Day 11

The day I gave birth to my first son was a proud moment for me. When they brought him to me after cleaning him up, I thought they must have made a mistake. I was a plain Jane, and he was beautiful.

After a few moments, he started nudging my breast, letting me know he was hungry. I had decided before he was born that I would breastfeed him, but I was unprepared for the strength of his pull. I swear it felt as if he was pulling everything from, and the pain was excruciating.

I thought he would never get his fill. Then I realized I would have to go through this each time I fed him.

Three days later, we went home. On the fourth day, I developed a fever. I decided to ignore it. It would go away in a day or two. My mother felt something was wrong. I should not have a fever. On the fifth day, Friday morning, my brother-in-law brought my sister over to spend the day with us while he went to work.

My mother asked if he would mind dropping the two us at the hospital. She didn’t ask me, she decided for me. We arrived at about 8 a.m. My mother checked me in, and the nurse put me in one of the waiting rooms. My mother insisted on being in there with me. The nurse instructed me to lay while I waited for the doctor. I closed my eyes to rest, and the next time I opened them, it three a,m, in the morning, and my mother was asleep in a chair beside my bed.

She woke minutes after I did. I asked what happened, why was I back in the hospital? It turned out the inturn that delivered my baby left some afterbirth in me. They had to do a D and C on me to scrape out the afterbirth. Then my mother told me the doctor said, had she not brought me to the hospital when she did, a few more hours would have been too late. The afterbirth had infected me pretty badly, and I would have died.

I believe it was a blessing from God! I should have listened to my mother, but I kept telling her that God had let women have babies before all the modern medicines came into play, He would take care of me.

I believe He did that for my baby and me. I could no longer breastfeed my baby because the milk had become tainted. God gave us another blessing in return. I don’t get sick. Once in a while, I might not feel well, but I don’t get seriously ill. I have had the flu twice, but it lasted less than 24 hours.

My son got chickenpox when he was six months old. It lasted about seven long days and nights. I barely had any sleep. I spent my time rubbing Calamine lotion on him and trying to keep socks on his hands so he would not scratch himself. He was never sick again.

He was a part of our lives for twenty-three years before the Lord called him home. I still miss his presence after all these years. I believe God trusted me with that precious gift, and I took care of him to the best of my ability. I became a better person because I wanted to be worthy of him calling me Mama. He was a son to be proud of, and I feel the same way about my other sons. I was blessed to have four sons. Another gift from God because I asked Him for only sons. They have all made me proud to be their mother.

Well, I do not want to leave you feeling bad, so I will share another surprise, proud moment for me. I told you my first celebrity crush was John Wayne. I forgot to tell you I met John Wayne when I was a long-distance operator. He was on his yacht, and he needed to reach some director whose name I have forgotten.

I worked on that call all day, and about an hour before quitting time, I succeeded in getting the two of them together. John Wayne called back before I left to thank me personally. He said the call was critical and he appreciated my getting it taken care of for him. Well, it’s getting late, and I have an early day tomorrow. So, until tomorrow, stay safe, and keep the faith.