Weeks Later

Sowen Sew  had lost the bottom half of her legs and was anxious to get fitted for her artificial limbs, so she could leave Dr. Dickens’ Medical Complex. She looked down at the stumps where her knees used to be. The sight sickened her and frightened her, as well.

She overheard a conversation between the doctor and nurse that led her to believe she was never going to leave the Medical Complex. Nurse Nancy knew Sowen Sew was fearful of her stay in the hospital and repeatedly told her that everything was all right. Dr. Dickens would be by to get fitted for her legs.

That day came.

“I just need to take a few measurements. It’s important that I measure the circumference of the stumps.” Dr. Dickens wrapped a tape measure around one of the plump stumps. “You’re not healing as I had hoped.”

Sowen Sew stiffened at the sound of the doctor’s words. “You don’t mean you want to keep me here even longer, do you?”

“I only want what is best for you, Sowen Sew. I simply want to see your stumps completely healed because your new legs will create a certain degree of trauma for them.”

After the doctor left, Sowen Sew remained quiet in bed, wondering what she could do. She was fearful of what the doctor might do next and began to think of how she was going to leave. While thinking, a custodian came in the room with a small cart and began to clean the floor.

Sowen Sew called him over to her bed and said, “Do you think you can get me two of your very best wide-mouth toilet plungers, brand new?”

“I suppose I can if the price is right,” he replied to the queer request.

“What about a crisp one hundred dollar bill? Will that be okay?”

“When do ya want ‘em?”

“Come around midnight, after the nurses have made their rounds.”

“Ain’t got no problem with that, but I think askin’ me to come back at midnight ought to get me more than one crisp bill. Don’t ya think? And, if ya don’t mind my askin’, what are ya gonna do with them?”

“I don’t really know what I’m going to do and I’ll give you twenty dollars extra for having you come back so late.”

A deal had been made. Sowen Sew hoped the offer of money was strong enough to motivate this stranger into keeping his word and supply her with what she needed.

to be continued…

The hospital food was awful and heavily dependent on monosodium glutamate to enhance the drab flavor. Sowen Sew hated the diet the doctor put her on and she hated the injections of insulin that made her sweat profusely and tremble with chills. Daily, Dr. Dickens stopped by to inspect and comment on her feet.

At last, he said she could be fitted with toes. Unfortunately, the toe prosthetics did nothing to brighten Sowen Sew’s gloom. It looked to her like she had five orangutan toes capped snugly over the stump of each foot.

“Look at this! Look at my feet! How can I  live with these? Look how big they are. My toes didn’t look like that. I can’t even get them into my shoes.”

“What do you want me to do?” Dr. Dickens asked.

“Fix them. Make things better,” she said with frustration.

“I have to admit they are not the best set of toes I’ve seen. Diabetics eventually have their legs amputated above the knee, thus, there is very little call for the manufacture of toe prosthetics.”

The doctor paused and then said, ” We live in a world where little attention is given to anything outside the mainstream, Sowen Sew. You must remember that.”

Dr. Dickens,” Sowen Sew sat on the side of her bed looking down at the big ugly toes attached to her stumpy feet, “what do I do now?”

“I recommend amputation above the knee, then you can get fitted correctly and you can walk out of here one happy lady. That is what you want, isn’t it?”

“Of course, I want to get out of here,” Sowen Sew said. “I’m sorry I ever came. Why did I have to stub my toe?”

“Are you feeling sorry for yourself, because it sure sounds like it from a medical point of view. Maybe you are no sound enough to make a medical decision for the well being of yourself. Maybe it would be best for me to make the decision for you.”

Dr. Dickens left the room in search of Nurse Nancy.

“Get Sowen Sew ready for a double amputation above the knee, STAT!”

“Yes, Dr. Dickens.”

to be continued…

On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, China took the bold move to block Youtube from her people. I discovered it as soon as it happened because of my contacts in China. Why block Youtube?

Because there is something the Chinese government does not want her people to see.

A video of the Chinese military swarming through a Tibetan monastery in true militaristic fashion has appeared on Youtube. It shows the Chinese troops beating innocent people with batons; beating, kicking, and choking monks, as they lie helpless on the ground; some of the victims of the violence even had their hands tied, others appeared to be unconscious while the brutal action unfolds.

No, it is not a pretty picture and the Chinese government does not want the images to be seen by the public. Is that decision right or wrong or neither? Should the Chinese be able to see what their military is doing?

Frankly, I don’t want to see the violence against the monks, because I see enough violence right here in America by my government via the power of the police and the military. My very own government didn’t want her people to see the photographs of the torture and torment orchestrated by the hands of the American military, at Abu Ghraib prison in Irac.

But, we saw it. America’s military is not innocent or compassionate. No military is.

Why the violence against Tibet? They want of autonomous freedom, of course.

As change is the only constant in the world, I am happy to tell you that China lifted the ban on Youtube today, around 4 o’clock Beijing time.

