degreesââ
âGood ⦠good,â Dr. Steel nodded, straightened up, stood there with his stethoscope still dangling from his ears, shook his head, said, âI donât believe it,â but he did, and he looked at me and winked.
I relaxed for the first time since I started straining and when I did my guts seemed to tear loose and a hot, frothy mess spilled on the bed. Gas rumbled through my empty stomach and exploded. The nurse who had just finished cleaning the bed groaned, pulled out the dirty sheet and started again.
âDull or sharp?â
âSharp ⦠yes, Iâm sure â¦â I tried to nod, felt the restraint of the cast, felt weak from hunger and pain.
âHe farted!â âDamn!â
Tortuga, Tortuga, two by four
Couldnât get to the bathroom door
So he does it on the floor .
âOn the bed!â âYeah.â The kids laughed, drummed their bedpans and urinals louder and louder.
âAt least heâs moving.â âYeah.â
âOut!â the big nurse shouted and grabbed at a young man with a harmonica who was leading the singing. âOut! Right now.â
âMike, get them out,â the doctor said. âHeâs okay now. He just needs to rest, something to eat â¦â He turned to the nurse and told her to clean and powder the bedsores. Mike turned to the kids, repeated what the doctor had just said and they all began to file out quietly.
âTortuga needs to rest ⦠Thatâs all, just rest â¦â
âPoor ole Tortuga â¦â
âYeah, poor ole Tortuga â¦â
They went out singing:
Poor ole Tortugaaaaa!
He never got a kissssss â¦
Pooooor ole Tortuga ,
He donâ know whad he misssss â¦
âIâm sorry,â Dr. Steel said and folded his stethoscope and put it in his pocket, âthis wonât happen again ⦠Will it, nurse?â he asked the big nurse.
âNo, sir! No, sir! But it was the night nurse who was on duty, sir.â
âI donât care whoâs on duty. You run this ward, and Iâm saying this wonât happen again. Clear?â
âYes sir,â the nurse nodded, turned and looked at me with a scowl on her face.
âLook!â one of the aides pointed.
âWhat?â
âHeâs peeing â¦â
âWhad they say?â someone asked from the hall.
âNothing,â Mike laughed as he went out, âthey just said heâs peeing, thatâs all, just taking a good old healthy leak.â
âPeeing turtle pee, I bet.â
âYeah,â they laughed.
âOh my.â¦â
They all laughed, even the nurse who had to pull out the sheet again and start over.
âItâs a good sign,â Dr. Steel winked and walked out.
â98.6ââ
âSee you later, Tortuga!â Mike called from the hallway and the rest of the kids repeated, âYeah, see you later, Tortuga!â âTry using a urinal!â one of them added and they all laughed.
The nurses finished cleaning me up by powdering the bedsores. Somebody brought me something to eat, which I gulped down with shut eyes because the drug in the shot was already pulling me into sleep ⦠Then they turned me on my stomach so the talcummed sores could dry. Face down, buried against the bed, I fell asleep, dreaming I was a turtle slowly clawing its way across a wide desert ⦠towards a cool, northern mountain lake.
4
The nurse came in and checked my blood pressure and took my temperature every hour. She was a silent woman, cold and precise, so I said nothing but I felt better. The fever was gone, I was eating everything they brought, and the pain from the bedsores was better. But most exciting to me was that I could control the muscle spasms. They werenât spasms anymore, they were actual commands I could send down to my legs and they obeyed. It was an excitement I hadnât felt since the initial paralysis.
âGood ⦠good,â Dr. Steel nodded, straightened up, stood there with his stethoscope still dangling from his ears, shook his head, said, âI donât believe it,â but he did, and he looked at me and winked.
I relaxed for the first time since I started straining and when I did my guts seemed to tear loose and a hot, frothy mess spilled on the bed. Gas rumbled through my empty stomach and exploded. The nurse who had just finished cleaning the bed groaned, pulled out the dirty sheet and started again.
âDull or sharp?â
âSharp ⦠yes, Iâm sure â¦â I tried to nod, felt the restraint of the cast, felt weak from hunger and pain.
âHe farted!â âDamn!â
Tortuga, Tortuga, two by four
Couldnât get to the bathroom door
So he does it on the floor .
âOn the bed!â âYeah.â The kids laughed, drummed their bedpans and urinals louder and louder.
âAt least heâs moving.â âYeah.â
âOut!â the big nurse shouted and grabbed at a young man with a harmonica who was leading the singing. âOut! Right now.â
âMike, get them out,â the doctor said. âHeâs okay now. He just needs to rest, something to eat â¦â He turned to the nurse and told her to clean and powder the bedsores. Mike turned to the kids, repeated what the doctor had just said and they all began to file out quietly.
âTortuga needs to rest ⦠Thatâs all, just rest â¦â
âPoor ole Tortuga â¦â
âYeah, poor ole Tortuga â¦â
They went out singing:
Poor ole Tortugaaaaa!
He never got a kissssss â¦
Pooooor ole Tortuga ,
He donâ know whad he misssss â¦
âIâm sorry,â Dr. Steel said and folded his stethoscope and put it in his pocket, âthis wonât happen again ⦠Will it, nurse?â he asked the big nurse.
âNo, sir! No, sir! But it was the night nurse who was on duty, sir.â
âI donât care whoâs on duty. You run this ward, and Iâm saying this wonât happen again. Clear?â
âYes sir,â the nurse nodded, turned and looked at me with a scowl on her face.
âLook!â one of the aides pointed.
âWhat?â
âHeâs peeing â¦â
âWhad they say?â someone asked from the hall.
âNothing,â Mike laughed as he went out, âthey just said heâs peeing, thatâs all, just taking a good old healthy leak.â
âPeeing turtle pee, I bet.â
âYeah,â they laughed.
âOh my.â¦â
They all laughed, even the nurse who had to pull out the sheet again and start over.
âItâs a good sign,â Dr. Steel winked and walked out.
â98.6ââ
âSee you later, Tortuga!â Mike called from the hallway and the rest of the kids repeated, âYeah, see you later, Tortuga!â âTry using a urinal!â one of them added and they all laughed.
The nurses finished cleaning me up by powdering the bedsores. Somebody brought me something to eat, which I gulped down with shut eyes because the drug in the shot was already pulling me into sleep ⦠Then they turned me on my stomach so the talcummed sores could dry. Face down, buried against the bed, I fell asleep, dreaming I was a turtle slowly clawing its way across a wide desert ⦠towards a cool, northern mountain lake.
4
The nurse came in and checked my blood pressure and took my temperature every hour. She was a silent woman, cold and precise, so I said nothing but I felt better. The fever was gone, I was eating everything they brought, and the pain from the bedsores was better. But most exciting to me was that I could control the muscle spasms. They werenât spasms anymore, they were actual commands I could send down to my legs and they obeyed. It was an excitement I hadnât felt since the initial paralysis.
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