Was working in my garden last week on my knees tying up tomato plants when I keeled over and could not get up. I felt no pain but I remember feeling really curious as to how I got there, and since my closest neighbor is a good quarter mile away, I was going to have to stay there unless I could get up. Which I could not. So I rested and rearranged myself, shifted my weight, and, at some point, got myself back to my knees. Getting to my feet was the harder part, like being buffeted by waves at the beach. I don't remember how long it took to get there but finally I did. I knew my feet were under me because. I could see them there but I felt so off-balance like a sapling waving to and fro in the wind. I kept thinking if I can only get to the house, drink water, and lie down. Chan, our close friend later called me a semper fi curmudgeon. I say, "Whatever it takes." I don't remember getting there but I remember being there, lying down, and answering the phone because I could see it was Jamie checking in like she usually does. Right away she knew something was wrong. "J," I said, "I'm just too tired to talk," whereupon she promptly called our neighbor down the road, Mike, who got to me pronto and phoned the local paramedics. Good thing, too. One hour later an ambulance got me to the emergency ward in Kingston. "When was the last time you ate?" I couldn't remember. "How do you feel?" I was asked. "Fine. Just tired." However, my vital signs did not say fine: blood pressure way up; pulse way down. I wasn't fine, not at all, but the fact that I was sick would not sink in. Huh? Sick? Me? I'm just really tired. Need sleep. Want to go home. "Sorry, buddy, you've had a stroke. Oh, shit. "Why don't I feel anything?" I asked myself. "Because you're out of it," came an answer, although I can't remember where the answer came from. But I couldn't handle simple questions, like what's your phone number? And I kept falling asleep before the person asking ever finished the question. Oh, holy shit, I allowed. I guess I've really come down with something. "Can I go home tonight?" I asked. It was about 10 pm. I think. Not sure. What I am sure about is someone said, no, we're waiting for a bed to open. The thought occurred to me that the housekeepers were waiting for someone to die and free up a room. At some point orderlies with a stretcher appeared, but I couldn't manage to get on it. They lifted me on and took me upstairs. I think it was about 3 in the morning. Can't remember.
Stay tuned.
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