Continued - Into Surgery

I was scared but relieved as they wheeled him away.  One of the doctors said, "We will call you as soon as they begin the procedure."

It was meltdown time for me.  No sleep, no food, questions about what was happening.....it all seemed to be spiraling out of control.  What was I forgetting, what questions didn't I ask?  What more should I or could I do?

We sat there quietly in the room for a few minutes.  I felt like I had just gotten off a roller coaster ride and needed a bit of time to let my body return to a normal state.  What do I do now?

"Mr. Adams probably will not be coming back to this room, so take your things with you.  Dr. Moran is the lead surgeon and he always wants his patients down near the operating room.  So John won't come back here, " the nurse said.  

I set about gathering John's things, his shoes, belt, shorts, and put them in what I call his "Shula" bag.  It's actually a white, (with assorted travel scars) L. L. Bean canvas bag with green handles, but there's a story behind it.  When our youngest daughter, Lauren, graduated from high school at NC School of the Arts in Winston Salem, we stayed at the Hilton Hotel downtown.  When we were packing that day for Winston Salem, he put his things in that same bag.  As he was packing, I looked at him and said, "Why don't you use one of the good suitcases instead of that old bag?"  "There's nothing wrong with this bag, it holds everything I need," he said.  Whatever, it wasn't worth an argument, so we readied ourselves and headed to Winston Salem for graduation weekend.

The afternoon sun was spilling into the hotel and everything was beautiful.  It just so happened there was also a huge Buick Open golf tournament that same weekend at Tanglewood Country Club, a wonderful facility just outside of town.  There were welcome signs everywhere for all the celebrities they were expecting.  We unloaded our car and John went to check us in.  There was a line waiting to register, filled with famous people.  Yogi Berra, Buck Owens, soap opera stars, every way I turned, I saw a face I recognized.  I stood in amazement watching people while John got in line for a room.  In a few minutes, I looked over at him smiling from ear to ear, he was standing behind NFL Hall of Fame and winningest coach in football history, Don Shula.  John smiled and pointed at Shula's bag.  Guess what Shula had his clothes in?  An old tired L.L. Bean canvas bag, just like the one I had complained about.  I never said anything else about that old bag, and it became known as the Shula bag.

To be continued.....

PCQ