Dueling personalities
Years ago I was in the hospital awaiting surgery when they brought in a new roommate.
She was a pretty, feminine woman, well-dressed, soft-spoken. She was the kind of woman that made me feel awkward and ill-at-ease, like there was kale on my front tooth and dog poop on my shoes. Jackie Kennedy perfection.
They came and took her away again for her surgery.
A couple of hours later the sound of gurney wheels woke me as they brought her back.
What a difference anesthetic makes!
THIS woman pettishly slapped away the nurses trying to return her to her bed and the air was navy blue with curses and epithets. A banshee.
Before the transfer was completed, a couple of orderlies were on the floor wiping away tears of laughter and making admiring comments about her tirade of obscenities. “Good one.” “What’s that mean?”
She drifted off to sleep again, and when she woke and looked at me, I wondered which “she” she would be.
She said, “How bad was I?”
I said, “You were a bit upset.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know why I get like that!”
I do.
She was a pretty, feminine woman, well-dressed, soft-spoken. She was the kind of woman that made me feel awkward and ill-at-ease, like there was kale on my front tooth and dog poop on my shoes. Jackie Kennedy perfection.
They came and took her away again for her surgery.
A couple of hours later the sound of gurney wheels woke me as they brought her back.
What a difference anesthetic makes!
THIS woman pettishly slapped away the nurses trying to return her to her bed and the air was navy blue with curses and epithets. A banshee.
Before the transfer was completed, a couple of orderlies were on the floor wiping away tears of laughter and making admiring comments about her tirade of obscenities. “Good one.” “What’s that mean?”
She drifted off to sleep again, and when she woke and looked at me, I wondered which “she” she would be.
She said, “How bad was I?”
I said, “You were a bit upset.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know why I get like that!”
I do.
