Monday, May 26, 2008

'The Man' Tales - Cid Heals

Voting continues for this final week at The Best of Blogs. Bigbluebarnwest is still in the lead for Best Inspirational Blog but needs your votes to keep it there. I greatly appreciate the fact that everyone is taking the time to vote. While you are doing so, MOB (menopausaloldbag)and Carolyn are both nominated. Mob for funniest blog and Carolyn (laughingaloneinthedark)for best Mummy blog (although she has thrown her votes behind PunkRockMommy. Any votes for these two are also greatly appreciated. Winners will be announced on June 2, 2008.
And now - on with the story.

I stayed beside Cid’s bed and held his hand that day. He was high on the morphine pump and was laughing and smiling. His surgery prevented him from doing much leaning but he would make a motion and I would lean over and kiss him. His breath smelled of chemicals but his lips were sweet and soft, and mine clung to his – desperate for more.

I stayed with him until 11pm when the shift change happened and the new nurses asked me to let him sleep. I kissed him once more and we clung to each other – happy to be able to do just this. Leaning in close, I whispered in his ear that I would return and once more our hands stretched towards each other – refusing to part – as I slipped from his grasp.

The night was cold and the wind was blowing snow into my face as I made my way to the lonely parking lot. A man came out of nowhere and walked towards me along the sidewalk. He was bundled up against the cold and his head was down and I quickly sent up a silent prayer as we neared each other. Just as he passed, he lurched into me and my heart sent a shot of adrenalin through my body. As my feet sped up I whipped my head around to see if he was following, but he was still going in the other direction. Perhaps the snow had been uneven on his side of the sidewalk – but I wasn’t taking any chances.

As I hurried towards my car I heard another vehicle’s engine trying to turn over. Jumping in my car, I started it quickly and locked the doors. As the windows unthawed, I could see the person who had been trying to start their vehicle. It was obviously a woman and she had popped the hood and was standing in the cold, staring into the engine. We were the only two people in the entire parking lot. I couldn’t drive away and leave her there, so I got out of my car and went over to see if I could help. The woman was one of the nurses who had been looking after Cid for the day. We fiddled with connections for a bit before she tried to start the car once more, but it was obvious that it was frozen and now the battery was dead. Neither of us had jumper cables, but fortunately she had a cell phone and I had a roadside assistance plan. I made the call and we waited in my car with the heater running. Almost two hours later, the tow truck arrived. In no time he had her boosted and she hugged me hard and was on her way. And so was I. When I arrived home at 3am, D hugged me hard and asked immediately after Cid. I felt terrible as he had been worried about both of us.

I drove back and forth to Edmonton everyday that Cid was in the hospital. The nurse from the parking lot thanked me every day for helping her out, until I had to ask her to quit. I had been happy to help. On the weekend, D came with me as he didn’t have to work, and we entertained Cid for the entire day. Both of us were so happy to have him on the mend. He had more pain after they took away the morphine pump, but he was more himself and you could see he was happy it was over with.

His ex-fiancĂ©e came to visit a couple of evenings when I was there. She would stand at the end of the bed and glare at me as Cid held my hand and refused to give it up. After two evenings of this, I stepped out into the hallway as she was leaving and told her it was crazy to be so jealous when she should be happy that Cid was healing. It didn’t help her attitude and that just saddened me. I thought a united front would be more helpful to Cid than the nonsense she insisted on carrying on with. When Cid was discharged, she took him home and dropped him off, then drove away. He had insisted that I stay home and I was frustrated that she would treat him like that. Cid excused her by claiming that she had always been like this. I just shook my head and asked him why he had ever proposed to her. At least it made him laugh.

His doctor never ordered chemotherapy or radiation after the kidney was removed. Cid was determined to live a healthy lifestyle after the surgery and threw himself into a physical routine to prove that he was healthy. He biked miles around Edmonton – sometimes going too far and having to call a cab to get back home. He refused to take the elevators and took the stairs instead. He ate healthy. Eventually his strength returned and when spring came we went back to hiking.

The three of us went to Drumheller and hiked around the hoodoos and into the canyons. This is an area of Alberta that is like stepping back in time. Many dinosaur bones have been found here in the deep canyons. The hoodoos are sandstone that have been eroded by the winds and the ‘hoodoos’ are what remain. It was on this trip that I was able to show Cid his first Bluebird. With his terrible eyesight he could never see the smaller birds, but this day we had our binoculars and I spotted this bluebird sitting in a tree not far from us. Cid found it with his binoculars, the bright blue of its feathers standing out against the budding limbs of the tree. He sat and watched it until it flew away. When he turned to me, his face was streaming with tears and he hugged me hard, thanking me for giving him that little treasure in his life. I hugged him back as I burst into tears, and thanked him for being in my life.

24 comments:

Jules said...

I came by from Maggie May and Debs site to let you know that I voted.

I'm so sorry that Cid had to have chemo and a rotten ex. But then again, I think he's exrta especially lucky to have you.

Anonymous said...

I am voting for you too! I hope you win, your blog is amazing. You and MOB are the best.

I am glad Cid and you found each other. The bird was a sign. Love, safety and peace inside.

XOXOXO

Nora said...

Oh, what is going to happen to Cid? Where is this tale leading us? There is mo way to tell where we will end up now and then there still is D, hanging in there somehow. Will Cid be magically cured? Please tell us, Aims, don't keep us in suspense.

I Beatrice said...

