Heroes, Part 1

by Fred Prout

I just spent five days as a guest of Mercy Hospital. They removed a piece of my colon. I now only have a semi. They thought it was cancer. It wasn’t. Yippee !!!
I now have a bag , boo!!! When we have the next T.P. shortage, come visit. I have extra.

During my stay, I witnessed many of the heroes who have helped us survive the effects of Covid-19 relatively sound and relatively sane. I said relatively. They come to work every day to clean, to tend and in many cases, walk us down the wall when we are terrified. (Thanks Laura in ICU. More about you later.)
There are many other heroes we should thank but never do.

An example.

When Rita was battling her illness, we had a cold snap creating an ice storm. It happened that the day our car was completely iced over and the road very dangerous, she was in considerable pain. She was not a complainer so it was a lot of pain.

On a normal day the hospital is a five minute walk. This was not a normal day.
I called for an ambulance at five thirty in the morning and we went down to the lobby to wait. After what seemed like hours, I called to check on the ambulance. They were affected by the weather but would be there soon.

Right about the same time, Cindy, our head housekeeper was coming to work and saw us in the lobby. I explained the situation and she immediately put us in her car and drove us on that dangerous road so Rita could get some relief. No big deal, you say ? Bull. We all have seen people walk right by in that situation.

On this day, a little over a year ago, Cindy was our personal hero. She went out of her way to help someone she hardly knew in very dangerous conditions.

So, maybe you can do a couple of things. Share a story about a hero you met up with. And more importantly, just go up to someone who impacted your life and say thank you. You have no idea how much it will mean.

Thank you Cindy. For helping ease the pain and the fear.

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9 Responses to Heroes, Part 1

  1. Kate says:

    Fred,
    You are taking on old age the right way. It’s not always great, but you deal with it and move on with humor and acceptance. Rita did that too.
    Love to both of you, wherever she is.

  2. Carolyn Hopkins says:

    Sorry to hear of surgery But glad your ok Having yard sale in June maybe you could bring your car load of TP

  3. Eric says:

    I was going to say ‘bummer’, but then realized it wasn’t apropos so I’ll omit it.

    Heroes…..as I’ve said before, you & Rita were such a huge blessing to me when we met on Thanksgiving 2002…….hang in, all the best!

  4. Donna says:

    An old adage is to always look for the helpers. They’re the true Heroes of any story.

    Peace and blessings!

  5. Val Carano says:

    Fred … The way you share these stories and memories makes me admire you more than ever! You are handling this time in your life with dignity and humor. The next time I replace the TP roll … I’ll think of you and smile.

  6. Edith Vondall says:

    I have been trying to find humor each day as you have encouraged me to. But some days are just a mess and THANK YOU for giving another story or example at just the right time.

  7. Walter Quigley says:

    Fred: We love you so much, but must tell a poop story at a time like this. For some reason I was in a crappy mood when I was at my brothers home and stated that he probably has the same constipation problem as our mom and me and advised him to begin using stool softeners. He came to my place a week later and said “every time I poop I think of you Walter, it just falls out now”. Keep ’em comin’ Fred.

  8. Suzanne Budovec says:

    God bless you, Fred. So happy that it wasn’t cancerous! I had part of my intestines removed in 2014. Had an Ileostomy Bag for 6 months. It was tough; but, you’re tougher! It’ll allow you to live on! Please do so for many, many years!! You’re missed at the park!

  9. Jackie Jones Lot 102 says:

    Again Fred you have made my day brighter. It was so good to hear from you the other day, we sure miss you. Keep up the great stories, see you soon. Love to you and Kelly.

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