After The Second Surgery

Sowen Sew woke up feeling sick. Her stomach was completely empty and painfully contracted. She was thirsty, so dry that the back of her throat felt like parched cardboard. Her feet felt as large as old oak trees and they throbbed with hammering pain. She reached for the buzzer to call the nurse.

“You rang?” Nurse Nancy popped her head through the curtains.

“I’d like a glass of water,” she said with dry lips.

“What for?”

“I’m thirsty.”

“There’s a can of soda right beside you. You’ll just have to let that do for now because I am very busy saving lives.” She stopped short and then added, “Oh, I’m sorry. Sowen Sew, here let me help you.”

The nurse removed a chocolate covered cherry from her pocket, unwrapped it, walked over to Sowen Sew and put it in her mouth. “That will help you until I can get back.”

It was not a good day for Sowen Sew.

The pain she felt was far worse than the pain of stubbing her toe, but she had to remember that she was diabetic and the doctor was saving her from going through this in the future. She had to remember that she was going home with a brand new set of toes she could be proud of and show off to her neighbors.

She was jabbed with needles, medicated with drugs, and bothered by nurses as the hours passed. She longed for her comfortable kitchen, as she wished all day for much needed water.

Over the next couple of weeks, it was discovered that Sowen Sew was having trouble healing from the relatively simple toe removal procedure. Dr. Dickens was back at the foot of the bed talking to his patient.

“Sowen Sew, it appears that you are not taking care of yourself, otherwise, you would not be having all this trouble healing. I want you on a strict diet. Even more important, I want you on insulin injections.”

“Then can I have my toes and go home?” She was tired of the pain and discomfort. “I really don’t want to stay any longer.”

“I know you’re anxious to leave, but I would be absent of my duty if I let you go home now. We need your feet to heal completely, so we can fit you with toes before we sent you home. Just another week or two.”

He looked straight at Sowen Sew and with the admonishment of a scolding finger, he said, “We need to get this diabetic problem under control so the healing process can come to a completion.”

The days moved on with slow misery for Sowen Sew.

to be continued…

A senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University has advised that America needs to legalize all drugs, in order to reduce the violence that prohibition has brought to the country. He states that prohibition creates violence because it drives the drug market underground.

Prohibition leads to bribery of corrupt politicians, police, prosecutors, judges; and, we certainly have an abundant of corrupt officials doing their dedicated part to ruin this country by participating in this game of prohibition.

Public health erodes due to the prohibition of drugs, because it keeps people with serious medical  conditions from using marijuana and terminally ill people cannot obtain assistance from doctors who fear prosecution by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Instead of spending billions on fighting a drug war that can never be won, the government can collect billions of dollars in tax revenue. This worked for tobacco and alcohol and is the only logical step to take with all drugs.

When the Great Depression hit this country, the United States wisely repealed Prohibition on alcohol to reverse the escalation of violence the country experienced and raise diminishing tax revenues. It put us back on the right track then and can do it once again.

Attorney General Eric Holder has already announced that the Drug Enforcement Administration will no longer raid medical marijuana distributors in California. It is time for this country to listen to the sound advice offered by Jeffery Miron, senior economics lecturer at Harvard.

The day is coming when this insanity will come to an end.

That Afternoon

Sowen Sew woke up to find herself closed off by curtains that encircled about her bed. A soda pop, with a straw sticking out of the can, sat on the table beside the bed. She picked it up to quench  her thirst. Her mouth and throat were as dry as cotton during a southern drought. She drank the cola and fell back to sleep. Nurse Nancy made sure the aide kept a fresh can at the bedside.

“Sowen Sew, it’s Dr. Dickens,” he spoke from the foot of her bed. “Can you hear me? I’ve come to see how you are doing.”

“I’m thirsty,” she said with a dry mouth.

“Go ahead and drink as much as you want, the nurses will provide for you.” The doctor spoke without looking at his patient. “I’m going to unwrap the bandage from your foot.”

“What! What happened? Where are my toes?” Sowen Sew was bewildered, as she looked at her right foot that no longer looked human to her.

“I ran into complications. I planned to have you fitted for an artificial toe, only to learn that toe prosthetics now come exclusively in a five-toe fit.” He went on, “Because I wanted to provide you with the best prosthetics possible, I took the liberty of removing all your toes.”

“But, my toes, they’re gone.”

“Now, Sowen Sew, you can have the best artificial toes your insurance provides. I believe they’re made from pigskin. Isn’t modern technology wonderful?” Dr. Dickens winked at his patient.

“My toes are gone.”

“It’s all right, you were going to lose them eventually. Toes are a real problem for diabetics, Sowen Sew. It’s just a fact of life that you’ll have to accept.”