Well that is good news! Cid's recovery I mean - and yours too it seems!

Your story is now longer than mine was by the way ... mine was about 81 instalments I think.

I keep on voting, but can't find any way of seeing the progress of the voting. Nor have I been able to find a link for any of the other blogs mentioned. Which is rather annoying - though of course the fault is likely to be entirely mine!

I Beatrice said...

Correction: my story was only 73 instalments long! Which means that you have now exceeded me by about 8 instalments - though it's possible that my instalments were individually a few hundred words longer than yours are, of course.

(Fairly meaningless statistics - except to you and me perhaps?)

dND said...

Oh aims, you have us on that roller coaster again and so much emotional strain again, Like Nora, I'm desperate for the end. If we find it hard to endure you must have been made of really strong stuff.

Now off to make my votes for today!

Deborah x

Rachel Green said...

He was very lucky to have met you, I think.

Anonymous said...

Hi Aims
glad I found your blog,I have voted too.Like others I am on tenterhooks to see what happens
You are a gifted writer

Stinking Billy said...

aims, baby, excellent, as usual.

Living the Dream said...

Oh good grief!! I think you may end up with Cid, but then, what about D?? When are we going to know. Now off to vote again.

Daryl said...

How perfect that needing to help Cid was a help to you ... getting you motivated and out of the house .. love does that

:-Daryl

Breezy said...

Oh I am so very glad that he's on the mend. But who will you choose and how can you possibly choose?
Never mind a book this should be a tv series (a film would be too short) So who would you like to play you Aims and who Cid & D ?

aims said...

Jules - Thank you for your vote! I certainly have some wonderful supporters!

Eileen - And thank you as well! I never imagined my story would get spread in this manner!

Nora - I'm hoping the suspense of this story is a good distraction from you own travails. Use it when you need it Nora.

Dearest B - When you vote - you can go back and look at what percentage of the votes each nominee has. Unfortunately there are no links to any of the nominees and this has been complained about many times in the comments. So not you at all!

Now - these are some very interesting statistics! It would be interesting to do a word count to see where we are in comparison to each other. And I agree - probably only of interest to you and I! Thanks B!

Deborah - Cid's illness had me on tenterhooks for a very long time. But having the love of such wonderful people around me helped immensely.

Leatherdykeuk - I think I was lucky to have met him Rachel! :0)

Valleys Mam - Welcome on board! And thank you for your support and kind words.

Billy - I keep trying and trying Billy.

Hazel - Some of the answer will be revealed in the near future. Remember that proverb about patience.... :0)

Daryl - Love does an amazing amount of things - doesn't it?

Breezy - LOL! Believe me - I have a very close friend who talks about that subject all the time. She's got Julianne Moore and Shirley MacLaine for when I get a little older.... :0)


Everyone - Thank you for taking the time to vote for me. I do appreciate every single one of these votes. It has certainly been an honour to be nominated and then make it into the top ten. June 2nd will reveal all I guess! Thank you again!

travelling, but not in love said...

Lovely. I always knew you were a good egg, Aims. Well done for helping out the nurse - a lot of people would have driven off...

david mcmahon said...

Congratulations on being in the lead. I'm not surprised at all!

Mya said...

Aims,
I've cast my vote, hon.You should get an award for bloody good writing too. I always get sucked in whenever I visit...great stuff.

Mya x

bichonpawz said...

I am a little confused by Cid and D...were you just friends with D? I am hoping and praying that Cid will be on the mend! And yes, I voted again....you are the best, Aims!!

Brett said...

Great blog, well worth a vote. Spotted you name on wont let life define me, and very glad i clicked. will book mark you blog as i will have to known what happens next. I'm also up for a best of blog in the hobby section, but when i see this quality of writing and content im in awe.

Mean Mom said...

Still reading! Still fascinated! Fingers crossed for Best of Blogs. You're doing well, at the moment.

menopausaloldbag (MOB) said...

Oh Aims, a tearjerker yet again. I am so astonished at what you have been throug. You know I'm voting for you every day dear lady.

Thanks for the mention on your site - will immediately go and post yours again as I think I've let it slip to an older post. Isn't Debs the best at promoting us? Hugs honeybun..

Anonymous said...

I trust all continues to go well?

aims said...

TBNIL - I don't believe in pretending I don't see someone in need. Isn't helping others what we are suppose to do?

David - Thank you! And thank you for including me as one of your Posts of the Day....I am always honoured David.

Mya - Thank you for your vote and your very kind words. Yes I do include 'sucked in' as kind words! :0)

Bichonpawz - I hope my email straightened everything out for you. Cid and D - sigh.

Brett - I've had a look at your blog and voted for you as well. Lovely photography Brett!

Mean Mom - Thanks for crossing all your fingers - I hope it works. As you say - at the moment - I am in the lead.....at the moment.

MOB - Thanks for your support as well. You know I'm also voting for you everyday. It's going to be close between you and Sy! I do love the story of Hortense and Simondo...what a love story!

Mutley - Well darling - things are a bit hectic - but still going fairly well. Will be over very shortly for a bit of a sniff and a wag.

Mima said...

I'm not surprised that the nurse kept thanking you, it was a wonderful thing that you did to help another person.

I really hope that Cid is going to be ok, and you have me really hooked as to what is going to happen on the man front in the long run. I just hope that it ends up happy for everyone.

PS I have been to vote like a good girl!

Georgina said...

aims, it's so lovely that you were all there to help each other recover. Well done aims. Debs x