February 10, 1976... Christmas..

Our son was hospitalized from Dec 5, and was released from the hospital on Feb 9th, so that year we had Christmas in February..

He was 3 and during that stay he had 3 surgeries and many complications.. That was also the first year we had an artificial tree.. It's not very easy to find a real one in February..

He thought it was kind of fun because that year he had TWO Christmases. The nurses dressed up like elves on Dec 25, and the doctors that were on duty (residents mostly) dressed in Santa suits.. Parents got free dinners in their kids' rooms, and there was a present for each kid..

Winter in Rochester Minnesota is brutal, and we spent as much time in the hospital as we could. It was warm there.. Our "motel" room was a $6 a night ramshackle place, and every time we had to have him in the hospital we would bring extra blankets and plastic shower curtains to plug up the cracks in the walls. The place was "log cabin" style and the mortar had long ago been eroded away..The faucet in the bathroom leaked and evey morning the sink had ice in it..

We could not afford the hospital parkiing fees so we walked the mile and a half along the highway to the hospital.. Our son always used to like to feel Daddy's frozen mustache..

Those were the days..

Bethesda, MD after being wounded in Cambodia a few months before. Time flies.
That was one cold SOB winter 75-76.... Jeesus, it was cold... especially when you come from 3 years in the tropics.

Who was your doctor?

We always laughed about him.. His name was Panayotis P. Kelalis.. Head of pediatric urology.. We called him Dr "Pee-Pee" when we were at home :)

That's a long hospital stay.

and had 29 surgeries before he was 8.. That kid went through hell and back, and was such a brave little boy.. When he was born his bladder was outside his body and his urinary tract was a "train wreck"..

He had his first operation at Mayo Clinic when he was only 23 days old, and only weighed 5 pounds.. (He was premature as well..but that was not related to his problem)..That was because I had an abruption with him at 7 1/2 months pregnant.. It was not a very mellow welcome to motherhood..

Over those years it was a hectic, frightening and humbling experience.. That's oone reason we are so very happy for him that his life has turned out so wonderfully.. He's married,happy, and makes more money that he can spend.. I guess karma is sometimes a good thing.. He had a pretty rough childhood, and things are good for him now..

I had a mentally handicapped child that didn't go through near that much hell. He was considered Cerebral Palsy but that is a catch all term. Thankfully he was otherwise healthy and I only had to deal with the usual childhood illnesses.

I love happy endings. :D