“Yes, but…”

“To avoid future complications with your diabetic left foot, I recommend you have the other toes removed. I can get you back into surgery right away. Nurse Nancy can get you prepped.”

to be continued…

Later That Morning

“We have good news for you, Sowen Sew.” Dr. Dickens smiled with bright sparkling teeth behind his thin liver lips. “After a through and careful examination of the numerous x-rays we took of your injury, it is safe to say that you don’t have a broken tow.”

“Oh!”

“Actually, toes are made up of numerous small bones and not one among the many is broken. You do have a medical problem, though.”

“Oh!”

“According the the slew of tests we ran with your urine and blood you gave us this morning, it is highly suspect that you are diabetic.”

“Oh!”

“Sowen Sew, I think the best thing for you to do to avoid future complications, as a diabetically inclined individual of advancing middle age, is to promptly amputate your big toe before the threat of infection sets in, along with gangrene,” the doctor looked straight into her eyes, “which will certainly call for amputation!”

“Oh, no!”

“It is my educated opinion, based on years of medical experience, that you skip the infection stage and save yourself a lot of trouble.”

“This is worse than I thought.”

Dr. Dickens moved Sowen Sew right through the system. He had her sit in a wheel chair and he buzzed Nurse Nancy.

“You rang, Dr. Dickens?” Nurse Nancy was eager to please her own notions and was always happy when someone new was admitted to the surgical wing of the Medical Complex.

“Yes. Take Sowen Sew and get her prepped for surgery. I want the removal of her right big toe. Schedule the procedure for two o’clock this afternoon.”

Dr. Dickens turned to Sowen Sew and said, “This is a minor procedure, nothing for you to worry about. Big toes are he headache of mankind, always getting in the way, getting slammed. You’ll be glad you had this done.”

He turned to his nurse, “Take her away.”

Nurse Nancy pushed the wheelchair and said, “Don’t you worry about a think, just sit back and relax. We’ll take good care of you.”

Sowen Sew could hear the slow whoosh of air between the spokes of the two large wheels, along with the swishing sound of the nurse’s nylon uniform as she was wheeled away.

to be continued…

Sowen Sew stubbed her toe as she scooted barefoot across the kitchen floor. She rammed her right big toe into the foot of the chair. The morning paper flew from her hand, shot across the breakfast table, and cause the sugar bowl to fall to the floor. Sowen Sew hopped around with alarming pain that moved like fire through the bone and nerves of her injury.

She yelled and moaned, grunted and groaned, as she hopped around on one foot until she was able to plop her jolly big bottom in the chair and take her wounded foot into her hands. Before her eyes, the painful white toe became discolored, spilling a purple bruise over the pain. Sowen Sew was convinced that she had a broken toe.

“What am I going to do?”

She could hear the chatter of the Good Morning Medical Minute from the very small television squeezed between cookies and other sweets atop the kitchen counter.

“My doctor! Of course!” she exclaimed, as though she had been awakened through an epiphany. “I must see my doctor to make things better.”

Sowen Sew tried to put her foot on the floor, but the pressure on the stubbed toe was horrendous. She hopped around the table and bend down to pick up the scattered sugar cubes. Her toe throbbed and pulsed with pain that made her whine and whimper and she almost lost her balance.

She put the sugar bowl on the table and hopped over to the counter to get the coffee pot. She hobbled back to the table using the heel of her injured foot to help her ambulate the distance. She put several cubes of sugar in her coffee cup and poured the fresh brew over the cubes.

She sat down and drank her coffee.

Sowen Sew’s big toe throbbed to the rhythm of her heartbeat. The pain percolated from the center of gravity and exploded behind her bruised toenail. Despite the pain and because of the pain, she hobbled over to the phone on the wall and pushed one of the speed dial buttons.

“Dr. Dickens’ Medical Complex.”

“I have to see Dr. Dickens right away. I broke my toe and my doctor must look at it immediately.”

“Your name and medical number.”

“Sowen Sew, number 3986 4228 7034 1539.”

to be continued…

Greetings to all. Once again, thank you for stopping by.

I have been enjoying the world of youtube and the process of creating a channel, looking forward to the day when I will be able to create videos to upload in order to speak my mind. If you are interested in looking at my channel, go to youtube.com/carolloving. It offers something for everyone.

I will be serializing another short story, entitled A Slice of Life, a story with a triumphant heroine.

This blog has enabled me to reunite with an old friend of mine from the 1970’s. What a joy! It has also enabled demented relatives of mine to spy on me, while they continue to hide behind a shroud of their own making, woven by strands of selfish and questionable patterns of behavior.

I’ll be back.

After Remember Little Lulu was written, American society took another step further in its fever to save lives by adding additional air bags into the sides of the car. A mad industry keeping us dependant on foreign oil and insurance.

Moving on, I want to share with you my story about Sowen Sew, a true hero who escapes the horrors of Dr. Dickens’ Medical Complex. I think you’re going to like her. Next story in line is A Slicce of Life.