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Midge
???Dr. Sir and the Icy Cream???
(Continued, Part 2)
One night Momma kept feeling Midge??™s forehead as she paced the
floor. Midge knew that she didn??™t feel very well but Momma
seemed more worried than usual. She overheard the doctor
talking about surgery but then Midge heard doctors talking
about surgery all the time so she didn??™t know that they were
talking about her.
Finally, Midge began to feel better and Momma explained to her that
as soon as she got her strength back that the doctor wanted
to remove something in her throat, called tonsils, because
her tonsils made Midge sick all the time.
After a few weeks, Dr. Sir thought Midge was healthy enough to
withstand surgery and he scheduled it for the next week.
Midge didn??™t understand why she suddenly seemed to be getting so
much attention. She got to go back to the farm and play
with her young uncles and cousins and Grandma Rosa made a
cake for her and it wasn??™t even her birthday!
That night Momma knelt beside Midge at the side of her bed and held
her tight as she prayed. It seemed to Midge like an extra
long prayer that night, but Midge didn??™t mind because she
liked to pray with Momma. Then Momma tucked her in and
kissed her goodnight while Sassafras the cat sat
protectively at the foot of her bed
When Midge left to go back to the hospital with Momma, Grandma and
Grandpa hugged her longer and tighter than usual. Everyone
seemed upset about something and Grandpa kept getting out
his big old handkerchief and saying he had something in his
eye.
The next morning Momma began braiding Midge??™s hair as usual. Her
auburn hair was so long and thick that her mother usually
kept it braided with the ends pulled up into loops and tied
with a bow. This time before she started braiding, Momma
cut off a tiny lock of Midge??™s hair and tied it with a blue
ribbon. Momma put it in her memory box where she kept
special things and Midge felt very loved and important to
have her hair in Momma??™s special memory box. Momma finished
braiding her hair and then she put shiny new ribbons in her
hair and helped Midge into her Sunday dress.
Midge thought they were going to church but instead Momma took her
into a little store where a man had her sit on a chair and
then he proceeded to put his head under a black cloth.
Momma explained that he would take a picture of her
likeness. Midge didn??™t know what that meant and she was a
little frightened but Momma nodded toward her and sat close
by so she thought it must be all right. The man told her to
look at the pretty red bird that was above the black cloth.
She did as she was told when all at once there was a flash
and a loud popping sound. Midge leaped up and ran to Momma
but Momma only laughed and said the noise was made by
something called a camera.
The day of her surgery arrived and Midge got to go behind the big
white double doors for the first time. Dr. Sir told her
that she would sleep for a while and he would remove the
tonsils that had been making her so sick and then he
promised her that when he saw her the next time he would
bring her ice cream! ???Icy Cream???, Midge groggily tried to
repeat after him. Midge had never had ice cream but she
thought it must be really good if Dr. Sir was so excited
about it.
The next thing Midge knew she was very drowsy and she wished they
would let her sleep because her throat hurt so badly but
people kept waking her. Every single time she opened her
eyes Momma was right there and Midge thought everything
would be fine as long as Momma was there.
Later, Midge was sitting up in bed when all at once Dr. Sir came
bursting through her hospital room door with a bowl of
vanilla ice cream, just like he promised! Dr. Sir himself
scooped a small spoonful into Midge??™s mouth, and stood
waiting for her reaction. He was not disappointed when
Midge??™s eyes lit up in delight at the wonderful frozen
delicacy. Midge never did get the name quite right but Dr.
Sir became well known in the area for his ???Icy Cream??? cure.
Epilogue:
Years later, when Midge was older, she understood that the surgery
had been a very scary time for her family. In those days,
even minor surgery was something that many people did not
survive. Her family had experienced losing Midge??™s mother
at the young age of nineteen, as well as other family
members, and they had been so afraid of losing Midge too.
That was the reason why Momma had kept a lock of her hair,
why she had her picture made, and why she was held so tight
when Momma knelt with her to pray at bedtime. They knew the
importance of love and that life was God??™s precious gift.
Midge
(The picture taken before her surgery)
Pam lives in Missouri with her husband, Michael. She enjoys
composing music and writing stories.
She writes "Pam's Corner" for her local
newspaper, The Edina Sentinel. Pam and her husband are
active in their church where she plays piano and he is music
leader. They have a CD available called, "I'll Walk You
Home". The title song is about her lifelong friend who
died of cancer. You can hear this song on her website: http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm
Several of her stories have been
published on the Internet as well as in books such as The
Miracle Of Sons, 2 The Heart/People Who Make A Difference,
and A Tribute To Moms. Her goal is to write to encourage
others and to write stories for her children and
grandchildren so that stories and family history will be
preserved. Visit her Web site at http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm |
