watching me being loaded into the ambulance thought I was dead as my eyes were closed.

·    Rusty nail stuck in the bottom of my foot taking a wooden crate apart.  Tetanus Shots HURT!

·     Hammer Toe Surgery (making me instantly cool by having crutches in Junior High)

There were certainly more, but some went undocumented.  With the exception of Barbra breaking her leg after being fallen on by our portly next door neighbor, most hospital visits were mine.  They knew me well in the ER.  Mrs. Heinemann was a local mom and the head ER nurse. She took good care of me.