This page is a mish-mash of memories I have of the visits that I had at Children's and Harborview Hospitals in Seattle.  

 Them's the Breaks  

The first story I'm going to share I really don't remember myself, but I've heard my mother tell it so many times, and I believe it is a cute one.  

To start with you should that I went through time when my bones were rather brittle, so falling off a tricycle could cause a lot of trouble for me. I did fall off my trike. Mom scooped me up and rushed me off to Children's to be checked out. They did X-rays, and fussed over me. When the results came back from the X-ray reading it showed all I had was a skinned knee. My doctor was so happy he started dancing around and chanting "It's only a skinned knee!" Everyone within earshot must have thought he was just a touch crazy.  

 Bedtime  

In the 1970's a person was allowed to be a patient at Children's until they were 18 years old. One the things that bothered me was they had a rule that unless you at least 5 feet tall, you had to sleep in an over-sized crib. This crib was stainless steel, with sides that came upto my chest. The head and foot of the bed came up almost to my shoulder when I stood up on the mattress. I needed a stepstool to get into it. I couldn't get out of the silly thing by myself either, unless they left the side down. There was a rule against that too. Since, I only got to 4' 11 and a half inches tall, I spent my last stay at Children's, at the age of 17, in a crib.  

 New Kid on the Block  

When you spend many nights at the hospital, your family leaving you there becomes routine. I'm not saying it doesn't bother you, but you know they will be back to visit and maybe take you home the next day. Night time was always the hardest on the new kids and for me. Listening to them crying and trying to comfort them. Most them did not believe me when I told them that if they would just go to sleep tomorrow would come much faster, and when tomorrow came there families would be back. Of course, they found out I was right about the families coming, but it took a few nights more to find out about sleeping the time away.  

 Good Morning, Good Morning!  

After spending half the night comforting a new room-mate the morning came very quickly. The nurses had no sympathy for the situtation. I'd wake up with the taste of soap in my mouth from the thermometer. (You would think that they would know better than to put a small glass tube filled with poison, in the mouth of a sleeping person! One wrong move with my jaw and I'd be history.) The fingers on my left hand would be throbbing and felt like they were about to pop, from having my blood-pressure being taken. Then they expected me to be in a good mood?!  

 At the Zoo?  

Earlier I told you about the crib I slept in, when I was probably about 10 or 12 years old I felt like an exhibit at the zoo. Afterall, I had my own "cage", different people would come with my doctor every day and greet me. Then talk about me like I wasn't even there. And the spiel my doctor gave varied little day to day. (I know it so well that when I go to a new doctor I can quote the main part of it.) Then they would say good bye and be on to the next "cage" and another spiel. Besides that, there were windows that looked out to the hall so that the nurses didn't have to come in the room to keep an eye on us.  

I kinda enjoyed those windows when I couldn't sleep at nap time. It was fun to people watch.  

I know this sounds a bit strange, but was the way I dealt with being a teaching tool for new doctors.  

 On The Mark, Get Set, Go!  

One of the things we would do that drove the nurses nuts, was to have a wheelchair and/or banana cart race. We would line upto 4 vehicles wide, and go for it. The start point, (just to add a little more danger to it, the danger of getting caught) was just beyond the doorway and windows of the nurses station. Most of the time we would have a look out. Then we would go down to the end of the hall and back. The funniest part was watching the nurses try to keep up once they found out what was going on. Some would flail their arms as they ran, and all of them would be hollering to slow down. Alot of the time the kids would get to the end of the hall turn around come right towards the nurses then zoom right by them. Most of us would scatter to our rooms. If the nurses recognized you they would take your wheelchair or banana cart privledges away for the next day.  

I don't remember anybody ever crashing, I bet it did happen time to time.  

Wondering what a banana cart is? It is cart that was used on the docks to haul crates of bananas around. Somebody altered the, approximatley 5 and a half foot long, carts by putting in an adjustable backrest and wheels that are used on wheelchairs. They were great for giving people like myself, who were unable to sit in a chair, the ability to move around on their own. I spent alot of time in banana carts, because I was usually plaster from my armpits to my toes.  

 Therapy Time  

While in a body cast for a long time the bones get weaker. Doctors found if a person is able to stand while the cast the bones stay strong. So, I would spend an hour or so strapped to a tilt table. To keep me from getting bored I would do puzzles and games. My favorite thing was they had a weaving loom that was all hand operated. I hated to go back to my room afterwards, because nothing compared to watching this blanket grow. It had several different colors and patterns. Each person that got to stand at the loom added their own special touch to it.  

 In Standing 4' 11-1/2", Out 4' 10" on the Button  

When I was still growing my right thigh bone was broken. It was in the spot that regulates growth. The result was my right leg was an inch and a half shorter than the left. Leg shortening was a new thing in 1977. Since I had already reached the end of my growing, it was decided that I wait one more year just to make sure. Then I would have my left leg shortened.  

I got rather excited about it. I could wear regular shoes! Mom took me out to buy them. She expected me to buy some fancy high heels, but all I wanted was a pair of sneekers. They were the fashion and we couldn't put a lift on them. So, that's what we got. Once I was admitted my sneekers were pinned to the bulletin board in my room as an incentive. You see I had to be able to lift my left leg off the bed before I could go home. I know this sounds simple but, when you have an inch and a half worth of extra muscle in your leg it is quite a chore.  

I was 18 and my days at Children's were no more. This surgery was done at Harborview. My favorite thing about being there, that was I was lucky enough to get a room that faced the harbor. I would lay there at night and just watch the lights of the boats as they came and went. It was so peaceful and relaxing.  

After I got home from that surgery I was curious of just how much the lift weighed. So, I put the shoe with the lift on it on the scale and it weighed 5 pounds all by itself.